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Daily Record
Daily Record
National
Iona Young & Steven Rae

Scots bride 'felt like inconvenience' on wedding day waiting for golfers to 'play through' photos

A bride has told how she was left feeling like "an inconvenience" at her own wedding after staff from the Scots venue head-counted guests at the door.

Kiera Sharp also said her the wedding photos from her big day delayed as the happy couple had to wait for golfers to finish their round.

The 23-year-old tied the knot with Lee Sharp, 24, earlier this year after getting engaged in 2019 and having the joyous event postponed due to the Covid pandemic, reports Edinburgh Live.

The couple, from Broxburn, initially had their eye on Uphall Golf Club but sadly a fire destroyed the venue so they were forced to look elsewhere.

After viewing nearby Pumpherston Golf Club the couple excitedly set a date of July 23, and paid their deposit. Little were the happy couple to know that this was the beginning of the nightmare events to unfold.

Guests and the couple themselves had to stand in the foyer before the reception could get officially started. (Edinburgh Live)

Kiera said: "We first contacted the venue in February 2021. We got engaged in November 2019 but we were hit by the pandemic so had to hold off.

"We wanted Uphall Golf Club but they had a fire and the whole building was burnt down so our next option was Pentland View at Pumpherston Golf Club.

"We reached out and asked for July 30 when we first called they said they had the whole of July available but we wanted to view the venue before booking and couldn't at this time due to Covid restrictions.

"When we viewed it in April we put down a £100 deposit and booked the venue. The next day he phoned back to say he had double-booked us with another wedding and he wasn't prepared to ask the other couple to change the date.

"We had chosen our date for a reason so took a while to think about it and decide if we wanted to change the date or the venue of our wedding but eventually decided to have it a week early on the 23rd."

Keira and her new husband Lee made the most of an "unusual" wedding day. (Edinburgh Live)

A spokesman for Pentland View told Edinburgh Live the booking system had failed to show the other wedding on the same day - an event rearranged twice because of Covid. He added: "Mrs Sharp was made aware of this and offered a full refund of her deposit or additional dates around the same time as requested."

Despite the initial hiccup, Kiera and her husband-to-be stayed optimistic about their upcoming nuptials and focussed on planning the day - only for more issues were to arise.

When the big day came, Kiera was shocked to find two members of the golf club at the door to the venue - head-counting every guest. She explained: "They were acting like bouncers counting everybody as they went in which was really embarrassing.

The Pentland View spokesman said: "The member of the golf club counting guests in the upper foyer after the ceremony was to ensure that there was enough seating."

He also confirmed the member in question is a retired police officer and a committee member of the golf club. He was dressed in a badged suit showing a committee member embroidered logo blazer.

The spokesman said he was joined by a fellow committee member at the evening do and added: "We can only assume, like any licensed venue, they were ensuring the event was ran in conjunction with the maximum numbers permissible."

Keira and Lee's guests are refused entry and made to stand in the foyer. (Edinburgh Live)

When it came to the traditional taking of wedding photos by a loch, Kiera told how she was left feeling like she was "walking on eggshells" to accommodate club members on her special day.

"We went down to get pictures next to the pond and had to wait for members to finish playing golf first to have our wedding pictures done," she said.

The Pentland View spokesman said: "On arriving at the lake there were two golfers finishing in that area and the couple waited a short couple of minutes until the golfers had finished in that area.

"This is a safety measure that is taken with every couple wishing lakeside photographs that there may be short delays if golfers are playing through this area. Once they started their photographs, the second set of golfers waited until they moved off before resuming play."

Despite the problems, the couple said they enjoyed their big day overall and are happy together - but are left disappointed over the perceived "lack of care and respect". And they said many family members felt the same.

Kiera's mum Trisha Brown said: "Such a disappointment on your and Lee's big day, I witnessed it all and it put a damper on the whole day."

The Pentland View spokesman apologised for Kiera feeling like an "inconvenience" and "second best" on her wedding day and said measures introduced since the wedding include a clear schedule of the maximum day numbers for each event within the venue, a private golf buggy for whole day hire and further approved Institute of Hospitality training for staff.

The new bride and groom had to wait for matches to finish so they could get pictures taken at the picturesque location. (Edinburgh Live)

He added: "We can only apologise that she felt this way and it is never our intention to make anyone feel like this on their wedding day. We have continually gone above and beyond at every wedding that we do at Pumpherston Golf Club with many of the weddings before and after Mr & Mrs Sharps not highlighting any of what has been brought to our attention by the couple.

"Although in no way a defence as to how Mrs Sharp felt her day went, we feel that many of the small mistakes throughout her day that were outwith our control were dealt with in a timely manner and that the happiness of Mr & Mrs Sharp, and their guests, was at the forefront of the entire day. We are saddened that Mr & Mrs Sharp feel like this about their day."

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