We met in 2015, on Friday 13th! It was over cocktails and Steve brought a lot of fun and laughter to my night out. Our first date was in Starbucks in Glasgow where Steve continued with the fun by teasing my (smashed up) phone, bringing me shopping for his friends birthday present and inviting me to an odd Irish themed pub....not like any pub at home.
Before we knew it, our parents had been told about each other and we were off to our first Royal Navy ball together. Steve forgot to mention to his mates that he had bought tickets so we were sitting with a lot of people we didn't know. It didn't matter, we know how to have fun in any situation. Soon our annual Summer and Christmas Balls would be dominated by Baby Guinness, new and old friends and lots of dancing (once the uncomfortable and not very practical shoes were hidden under our table). Watch out, Steve loves a good twirl!
We love a good restaurant! For our first anniversary we visited way too many in one weekend and by the Sunday evening we couldn't even speak to each other. We have since learned to space them out and enjoy them as treats. In between treats we like to experiment with cooking and baking at home. Masterchef and Great British Baker we are not but we do like to share our efforts with friends. When friends are round, we love to experiment with cocktails but try to keep the honey rums to a minimum!
We both love to travel, our first trip was to Bratisalva. We loved it there, we would recommend the toilets in the UFO tower to anyone! Along with regular trips to Ireland, we try to see as much of the world as possible without repeating countries or cities. Our new accidental tradition is to visit European cities with friends before Christmas and try not to get stranded!
In 2016, we took the plunge and moved in together in Stirling. We lived in the city centre and loved being in walking distance of friends, restaurants and bars. We have an amazing circle of friends around us, some near and some far but always there for the craic. No longer at an age to get away with clubbing, we are more likely to be at home with friends for games nights. Rock on!!
2018 turned out to be a big year for us. Steve got promoted at work, Julie changed companies, we finally finished decorating our flat and we immediately put it up for sale. We bought The Old Piggery and turned a city boy into a country bumpkin. We still get really excited when we look out on the roe deer, birds of prey and lots of dog walkers. Is it bad to know all our neighbours dogs names rather than human neighbours names??!
We love Rugby Union! We have season tickets for Murrayfield to see all the Scotland matches at home each year. Although we both sing Flower of Scotland at the top of our voices at most matches, there are times where only one us will leave the stadium happy! The delight leaving the Scotland V Ireland match at the 2019 World Cup in Tokyo was amazing, Steve was happier arriving at the stadium :)
On Friday 13th, 5 years since we had first met, Steve pulled off the biggest surprise of all time! He proposed! With a ring he designed himself! And it was a perfect fit!
The proposal was perfect, although almost overshadowed by a potato. It was low key, personal and at home in our favourite place. Before making the mandatory calls to families, we celebrated with a cup of tea. We managed to have dinner with a friend later that day, just before we went into lock down for Covid-19 and our excitement had to take a back seat.
We are delighted that we are finally able to celebrate our day with you and we hope you all have lots of fun too!