Jeni Brown was brought up to always to go after what she wanted rather than waiting for things to come to her.
She was visiting family in September 2003 when she bumped into her future husband Ian at the local pub in Hatton, Aberdeenshire — the Station Hotel.
While sitting at the bar waiting for her parents to finish their drinks, Bat Out of Hell began blaring from the jukebox… and Ian sang along word for word. This caught Jeni’s attention, leading to a short but sweet conversation between the pair.
Ian didn’t know it yet, but within months, Jeni would be getting down on one knee and proposing to him.
Weeks flew by after their first meeting, during which Jeni moved to Hatton and started working the night shift at Murdoch Allan Bakery. And to her surprise, Ian was one of the bakers already employed there.
It must be fate, she thought.
After glancing at him and making the odd comment here and there, Jeni decided to bite the bullet and ask for his number. They arranged a date for New Year’s Eve at 7.30pm.
How Ian and Jeni’s first date went…
For their first date, Jeni and Ian decided to go to the pub together.
It so happened that Jeni’s flat was at the opposite end of the street Ian lived on, so it was decided that he would wander down to pick her up and they’d head over to the pub together.
Before she knew it, 7.30pm came, then 8pm… so Jeni phoned his house number.
It turned out that Ian had gone to the pub himself as he’d been waiting at the wrong flat and believed she had stood him up — of course, she thought he had done the same to her.
All heads turned as she appeared at the bar, a stranger no one had met, and walked straight up to Ian.
“I gave him a kiss on the cheek and that was that!” laughed Jeni.
“We were together all of January and February, but I knew by the end of January that he was the one! Gentle, funny, liked the same music, both supported Aberdeen FC, and we spoke for hours… it was as if we’d known each other for years.”
How she proposed to him on a leap year
It so happened that 2004 was a leap year, so she went to the jewellers and bought a ring. Ian had invited her along to his friend’s engagement party at the Seaview Hotel in Boddam — where Jeni was born and raised — so she took it as a sign and thought it would be the perfect place to pop the all-important question.
During the band’s interval, Jeni made her way to the middle of the dance floor and shouted for Ian to join her.
She recalled: “When he approached, I got down on one knee and proposed. He said yes! His friends came running in all directions to congratulate us.”
Jeni and Ian’s wedding
Ian and Jeni tied the knot at the Buchanness Hotel – which sadly is no longer in business – in October 2004, aged 35 and 39 respectively.
As this was her second marriage, the idea of a ‘picture-perfect’ wedding went out the window as the pair just wanted to have fun and take photos of them being who they were (hence this incredible picture on the pool table).
The wedding guests were also in for a treat — Ian’s friends decided to surprise everyone with Ann Summers animal pants they’d be hiding under their kilts — but we will leave that to the imagination!
Two decades on, what’s the secret to a long and happy marriage?
On October 2 this year, Jeni and Ian will have been married for two decades.
She said: “He is my best friend and I love him just as much if not more than I did back then, and I wouldn’t want to be without him and our brilliant life together.”
So what is their secret to having a happy relationship?
Jeni said: “Listening to each other and talking things out; there might be two of you in the marriage but it’s only one life together. Never forget to tell them you love them each night, and definitely don’t go to sleep angry at one another, no matter what!”
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