Looking at these photographs you might think your eyes are deceiving you or you have double vision, but fear not.
There are in fact two almost identical Rolls-Royce cars and two identical drivers – identical twins to be exact.
Brian and Stuart Hector, owners of Carriages Vintage Car Hire, are no strangers to their situation causing confusion.
“We’ve got the bride coming out the house looking at us and looking at the cars and thinking ‘how many glasses of champagne did I just have before I left?'” Brian, 42, from Peterculter, joked.
The pair, along with their two wives, have been running the business for the past 12 years after buying it as a going concern.
It was a chance look at a newspaper advert that led them to venture into the car hiring business.
Brian said: “Stuart and his wife Nicola were going on holiday and they bought a newspaper at the airport before they left. They were looking through it and noticed that Carriages was up for sale.
“The more wine that they had when they were on holiday, the better the idea to buy it sounded, but they thought it was going to be too much to take on for two people so, when they came back, they got together with my wife Brenda and myself and we decided ‘yeah we could do this’.
“Stuart and I were brought up on a farm so obviously we had a fascination with all things mechanical as all little boys do. We had a couple of vintage tractors and we played around with them.
“We’d never really considered buying cars to hire out but when this opportunity came up it was just something we quite quickly decided to go for.”
As part of the business, Brian and Stuart inherited two Rolls-Royces, a 2025 model from 1935 and a 2530 model from 1937 as well as a Mercedes.
Recalling the first time he took the cars to a wedding, Brian described the experience as “petrifying”.
He added: “The very first wedding that we did was in Peterculter and it was obviously quite a big thing to do and we didn’t want to upset the bride.
“Stuart followed me in the Mercedes just in case anything went wrong so we had a back-up car. The bride and groom never knew that, but it was more peace of mind for me.
“After the first few weddings, we quite quickly got confident driving the old cars and gained confidence in their ability to drive from one place to the other without breaking down. We’ve never let anyone down over the years.”
As well as their “double act”, having two Rolls-Royces has also proved popular with brides and grooms to be, and is quite a rare thing to have.
“I think one Rolls-Royce at a wedding is nice, but we quite like having both doing the same wedding because seeing one driving along the road is special but to see one following the other is a far bigger wow factor,” Stuart said.
“In Aberdeen, it is very rare, I believe there are only one or two cars similar to ours. These cars are two of probably about four in Aberdeen that do weddings. I’m not aware of anyone else, there might be private collectors.”
With two cars and two brothers, I wondered if either of the vehicles had become a favourite for either of them?
“I don’t think Stuart and I have a particular favourite but a few years ago we decided that I would drive one and he drives the other.
“That was because with very old cars there’s no diagnostics or lights on the dashboard that tell you anything is going to go wrong.
“So what we decided was that if we drove the same car each week, because the cars handle slightly differently, we could understand and feel if something was not quite right with them.
“To Stuart and I, it sounds sad, but they are like our children; we understand how they operate, we get a feel if there is something not quite right with them and put things right before anything major happens.”
Brian and Stuart have spent over a decade getting to know the Rolls-Royce marque and Brian said the cars have been a “privilege to drive”.
“Every time I jump in the car and do a wedding or any kind of hire, I look down the bonnet of the car at the silver lady at the end with the ribbons and to me that is the main part of the Rolls. That’s the selling point and it just gives me a buzz every time I jump in the car,” Stuart said.
“Not a lot of people get a chance to drive a car like that and I get to do it and people pay me for it so it’s ideal.
“I just love the character of them that modern cars just don’t have.
“They do have a bit of a rattle and squeak to them, but we always joke to the bride and groom that if I was born in 1935 or 1937 I would probably rattle and squeak as well. It’s just part of the character of them. They are just delightful things to drive.”
Now the brothers have decided to sell the business as a going concern as their work and family commitments continue to grow.
Brian said: “When we took over the business 12 years ago, we didn’t have any kids at that point. Stuart now has a 10 year old and an eight year old and I have two eight-year-old twins and a five year old and now our kids are at the stage where they need dad about a wee bit more and we are wanting to do things at the weekend.
“We all have full-time jobs as well and we are away quite a lot and we are now having to hire people in to cover the weddings quite a lot.”
But far from giving it up entirely, Brian and Stuart said they would be happy to continue doing the occasional wedding with the new owners.
He added: “It’s just because it’s what we enjoy doing. Driving the cars is brilliant, but being part of someone’s big day makes it even more special. It’s a great way to spend your Saturday afternoon.”