Now I will tell you some of how the ceremony itself went.

It was held in the St. Thomas Church of the Nazarene in Paisley. The bride's parent attend the Church of the Nazarene in Houston, a nearby town, and I believe the officiating minister was from that church. That congregation, though, meets in a community hall, so the couple decided to marry in nearby Paisley. The Church of the Nazarene there worships in a lovely red sandstone church that could hold more people. It turned out to be a great venue, right in the center of town and within walking distance of the Town Hall, where they had the reception. A gorgeous church in it's own right.

The Church of the Nazarene is a worldwide Protestant religion in the Wesleyan-Arminian theological tradition, according to the net. It was founded in Kansas, actually, about a hundred years ago but is now all over. According to the lady I sat with, the ceremony was a combination of Church of the Nazarene traditions and modern touches, all with a Scots spin.

The most obvious Scots touch was the attire of the groom and grooms-men, as well as the father of the groom, who was actually English but as part of the wedding party got into the spirit of the occasion by dressing the same as the groom. All the men in the wedding party wore the formal kilt I mentioned in the dance entry, with the silver buttons. Instead of everyone wearing different tartans, though, they all wore the Robertson tartan. This one was chosen for several reasons: the bride has some ancestor's on her mother's side who belonged to that clan; the groom's father's name is Robet, so the groom really is Robert's son; and it has a great deal of red in it so it fit the bride's colors, which were a rich dark cherry red and white. They all wore the full traditional outfit, complete with the special kilt stockings pulled up with tartan flashes (little pointed flags of fabric in the tartan) on the top and the traditional spooran (fur covered silver trimmed bag hanging around the waist in front). To say it you enlongate the "oo" and roll the "r". This wedding guest at the reception was teaching me the true way to pronounce it. The wedding party on the groom's side looked fanastic! Much better than a stuffy suit, with huge long tails or long in front. I'm told in a traditional Scottish wedding the has only one attendant, the best man, but in this one he had two. He said later he just couldn't cut it down anymore. When they were introduced for the speeches (more on that later) they may have had the same last name, so perhaps they are brothers, but I'm not sure.

The bride and her attendants were lovely too. As is the fashion now in America too the bride chose the color and basic design but let each attendant choose the neckline and such. So in the end she had three attendants (Scottish brides can have as many as they want), two were her sisters and the last was a friend, all dressed in that dark cherry red satin. Kinda a combination between cherry and wine. Very lovely. It was a two piece ensamble, with the skirt going all the way to the floor and then a sleeveless tank style satin top, that either had two shoulder straps or a halter neck. The dress had some decoration too, like embroidery with thread that caught the light, I think. I couldn't quite tell.

The bride herself, Michelle, was gorgeous. She too wore satin, in a white color that looked creamy in the yellow light. It was two piece as well, with a bodice that laced up the back and a long full satin ball skirt with a bit of a train. Her long brown hair was artfully arranged on top of her head and a veil hung down beneath, tucked into her heair by means of a comb. The dress was embroidered and sparkled, like some tiny diamonds had been sen in amid the embroidery.　　Maybe it was just the thread catching the light again. It all looked great, though.

The flowers were simple and modern, as per the request of the bride. All along the front were bouquets of calla lillies, the theme flower, and bamboo stalks that had been trained into flat stacked circles on top, like elongated spirals. Very striking. Every other pew (all the pews were wooden) had a simple arrangemant of a small single calla lily, greenery and a maroon bow. The entire effect was very understated and classic.

As we entered the church the groom and his attendants were already up front. When word came about 20 minutes later that the bride had arrived and they were ready to start, they all disappeared into one of the rooms up front, behind and to the side of the alter, and re-emerged to formally take their place up front of the crowd. After that the bride walked down the aisle with her father. In Scotland the bride usually walks down the aisle first, before the bridesmaids, and as I recal Michelle followed that custom. In England they walk after, to help with the train, but I don't think extensive trains are common in Scotland.

The cermony itself was much like the protestant I am used to in the US, with friends and family reading scripture and readings chosen by the couple, hymns being sung by the assembled guests, and the exchanging of the vows. In this case the vows were had a traditional feel of the "for richer and poorer, In sickness and health, In good times and bad" language, but often with more modern sounding words. I also remember references to cherishing, honoring, and always being open and honest. Very moving vows. I don't remember all the details of the cermony to be honest because I was so excited and touched the whole time. They read a portion of The Prophet by Kahil Gibran, the part about friendship and marriage, that was so beautiful and appropriate. Everyone should read it. When I get home I want to get that book out of the library.

The main difference between US services and Scots' ones is that during the service the bride, groom, minister, indeed the entire wedding party and some of the guests (to serve as witnesses), leave the alter area and go to a foreroom to sign the register, which is what makes it official. This document is like a marriage license in the US, and is later taken to city hall or such and filed in the appropriate spot to make the marriage lawfull. Unlike in the US, they do that after the religious ceremony. This takes a few minutes so in the interim people talk amongst themselves and listen to lovely organ music the couple has chosen. Very nice little break.

The guests were from all over the world, so people wore everything from saris to kilts. Some wore traditional British wedding hats like me (loose woven very fine stiff straw with feathers, down, or feather pieces as decoration, often in white and/or black), though not as many as I had hoped. I think that is because this wasn't as formal a wedding as say, one the Queen of England would attend, and also it might be more of an English custom than a Scots one. Never forget that Scotland and England are two different nation by the way, especially while you are there. I got the impression the distinction is important for many reasons. And they both have their own Parliaments now, of course. But Scotland can't declare war on France or something on their own. I know; I asked. But back to the wedding guests - we were a diverse lot that were united in our love for the couple and our desire for their future happiness.

Later, something about Japan, which is Amazing!