Couple to marry after tears of joy at surprise proposal
IT TOOK 34 years until there was a marriage proposal, but once it happened there was no stopping Gay Gilman and Julie Taylor, who will be married in Alderney today after just a two-day engagement.
Julie Taylor originally planned to propose to Gay Gilman during Milk-o-Punch traditions in May.
The happy couple are part of 10 friends known as the Guernsey Girls who attend that event yearly, but could not this year due to Covid-19. Instead the well-planned proposal took place on Thursday at Gay’s childhood family Alderney home and the girls planned the party.
Guernsey girl Jayne Langlois said: ‘Gay is originally from Alderney and is 80 years old.
‘They’ve been together for 34 years, and she didn’t know she was getting married this weekend. Both are taking the name Gilman.’
‘The two of them came up on Monday and had been reminiscing on where she was born.’
On Wednesday the rest of the girls arrived.
‘We’ve organised a secret wedding party, cakes and everything. We’ve done it all without her knowing.’
The engagement came as a happy surprise despite being long-awaited.
‘When Julie asked to marry her she couldn’t believe it. When she was told the wedding will be on Saturday 25 July she burst into tears.’
Two of the girls – Tracy and Gail Simon – are nieces of Miss Gilman, whose parents were Charlie and Eva Gilman.
From Alderney she moved to Guernsey in 1977.
The group believe they will be the first Alderney-born gay couple to be married in the island.
Brothers and sisters will be travelling up from Guernsey today bar one brother, Michael, who is in Ireland and cannot travel due to Covid-19 restrictions.
