Leith nursing couple win dream wedding in competition for NHS frontline workers

A competition for NHS Scotland frontline clinical workers to win an all-inclusive dream wedding worth around £12,000 has been won by a couple who are both hospital staff nurses at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh (RIE).

Nurses Sarah Hunter and Greg Turner have won a wedding worth around £12,000 at Eskmills Venue just outside Edinburgh

Sarah Hunter, a nurse who cares for premature babies in the neonatal unit, and Greg Turner, a nurse caring for very poorly patients in the acute medical unit, are now looking forward to getting married at Eskmills Venue on Friday 12 February 2021.

The competition, which attracted almost 200 entrants was set up by award-winning caterers Hickory, the company that manages Eskmills Venue, was open to NHS Scotland hospital-based health practitioners and those involved in helping treat COVID-19 patients.

Sarah and Greg, who currently live together in Leith and have been together for nine years, haven’t been able to spend much time together recently as they often work opposite shifts at the RIE.

They have been exposed to COVID-19 while going into work each day and, with reduced visiting, they have also felt the impact of providing increased emotional support to patients and families.

Sarah and Greg’s prize is worth around £12,000 and the dream wedding includes exclusive use of Eskmills Venue, a converted riverside mill building in Musselburgh, for 80-day guests and an additional 40 evening guests. Drinks, canapes, and a 3-course wedding meal are included, alongside photography and videography from Tony Marsh Photography, classic wedding car from Edinburgh Classic Wedding Cars, a wedding dress from Christina Rae, a bagpiper from GD Bagpiping, kilt hire from 8 Yards, stationery from 2Flux Stationery Studio, flowers from Liberty Blooms, and a 3-tier wedding cake from Truly Scrumptious.

Sarah, who qualified as a nurse in 2015, and Greg who qualified in 2018 after several years as a support worker, met at Sarah’s mum’s wedding.

They got engaged in March last year during a trip to Venice to celebrate Sarah’s 26th birthday and began viewing wedding venues at the start of the year.

The couple are now looking forward to creating a rustic, laidback-style wedding, with lots of flowers and fairy lights.

Sarah said: “Working during the COVID-19 pandemic has been very tough, so finding out we’ve been lucky enough to win this prize is amazing and has really lifted our spirits. As well as the challenges at work, it’s affected us personally.

“We’ve been passing ships in the night due to our shift patterns and we have both been missing our friends and family too. Greg’s brother recently became a Dad for the first time and we haven’t been able to meet our new nephew, Theo, which has been sad.

“Our friends and family are a huge part of our lives so knowing that we have this to look forward to and can all be together on our big day at such a great venue gives us something to look forward to.”

Stephanie Stubbs, deputy managing director of Hickory, said: “Sarah and Greg are great examples of the amazing NHS frontline staff who are doing such incredible and selfless work during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We’re so pleased for them and we’re looking forward to working with them to make plans for their big day at Eskmills Venue.”

All those who entered the competition will be invited to a complementary party at Eskmills Venue later in the year, for an evening of food, drink and fun, once the lockdown restrictions have been lifted and guidance on social distancing provided.