A KIND couple will give their nuptials a benevolent twist by giving up gifts and asking guests to make a donation to Ardgowan Hospice.

Ross Kelly from Greenock and his fiancee Gail Anderson will marry in July at Arta in Glasgow, surrounded by close family and friends.

But rather than receive presents they would rather a good cause benefits from their wedding day.

Gail said: "We know people want to give something, but we have lived together for six years and managed to buy our own flat in 2017.

"We are fortunate enough to have everything we need to start married life together.

"The charity gift idea was a good solution as we know our guests would like to buy a present and this allows them to give us the best gift, a donation to a cause close to our hearts."

The couple, who are both 29, say Ardgowan Hospice is close to their hearts.

Almost two years ago, Ross's granda Ian McPhail, who was also known as John, was due to receive end of life care at Ardgowan.

He sadly passed away the evening before beginning care at the hospice however, the patient and family support team had been working alongside other health professionals to support him

Ross said: "My family knew that the care and support he would receive in the hospice would be second to none and although my granda never quite made it to Ardgowan, they seemed like the perfect choice when choosing a charity.

"I wanted it to be local and mean something."

Ross believes his grandather would be delighted to see money being raised for such an important local cause.

He added: "My granda wasn't a man of a lot of words but I think it's the sort of thing he would be on board with.

"I think he would be pleased."

Elaine McNeill, a fundraising officer at Ardgowan Hospice, says they are honoured by Ross and Gail’s thoughtful choice of a charity gift list.

She said: “This is the first time anyone has fundraised in this way for the hospice.

"Ross and Gail are the trailblazers and we hope this idea catches on.

"It is a fantastic way to raise awareness of the work we do and also raise the vital funds we need to support the in-patient unit, day hospice and community services we offer.

"The hospice needs to raise £2.3 million a year by charitable means to maintain our services, so we are always looking for new ways to make it easy and convenient for people to support us.

"A charitable wedding gift is just one of those ways that will help."

Ross, who works in design and print, and Gail, a scientist who is now in pharmaceutical procurement, are looking forward to their big day on July 28.

The couple have set up a Just Giving page https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/rossandgailwedding