By edanOn Saturday the 6th of June 2026, Laura and I got married in Gibraltar after 16 years together. Even now, when I think back on that day, it feels like it had this lovely build to it, like everything was slowly coming into focus and then all at once it became real.
That morning had started under overcast skies, a bit cloudy, but we’d gone out on a dolphin trip before the ceremony. That part meant a lot, because Laura had always wanted to see a dolphin. We were lucky enough to have a couple of pods following the boat and playing in the water, and there was something so joyful about that. It felt like the day was giving us a gift before anything formal had even begun. By the time the day went on, the weather cleared up nicely too, which somehow made it all feel even more meant to be.
The moment it truly hit me was when we arrived at the Botanic Gardens and met the registrar. I was 46 that day, and up until then I think I’d just been moving from one thing to the next, but standing there in the place where we were actually about to do it, I felt the gravity of it. The registrar was a bit of a character as well, which helped. He was very amused with himself, telling us he was a bit of a TV celebrity in France, and showing us his Instagram feed with his motorbikes and his travels. It was such an odd, funny little thing in the middle of this huge moment, and it made me smile.
It was a very small ceremony in the end. We’d had to find witnesses only hours before, so it was all a bit close for comfort. The witnesses were an Asian couple linked to a wedding planning agency. The lady was called Flora, and I honestly can’t remember the man’s name now. They did this sort of thing regularly, so they brought a calm to it. Flora took one of our phones and filmed bits of the ceremony and took photos for us, then they stood there and witnessed the signatures. For people we’d only just met, they became part of something very personal.
Laura looked beautiful. She was wearing a modern white dress, and I had on a blue suit I’d only bought the week before. It was just the two of us, the registrar, and the two witnesses there in the gardens, and I loved that. Nothing huge, nothing crowded, just us in that moment. Laura was excited and all loved up, and seeing her like that got me. When we said our vows, I welled up. I really did. After 16 years together, it all seemed to land in my chest at once.
We had music playing in the background, which made it even more us. It started with “Amie” by Damien Rice, then moved into “First Day of My Life” by Bright Eyes, which is our song. I used to play that to Laura on guitar, so hearing it there during our wedding felt very full-circle. Then as the ceremony finished, “Mr. Brightside” by The Killers came on, because that’s Laura’s favourite song. I still love that mix of tenderness and fun. It suited us.
There was another part of the story that still makes me smile. The day before, when we were in the government offices registering our documents, there was a Mexican couple there as well. We ended up realizing they were getting married in exactly the same spot as us, just 30 minutes before our ceremony. Then on the wedding day, they recognised us as they were leaving and were pleased to see us. Later that evening, Laura and I went out for a little bite at a nice Indian restaurant. They’d set out two tables for us, one indoors and one outdoors, depending on where we wanted to sit. And somehow, lo and behold, that same Mexican couple and their families were there too, right at the table next to us. So we ended up having a lovely chat and a really nice meal.
When I look back on the day, that’s what stays with me most. Not just the ceremony itself, but the whole feel of it. The dolphins that morning. The clouds clearing. The registrar showing off his bikes. The last-minute witnesses who helped make it happen. Laura in her dress. Me trying not to crack during the vows and not really managing it. And then ending the day with a good meal and strangers who somehow felt familiar by then. It was intimate, slightly improvised in places, emotional, and very much ours.