Bride reunites with flower girl and bridesmaid from 1942 wedding for her 100th birthday celebrations

Mary Mullen, a resident at the Royal Blind care home in Liberton Brae, marked her centenary in style with dozens of family and friends including a bridesmaid and flower girl from her wedding in 1942.

She was joined by staff and fellow residents at Braeside House on Saturday along with her six grandchildren, ten great grandchildren and other loved ones.

Edinburgh's oldest volunteer turns 100 as city hails her work

Mary with her maid of honour and flower girl.

Mary’s daughter, Myra, says her mother was on ‘fabulous form’ at her birthday celebrations.

Myra said: "She was on such remarkable form on Saturday. It was absolutely wonderful and we all expected her to be pretty zonked out, but I have to say she had a few glasses of red wine, which might have helped her to sleep for 24 hours afterwards.

"She’s still with it anyway, she’s not lost her marbles by any means."

Before spending 20 years nursing elderly patients at Queensberry House Hospital, Mary worked in Bangour Hospital during the Second World War tending badly burnt airmen who had been shot down.

A photograph from Mary's wedding day in 1942.

In 1942 she married her husband, Andrew, who passed away in 2007. Mary's sister, Nan Moore, a bridesmaid on that day 77 years ago alongside cousin and flower girl Betty Gunn, both joined in the celebrations.

Speaking about having the three of them back together for Mary’s 100th, Myra said: “They don’t all live locally in Edinburgh, so they don’t get the chance to see each other that often. Betty lives in Falkirk and my aunt Nan lives in Clackmannan so at the age they are they don’t travel very often.

“The thing about reaching such an advanced age is that most of your friends have died before you, so it’s nice that so many of the surviving ones were able to come as well as my own friends and family and my husband’s family."

'It was wonderful'

A total of 70 guests were piped in, filling out the sitting and dining room at Braeside where they ate, drank and honored Mary’s centenary.

Speaking about what it was like turning 100 and having all her family with her, Mary said: “It was wonderful, I just wish I had it all over again”.

Asked her secret to reaching the milestone age, she replied: “I don’t know, I think it’s because I loved what I was doing and if you’re helping other people then you’re helping yourself and I’ve had a really lovely family.

“If you help someone, they will help you, and always look on the bright side, not on the dull side."

Mary requested that guests make donations toward Braeside House instead of buying her gifts, and more than £500 has been raised for the care home which houses elderly, visually impaired and disabled residents.

Myra has paid tribute to the staff and residents at Braeside for giving her mum ‘a new lease on life’ since moving there three and a half years ago, saying: “It’s wonderful because they stimulate the residents so well and keep them happy and active and their activities are wonderful.

"That’s really helped mum because she was feeling quite isolated and lonely and was housebound before she went in there."