Couple have white wedding at the top of Ben More on Mull

A bride who shunned a traditional wedding to marry her fiancé in a secret ceremony on a Scottish mountain had a white wedding after all.

Snow storms swept across Ben More on Mull as Becky Holdstock and Rob Everitt hiked up the mountain to tie the knot on Monday, with dogs Benny and Lindy in tow as best man and bridesmaid.

The wedding party included Argyll and Bute Council’s registrar, Andrew Penny, who went beyond the call of duty to climb the mountain to perform the ceremony.

Mull residents John Wilson and Sarah Palmer, who volunteered to be witnesses, also trekked up the hill along with Mull-based photographer Richard Kellett.

The new Mrs Everitt, 29, a member of Dartmoor Mountain Rescue Group, who wore full hiking gear for her wedding, said: “The wedding went ahead, in the snow. There were snow showers on the way up and the way down.

“It was mountain weather and we didn’t make it right to the top as, when we were walking up there, it was really windy, it blew me over, and Sarah.

“Near the top of Ben More there is a crag and we didn’t want somebody slipping and hurting themselves.”

Mr Everitt, 36, a river officer with Dart Harbour and Navigation Authority, said: “I think we were about 650 metres up Ben More when we got married.”

The couple, who have been together for ten years, said they did not want a big white wedding so had decided to keep their outdoor ceremony a secret from family and friends back home in Ponsworthy, Devon.

The bride, a marina assistant, said: “The big wedding dress and big fancy hotel really isn’t me. I felt I would like to do something more creative.”

They plumped for a mountain wedding as they both love the great outdoors.

Mrs Everitt said: “I wore my hiking gear, with my Dartmoor Search and Rescue red jacket. My hiking boots are more important to me than a pair of nice shoes.

“Rob did say it was a shame we wouldn’t be dressed up smart for our wedding, so we got dressed up for a nice meal in a restaurant afterwards.”

The couple, who are now on honeymoon on Mull, had not planned any traditional touches like wedding flowers, but the bride got a surprise when their witness, Ms Palmer, produced a surprise bouquet for her which she had carried up the mountain.