A couple will tie the knot in a Dundee pub, the first to do so in the city’s history.
Nikki Newberry and Larry Scott wanted to marry in a place precious to both of them, and where better than the place they both met four years ago … the Balgay Hill Bar?
Nikki, an American student originally from Wisconsin, visited the Balgay in May 2011 while in Dundee studying for a Masters in Muslim Globalisation in the West at Dundee’s Al Maktoum College, and it was there she met Larry, a store manager at AP Bearings in Forfar.
The two are set to wed on Saturday at a ceremony inside the Balgay Hill Bar, overseen by the registrar.
Nikki said: “It was where we met, and we wanted it to be a precious place to us and to have all our friends there.”
The ceremony will happen behind closed doors in the lounge area, but the reception will be open to regulars and the public in the bar.
The occasion will also be live-streamed to Nikki’s relatives in America.
Larry said: “We’re looking for something low key, something nice with all of our friends.
“It’s where we met, it’s where a lot of our friends are and it holds a lot of meaning for us.
“A registrar office is pokey and cold and not a place we have any connection to.”
The couple enjoy taking motorbike trips to the Western Isles and enjoying Dundee’s live music scene.
Paul Murphy, owner of the Balgay Hill Bar, said: “They approached us, they’re regulars and we were more than happy to do it for them.
“We will still be open as usual and the regulars and any people who want to come along will be able to.”
Maureen Gilchrist, the registrar who will perform the ceremony, said: “Since the law was changed it has been amazing.
“Myself, I’ve performed ceremonies at the top of the Law at five in the morning, one of my colleagues performed a ceremony at midnight as the couple wanted to be the first to be married that day.
“Live streaming the service is great because it can be done two-way, we’ve had relatives in Australia and the Philippines giving readings and speeches.
“It’s something Dundee has kind of pioneered in our civil ceremonies.”