A school pal told each of them the other one fancied them. Neither was true.

Their story

It starts at Bellahouston Academy. Jade was fifteen, Grant was sixteen, and although they walked the same corridors every day, neither of them actually knew the other. A mutual pal decided that was not good enough and got to work. She told Jade that Grant fancied her. She told Grant that Jade fancied him. Neither of those things was true at the time, and nobody let that get in the way.

Then one day they passed in the corridor and each had that feeling of half knowing the other. Grant stopped her and asked if her name was Jade. She said it was, and that he must be Grant. And Grant, a charmer from the very start, said: "Aye. You fancy me, don't you?"

It worked. For six months, which at that age is roughly a decade. Then it fizzled out the way school romances do, and there followed years with no contact at all. They got on with their lives. Then, in March 2010, a night out in town, and they walked straight into each other. They have been together ever since.

A first home in February 2013, a second in November 2014. Kyla arrived in June 2014 and shares a birthday with her dad. Harper followed in June 2018 and is known to a fair few of the guests as Hurricane Harper, which I gather has been earned. Then came the dug, Wee Bear, who by all accounts is a mummy's boy and has added his own share of chaos.

The proposal is my favourite bit. On Christmas Eve 2015 Grant phoned Jade's mum and dad to ask for their blessing, and her dad had a long think about it. On Christmas morning, with wee Kyla in his arms, Grant asked. By Jade's account it was the biggest surprise ever. Then they spent the next ten years raising a family, and got round to the wedding when they were good and ready.

The secrets

Before the legal part, I asked each of them, separately and in secret, for three things they love about the other and one wee thing that could do with a bit of work. Neither had a clue what the other had said until I read it out.

Jade went first. Grant is the funniest person she knows and her best friend, he works hard every single day for her and the girls, and he has always had her back. A glowing report. Then the bit that needs work: golf. Grant appears to believe that the teal rug in their living room is a putting green, and Jade has caught him mid-swing more than once. Her words, not mine: "I'm surprised we still have windows."

Grant did not hold back either. Jade puts everybody else first, every time. She keeps him sane and calm and makes him want to be a better partner. And she is a fantastic mum, which he said must be hard work, since by his own account he is Mr Negative. That landed nicely, given the woman standing opposite him had just told a full room he was the funniest man she knows.

His one thing: the half five phone call. A long day at work, nearly home, and the text lands. We need bread and milk. This from a woman who has spent her own break going round Asda, B&M and Home Bargains. Three shops, and not one of them the one with the bread in it.

The ceremony

Danielle led the bridesmaids in, Harper came down as flower girl, and Jade walked in on her dad's arm. The couple asked for an unplugged ceremony, phones away, and once the schedule was signed I invited everyone forward for a wee photo of their own.

They chose a family handfasting, and it was the heart of the whole thing. Kyla and Harper came up to hold the fabric with me while I wrapped the loops: the first for Grant's love for Jade, the second for Jade's love for Grant, and the third for everyone in the room, and especially the two girls at the centre of the family. Then Jade and Grant pulled back on the ends and tied the knot themselves. Kyla brought the rings up as well, so both girls had a proper job.

There were no personal vows, just the declarations, and after the secrets nobody needed any more. Ask what they want next and the answer is short: more of the same. Time, health, growing old together and watching the girls grow up. Grant would also like to see Rangers win the treble. We live in hope.

Marrying at Dalmeny Park yourself?

A few things from the front of the room. The ceremony room has floor-to-ceiling glass along one side, and the white bandstand sits right outside it in the garden. From where I stand at the front, your kiss has the bandstand and the trees behind it, even with the ceremony indoors. Tell your photographer or content creator that before the day, so they set up facing the glass.

Dalmeny Park offers indoor and outdoor ceremonies, with the bandstand as the garden option. If you have your heart set on it, ask the wedding coordinator early how the move indoors works on a wet day and when the call gets made. The good news is that the indoor room keeps the garden in view anyway.

Jade and Grant married on a Thursday, and the hotel runs mid-week and winter packages, so it is worth asking what a weekday does to the numbers. I have written up how weekday and off-season weddings save money if you want the long version. And if you have weans, give them a job. A family handfasting is the easiest way I know to put them in the middle of the ceremony without anybody having to learn lines.

There is more on the rooms and how the day runs in my Dalmeny Park venue guide, and if you are marrying on the south side my Glasgow wedding celebrant page is the place to start. If the handfasting appealed, there is a full guide to handfasting in Scotland and more on my handfasting celebrant page.