Friends make flit to Gretna for secret wedding in eBay dresses

Dave, Sharron, Craig, Claire, Kate and Jon on their big day in Gretna.

Three couples who have been friends for more than 10 years all ran away to marry at Gretna Green.

The romantics, who all have grown-up children, decided that in later life they should tie the knot and hatched a plan to do it in a triple ceremony at the iconic wedding town.

Sharron and David Letts, Kate and Jon Redshaw and Claire and Craig Gorman were witnesses and photographers to their days with flowers bought from the local Tesco shop in Annan.

To top it off, the couples from Leicestershire all set off in their respective campervans to tour the Scottish Borders.

All smiles at the Gretna Green signpost.

The runaway wedding

“We’ve had a ball and possibly the best wedding ever,” said Sharron 55, a pharmaceutical clerk.

“None of our families knew where we were heading because we told them we were all off on a camping trip. We have known each other for 10 years, with Kate and Claire and I going running and walking together.

“All our partners were longstanding and so we hit on an idea to get hitched in a runaway wedding at a fraction of the cost of what we all might have spent if we had been in our 20s. Two of our dresses were from eBay and another from a local shop, all bought on the quiet, and secretly from our families.

“We haven’t stopped laughing since we all arrived at Gretna. At one point we were in Tesco in our wedding dresses buying our bouquets. They hadn’t seen anything like it in their lives. It’s probably the only kind of wedding caper you can carry off in your middle age and we loved it.”

Claire, 49, who works with Sharron as a pharmaceutical clerk, said: “We all wanted to get our affairs in order and make it legal now that we had been with our partners for a while. One of us joked that we should run away and the idea took off from there.

“I wasn’t looking forward to walking down the aisle with everyone looking at me at this stage in life and none of us wanted to spend huge amounts on weddings. For a fraction of the cost we have a whole of lot of fun getting married our way.

“The girls were all witnesses for each other, and the guys focused on the pics. After the ceremonies we all drove off in our campervans, each with a bride in the passenger seat and tin cans rattling at the back. Passing cars tooted and waved furiously and a bus stopped to cheer.

“As Sharron and I booked the same fortnight’s leave from our company someone joked that we could always run off to Gretna and get married. Little did they know, that was what we were planning. I can’t wait to see their faces when we get home.”

‘It’s important to have as much fun in life as possible’

Kate, 54, a designer in reprographics, said: “We bought our husbands T-shirts – all with the slogan “Under new management” emblazoned on the front. Everything was planned to have the maximum amount of fun.

“It was only after we all got hitched that we called our families to tell them. They were stunned. As far as everyone was concerned, we were off on a camping tour of Scotland. I think it is important to have as much fun in your life as possible and good friends to share it with. We all like to think we have. ”

Couples have been marrying since 1710 in Gretna Hall Historic Marriage House and then from 1754 in the Gretna Green Famous Blacksmiths Shop. Almost 3,500 romantic lovebirds head for Gretna every year.