A SECOND “I do” was in store for a pair of newlyweds as they celebrated in an unlikely place – a Dalgety Bay care home.

When Rhona Morgan’s beloved grandparents were missing from her wedding in July she knew she had to find a way to let them see her dress and hear her vows in person.

She had already married her husband, fellow doctor Patrick Morgan, in Buckinghamshire earlier this year, but, after contacting Henderson House, where her granny, Elizabeth Porter, lives, to ask if she could visit, ended up walking down the aisle again, this time flanked by her grandad, Mike Porter.

Elizabeth has dementia and could not travel south to attend her granddaughter’s big day but, along with other residents in the home, was thrilled to be given the chance to celebrate.

And the Press was there to enjoy the happy occasion too.

“Today is all about her,” Rhona said.

“She’s having a good day, she knows who I am, she’s enjoying the wedding and says it’s lovely.

“They’ve been a huge part of my life so it’s very important.

“We are staying up for the rest of the week so we’ll be popping back in.”

Henderson House was decked out for the occasion, with decorations donated and supplied specially by Dalgety Bay business Zsa Zsa Zsu Balloons & Events, and glasses of sparkling Shloer on hand for guests.

Muriel, who lives in the home, said: “It’s very nice, it’s small and homey.

“She looks lovely.

“I didn’t know what to expect.”

It was all organised by Sharon Thompson, activities co-ordinator, who said: “It’s lovely to see all the residents enjoying it and smiling.

“It’s been the talk of the house for about three weeks, it’s been brilliant.

“We included the residents constantly with it, in their art club they decorated their own invitations.

“That was really lovely, we got question after question; ‘When’s the wedding?, ‘Is it here yet?’.

“It’s nice, it’s really nice, it’s jolly and brightened it up, and it’s nice to get the team members involved and enjoying it."

And the wedding was even officiated by minister Christine Sime, who said the event was a first for her!

“Telling people you have a wedding in Henderson House is a bit of a surprise!”she laughed.

“I think it’s great, it’s a beautiful idea, such a lovely idea to include the grandmother who wasn’t able to get there and it’s given a lift to the whole place.

“Everyone’s thoroughly enjoyed it, everyone is dressed up and excited.

“This is a real pleasant way to spend an afternoon.”

There are hopes that the day will serve as inspiration for future events, something which had been impossible to organise until recently.

Liam Duncan, manager at Henderson House, explained: “Two, three, four, five months ago this would have been impossible, we couldn’t have done this.

“It was good, it was really, really good, it was the bride who got in touch with us to see if there was any chance we could do something here.

“They wanted to come in and do a little ceremony and we thought we would try and make it a big thing, we’ve got the balloons, we’ve got the staff in, everyone’s dressed up, it went really well.

“It was important for Elizabeth, she couldn’t make it down south because she is unwell, that she’s able to go through the ceremony here.

“The staff have been reminding her, she’s got dementia but even as far on in that journey as she is, she still recognises her husband, still recognises the fact they got married.

“She said ‘I’ll talk about this for months now!’ "You still need to have people going through and being involved in these things in their lives. It’s important, family’s so important."

Photographs by Jim Payne.