US firefighters take vows at Glasgow fire station

The couple exchanged vows at a ceremony in Glasgow

Two firefighters have travelled almost 4,000 miles from the USA to confirm their vows at the Calton Community Fire Station in Glasgow.

Amanda Monroe and James Ownbey work together at the Glynn County Fire Department in Brunswick, Georgia.

On Monday afternoon, they celebrated in front of the local fire watch in Glasgow who stood in full uniform.

Both Amanda and James have family links to Scotland.

They legally married in the US before making the journey across the Atlantic to confirm their vows in Glasgow.

Amanda, 38, told BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland programme that she had always dreamed of visiting Scotland since her family name was Scottish and she wanted to make the event memorable.

"We wanted a destination wedding and we considered a few different places," said James, 42.

"But she's always wanted to go to Scotland - and I want to make her happy."

'Unique destination'

The couple contacted the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service to arrange a location in the country where they could confirm their vows in Scotland after the short official ceremony in the US.

They considered a few locations in Scotland before settling on the Calton Community Fire Station near Glasgow's Barrowland Ballroom.

"It was a unique destination for us," said Amanda.

"Most people from the states will go to the Bahamas or the Caribbean or something like that, but we decided that it would be unique to exchange our vows at the fire station.

"My ancestry is Scottish and it was important to my dad and I didn't know a whole lot about it so we're learning and vacationing at the same time."

The couple met in the fire service in the USA, where James has worked for 18 years and Amanda has served for three-and-a-half years.

They arrived at the fire station in a fire car and were piped inside by area commander David Murdoch.

Mr Murdoch welcomed the couple and said it was "massively important" to the team that they chose the Calton Community Fire Station.

"We're absolutely honoured that you've chosen this venue to confirm your vows with each other," he told them.

"Fire service families are always happy to support each other."

The couple held back tears as they recited their vows to each other in front of a fire engine in the station.

"It became a whole lot more than what we expected, but that makes it more memorable," said Amanda.

"Tonight we really want to hang out with the firefighters and then get some food."

Garry Marshall, group commander for the city of Glasgow, said: "They were just such a lovely couple and weren't expecting much, they just literally wanted to do their vows from the fire station.

"But we thought we could do a wee bit better than that for them.

"I've been in the service 20 years and I've never seen anything like this before.

"We're just trying to make their time in Scotland the best that it can be."

James said it was not unusual for firefighters to visit other stations around the world during their travels.

"It's a family," said Amanda. "We basically live together. In the states, most fire stations run a 24/48 schedule so you eat and live with your co-workers.

"You have a family bond, so it's like a large extended family in the fire service.

"We didn't think we were going to get this level of support, but we knew we could reach out to the fire service regardless of what country."

The couple said their US station would "absolutely" return the gesture for a Scottish firefighter who was keen to tie the knot across the pond.

Amanda added: "And we're not far from the beaches!"

They are keen to see the sights on their wedding trip, including venturing north of Inverness to the original home of the Monroe clan.

"We'd like to hang out at the fire station for a while and see the difference between the US fire service and the fire service over here," said James.

"And take the local area commander out for dinner to say thank you for arranging all of this for us.

"Garry has been great. If the firefighting doesn't work out, he should be a wedding planner."