Edinburgh wedding delight as nearly £5,000 of bets paid out after Calcutta Cup draw

Yvonne and Hector Falconer at their wedding. Picture: TSPL

She did the maths to make her speech therapist sister Yvonne’s marriage to Hector Falconer go with a swing after a string of punts with bookmakers William Hill on the draw at 33-1 as wedding presents.

And the remarkable rugby tie at Twickenham was the undercard for the Falconer’s wedding at St Giles’ Cathedral followed by a reception at the opulent Mansfield Traquair.

The bridesmaid and her husband Alan, 51, slipped into the William Hill on Ferry Road to place her 190 wedding gift bets, costing £320, on the Six Nations Auld Enemy clash.

Guests enjoyed the wins. Picture: Claire Fleck Photography.

And 75 of the slips costing a total of £140 were on the long-shot draw at 33-1 for a total payout of £4,760.

The winning bets included 65 for a quid, five for a fiver and five for a tenner for guests, who had travelled from among other places the USA. All the bets were placed over the counter.

The other slips on the guests’ place settings were 95 costing £160 on the Scotland win at 7-1 as most guests were Scottish like their hosts and 20 costing £20 for the English guests on England at 1-14 favourites.

“It’s crazy. We put on a random set of bets to cover every result,” she said. “I’d only gambled once before in my life. Five of the guests won £330 each – they were delighted.”

Rugby mad City high-flier Hector, who has debenture tickets at Murrayfield, and his university sweetheart bride Yvonne found the only opening for their fantastic wedding at the city’s two most sumptuous marital locations was the day of the match.

Proud Scot Hector, 31, wore his kilt for the occasion and Yvonne, 32, organised haggis for the reception, which was traditionally piped in for the guests, many of whom came from London, where the pair now live.

The groom’s speech got a massive clap, but the biggest cheer of the day at the wedding venue arguably came almost immediately afterwards as guests discovered the incredible match, which saw England leading 31 to nil at one point had astonishingly ended 38-38 after Scotland went 31-38 ahead before injury time.

Yvonne said: “It was hilarious. And then incredible when the news came through that it was a draw. Hector and I go to all the Scotland matches at Murrayfield, so the betting slips were just meant to be a bit of fun.”

Investment boss Hector added: “It was such an unlikely result. It added to the joy of the day.”

William Hill spokesman Rupert Adams said: “As an Englishman I can say I hope they are as lucky in their marriage as Scotland were on Saturday.

“With a result like that on their wedding day, it must be a match made in heaven.”