Katell and Matt Nicholls at their wedding in St Tugual’s Chapel. (0665997)

ON A blustery, rainy November day the entire island met in the bright glow of St Tugual’s Chapel for the wedding of Matt Nicholls and the former Katell Murphy.

Showers, hailstones and force-seven gales did nothing to quell love’s young dream and may in fact have added to the authenticity of the traditional Scottish wedding.

Admin assistant Katell is a true islander who, having spent part of her childhood in Paris, was brought up on the Isle of Skye, where her family still live.

She came to Herm in March 2005 and has since turned her hand to many different summer jobs.

Matt moved to the island the following April to skipper the cargo boat Sea Horse and assist the engineer.

According to Katell, the romance began, as many great love stories do, with their eyes meeting across a bar.

That was just over two years ago and they’ve been the perfect couple ever since.

Matt proposed last year, on a trip to Katell’s beloved Paris.

The couple originally planned to marry in Sri Lanka and started planning their wedding for early 2009. But political troubles there made them rethink and when the opportunity to marry in the chapel came up, they were delighted and decided to have the winter wedding they had always dreamed of.

Despite the weather, the male members of the wedding party braved the elements to don kilts. Even Matt, who is from Cornwall, proudly wore his Cornish kilt in the true tradition.

The service was conducted by the Rev. Richard Bellinger and organist Jo Grimshaw opened with the Bridal Chorus from Lohengrin by Wagner.

After the vows, Katell’s younger sister, Maya McCulloch, read from 1 Corinthians 13, verses 1-8, in Gaelic. This was translated by Mel Brown, who had earlier decorated the church with flowers, candles and ivy.

Katell’s mother Alyson McCulloch read an extract from Fidelity by D.H. Lawrence.

A reception lunch and evening function was held at the Mermaid Tavern, with the party going on well into the night.

Mr and Mrs Nicholls are beginning their married lives with a honeymoon spent sailing in Thailand.