Erin & Chris
It all started when…
They both got notifications- it was a “Match.” After meeting on Bumble in June of 2017, Chris and Erin had their first date at The Fountain. Drinks and laughter turned into dinners and concerts, movies and meeting-the-families. We found ourselves introduced to new things and insights into each other’s cultures. For Erin, it was going to the rugby and watching Still Game (with subtitles on). For Chris, it was wacky Fringe shows and carving pumpkins for Halloween. Soon, two people who initially bonded over Harry Potter and FRIENDS had fallen in love. We started to see life through each other’s eyes and to see our life together beginning to bloom.
One of the highlights of our first year together was our trip to Iceland in February of 2018, planned as a surprise for Chris’ birthday. We visited the Blue Lagoon, rented a car and travelled all around the Golden Circle, even staying on a horse farm! If you ever have the chance to visit, definitely go— but don’t expect a cheap drink. On our return from this trip, we went for breakfast to the place where we shared our very first date those many months ago (the first time in a week there hadn’t been dozens of tourists around!). Chris got down on one knee and asked Erin to “make him the happiest man in the world.” And she said yes, of course.
As a couple from two different worlds, we learn new things about the other every day. Erin can’t believe he’s never had a corn dog. Chris can’t believe she pronounces it “aluminum.” Being from two different countries has brought some serendipitous surprises into our lives. For one, Erin’s mom had a trip planned to visit her mid-July of 2017. Knowing she wouldn’t be back until December, Erin plucked up the courage to ask Chris to meet her after only 2 weeks of knowing each other. (No pressure!) Her mom said she knew he was the one for Erin when he told her matter-of-factly that he’d be at Erin’s graduation… a year later, in the summer of 2018. In the months following, soon we had met each other’s families and shared our happiness with those close to us. (Thanks for bringing the baby photos, mum.) Erin is delighted to have her new Scottish family here in the UK. During our small wedding festivities in August, we saw our families join into one— what a beautiful week, with lots of loving moments and laughter. We even finished off the night with a DJ set/Fringe show fittingly entitled “Mr. McClelland’s Damn Good Dance” that became a sort-of wedding reception filled with very congratulatory strangers, all singing along as we led the crowd, on stage, to chime in with 500 Miles for the final song.
As you, our loved ones, already know from sharing our journey with us thus far, we’re already legally married! Being an international couple comes with hurdles that only make our bond stronger through the process, and, ultimately, we decided to have two weddings: one small and intimate for our immediate families, and one larger affair where we could take our time to plan a big celebration of our union with you all (complete with a ceilidh!) Aren’t we lucky to have so much love to celebrate and so many amazing people to celebrate with.
Erin and Chris are over the moon to have found the partners of their dreams, and Chris, especially, is overjoyed to have the world’s best gingers in his life. (Juice, the expat cat, has found his soulmate in Chris, and the two are inseparable. See pictures below.)
Now look at some goofy pictures of us! Click the furthermost right picture to keep scrolling through the gallery.
