Staff at Campbeltown Registrar’s office held their first ever renewal ceremony last week.

Kevin and Tracy Thomson from Livingston celebrated their silver wedding anniversary while on holiday in Southend with friends and family.

To mark the special occasion, the couple wanted to renew their wedding vows and contacted the Registrar’s Office in Campbeltown for advice.

Campbeltown Registrar Julie McLellan said: “Kevin and Tracy contacted me the day before their anniversary to ask if I could assist them with a re-affirmation of vows the following day as their original plans had fallen through. Although it was last minute, I made sure we did the best that we could to make their day really special.

“I met with them on the Thursday afternoon and drafted a ceremony, which included all their requests to make it personal to them, including a surprise from their children who presented them with new rings to mark the occasion.”

The ceremony was conducted on Friday 18August by Julie, in the Lady Linda memorial garden, with the couple’s friends and family by their side, some of whom had travelled from abroad to be there.

Argyll and Bute Council’s Policy Lead for Corporate Services, Councillor Rory Colville said: “Congratulations to Mr and Mrs Thomson on renewing their wedding vows.

“People tend to think that registrars can only do marriages, but they can perform a variety of ceremonies, including the renewal of vows and naming ceremonies for children and babies.

“Well done to the registrar staff in Campbeltown for pulling out all the stops to enable the ceremony to take place”.

Talking afterwards, Mrs Thomson said: “My daughter called the office as my husband and I were wanting to renew our wedding vows.

“It was the day before our 25th wedding anniversary and our original plans were not working out. She spoke with Julie McLellan who was extremely helpful and we arranged to meet her later that afternoon.

“She has great customer service skills, made us feel at ease and ensured us that we were able to put our own input into the service. I cannot praise Julie and her professionalism enough.”

If you would like more information about Argyll and Bute registrars and ceremonies, email: registrationenquiries@argyll-bute.gov.uk