When singer Jamie Mackie, 26, played his song Finding Neverland to barmaid Antzela Vasiari, 23, in Corfu he had no idea where the tune would lead him.
Now the young couple have become the first to be married in JM Barrie’s Kirriemuir birthplace, two years to the day since the Peter Pan-inspired lyric led to their first kiss.
Jamie and Antzela, a barista in Aberdeen, exchanged their vows in a marquee erected in the small garden behind the writer’s childhood home, watched by 30 guests, a Peter Pan statue and a large wooden crocodile called Tick Tock.
Jamie, a civil enforcement officer from Aberdeen, said it was a venue like no other for an equally unique romance.
He said was on holiday in Greece on June 5 two years ago when the barmaid caught his eye and he decided to play her the song.
“We just got chatting as a young lad does with a girl working behind a bar, and we eventually got round to talking about music, and I played her some of my own songs.
“I had a song called Finding Neverland, which was loosely based around the idea of never growing old, and I played it to her on my phone and then she kissed me while the song was playing.
“She said that was what made her mind up. She thought she might never see this lad again.”
The story of the boy who never grew up is one of Antzela’s favourites, he added.
“I love the idea of Peter Pan too. That’s what made her kiss me and, lo and behold, a couple of trips back to Greece and eventually she moved here.”
“We decided we wanted to do things our own way. It’s June 5 today, the day we shared the aforementioned kiss. It’s the day, it’s the place, it’s the stars aligning.
“There’s no doubt there’s going to be a fairy tale aspect to it. I just want to thank the National Trust for Scotland for letting us do this, everyone for coming, and JM Barrie himself for writing Peter Pan.”
The Kirriemuir-born writer spent his childhood in the small, whitewashed cottage on Brechin Road.
The son of a weaver, he lived with his seven brothers and sisters in two upstairs rooms, while his father worked downstairs.
The washhouse in the yard, close to where the couple married, doubled-up as Barrie’s first theatre.
Cameron Hinde, visitor services manager, said the National Trust for Scotland had been keen to see what they could do to help the young couple.
“We have unique venues across the country and if people are looking for something a bit different they should get in touch,” he said.
