A West Lothian woman has told of how she met her forever man whilst working for Asda and married him for free.
Nicola Vaughan, from Livingston, was playing her trade as a management trainer at the supermarket giant when she met Steven Findlay, 48, who joined as a new manager at the beginning of 2005.
The two were an instant hit together but only started exploring a romantic relationship after their fellow colleagues organised a date for the pair, the Scottish Sun reports.
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Nicola, 47, said: "We spent 8 weeks working together in total and got along so well.
"I really looked forward to spending time his company not realising, that he would turn out to be the love of my life.
"On his last day with me, my colleague at the time suggested a drink after work.
"Unknown to me, it was a set up and my colleague left us on our own.
"The rest they say is history, a whirlwind romance with him moving in after accepting his role in Livingston.”
But Nicola decided to leave Asda in April 2006 when a career change to work within the NHS arose and Steven stayed with the shop.
Nicola and Steve became engaged eight years later on Christmas Day in 2013 and had organised to get married in 2021 before the pandemic hit.
Both of them had to halt life plans in order to deliver for their community as frontline workers which meant that they also had to delay their wedding.
The wife-to-be was working evenings as a theatre practitioner at Ninewells hospital in Dundee, whilst Steven continued his role at Asda.
Despite the disruption, the loved up duo managed to get married during a breathtaking ceremony at the Apex City Quay Hotel and Spa in Dundee on Saturday November 12.
What made their day even more special was the fact that Apex Hotels and Operation Recuperation picked up the £10k bill.
This came out of a scheme that was set up to help NHS staff who had endured working conditions at some of the worst impacted hospitals during the pandemic.
Steven said: “It’s been a while coming, but we both felt now was the right time to tie the knot.
"We’ve already got four beautiful kids so had the luxury of taking our time.
"When we heard about Operation Recuperation and Apex Hotels giving away free wedding packages, we jumped at the opportunity.
"To be honest we didn’t think we’d win. I’ve never won anything in my life so when we got short listed then finally won the wedding, it honestly was a dream come true.”
The mother-of-four was given away by her eldest son Ciaran, 23, as well as her father.
The other boys, Noah, eight, and Logan, 14, also had roles to play in the ceremony with Logan acting as best man alongside Steven’s best mate and Noah looking after the rings.
The couple’s daughter Katie, 15, was not left out either and supported her parents in the role as bridesmaid.
Suppliers in the local community also chipped in to help with a range of wedding services such as flowers, cake, photographer and a DJ.
Nicola said: “The wedding was perfect. We were bowled over by the level of service, the venue and food, everything. It was more than we could have wished for.
"We all had a lovely day surrounded by our family and best friends. We’re so grateful to Apex Hotels and Operation Recuperation for such a wonderful gift.”
Steven said: “We had an amazing day. I was cool, calm and collected until the moment I saw our daughter Katie as a bridesmaid.
"Then when our son Ciaran and my father in law gave Nicola away, the tears started rolling. It was an emotional moment. Thanks again to Apex Hotels and all the fantastic suppliers who made this such a perfect day for us.”
Michael Stott, Commercial Director, Apex Hotels said: “I can’t think of two more deserving people than Steven and Nicola.
"We wish all of them the very best and many happy years together.”
Rachel Sherwood, founder of Operation Recuperation said: “Had someone told me back in March 2020 when I started ‘Operation Recuperation’ that we’d end up gifting entire weddings to NHS staff, I would never have believed them!
"I’m so grateful to Apex Hotels for their generosity and compassion.
"Helping not just one but five NHS couples have their dream wedding day is a gift that literally changes lives and it’s wonderful to see that Nicola and Steven were able to get married at Apex City Quay Hotel & Spa in Dundee.”
Apex Hotels started its partnership with Operation Recuperation in 2021, gifting 10 overnight stays at its hotels across the UK to nominated NHS workers as a well-deserved break.
Following the overnight stays, the partnership went on to offer five NHS couples a free wedding at one of Apex’s nine hotels located across five UK cities.
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