The Open Book's First Bookshop Wedding
Couple Wed at World’s First Airbnb Bookshop
In a tale worthy of a romantic fiction bestseller the first ever wedding has taken place at the Open Book Airbnb bookshop.
Located in Wigtown, Scotland’s National Book Town and home to its world-famous annual festival, the Open Book is rented to people who adore the idea of spending their holiday running a bookshop.
But yesterday it had a very different role, becoming the focus for the fulfilment of a love story
that stretches back over the decades and which crosses continents.
During a small and intimate ceremony in the heart of the tiny rural Galloway town Aubree Williams and David Casey from the USA finally became husband and wife – 35 years after first meeting in Norman, Oklahoma, and falling in love.
David was a 23-year-old from Texas, attending the University of Oklahoma, and Aubree was 18 and came from Norman. Aubree said: “We met 35 years ago, it was our first proper adult relationship. But after a while we realised we were in over our heads. It was just too much for a couple of young kids, so we went our separate ways.”
Both married other people, with David returning to his home town of El Paso, Texas while Aubree stayed in Oklahoma where she has a career in marketing.
Reconnecting after 20 years
The pair reconnected through social media after 20 years but the connection was distant for a long time, simply exchanging birthday and Christmas greetings. But later, when going through a divorce, Aubree found she needed someone outside her family and social circle – with a fresh perspective – to talk to and the friendship with David was truly rekindled. “It was so good to have someone to really talk to again,” she said.
But in 2024 Aubree, an avid reader since the age of three with a particular taste for books about human endurance, found another, very different love – The Open Book.
She says: “It had always been my dream to run a dusty little bookshop, to not have to care about making a ton of money, but just to share my love of books and reading.
Favourite Country in the World
“And there it was, this Airbnb that let you do that, and in my favourite country in the world.
“I followed what people said about it on Facebook and couldn’t believe it. No place could be that lovely, that magical.
“My sister and I booked it in 2022 and came over in March of 2024. When we arrived we found it was true. I just fell in love with the people and the place, and I left part of my soul there.”
When Aubree and David (a keen fantasy and sci fi reader) decided to wed the question came up of where to have the ceremony and David had a great idea.
He said: “We had thought about just a register office, or perhaps Las Vegas, but I knew she felt that part of her soul is in Wigtown so that seemed the obvious place – I want to marry Aubree in her entirety.”
They contacted Wigtown Festival Company (WFC), which runs the Open Book (established more than a decade ago as the world’s first Airbnb bookshop), to ask if it would be possible.
Because the Open Book is booked up for a long time in advance, the company contacted the people who were due to be the tenants at the time the couple wanted to wed and asked if they minded hosting the special event.
The Bookshop at the Heart of Stories
Anne Barclay, WFC operations director and one of the bride and groom’s witnesses, said: “The Open Book has a very special magic and has become the bookshop at the heart of stories rather than just selling them.
“It simply couldn’t be more romantic – a teenage couple who were too young to make it work coming back together after decades and travelling thousands of miles to wed in the Scottish town where the bride feels part of her soul resides.
A Wonderful Love Story
“It’s a wonderful love story and we were delighted to be able to help Aubree and David fulfil their dream. We all wish them every happiness for the future and hope they will return to visit us again in the future.”
Current Open Book tenants, German authors Heike Wolter and Julia Dahlke, said they were overjoyed when they were asked if the wedding could be staged in the shop during their stay.
The civil ceremony was followed by afternoon tea, hosted by Cafe Rendezvous, then a handfasting was planned in the village kirkyard, and the couple were then heading off grid for a week to enjoy an undisturbed honeymoon.
The wedding takes place shortly before the annual Wigtown Book Festival which runs from 26 September to 5 October and features more than 200 events and activities.
