Here submitted for your perusal are the best pictures from the Scotland leg of my world trip. Scotland for me was really just the wedding of my friend Michelle to her long-time beau, Gareth. I arrived on a Friday, the wedding was Saturday and I was gone by Monday. So pretty much I just went to the wedding, which started officially at 2 p.m. (so of course we got there earlier), and continued well past midnight. When I left at 12:30 am there were still folks chatting and dancing at the reception, though the staff was trying to get people to leave so they could go home themselves. Great wedding I must say. One of the best. Do try to have a Scottish wedding if you have any say in the matter. I recommend them highly.

Read on to see my three favorite photos by clicking the links.

I will no doubt repeat some things I said in the entry I posted at the time of the wedding. This will save you (and me) the trouble of re-reading it.

The day dawned cloudy and cool, but a bit of a wind promised to shake those clouds loose. This picture of the groom (left) and one of the two best men (right) was taken in front of the red sandstone church in which the ceremony was performed. At this point the clouds were still with us and a gentle light filtered through. They are both wearing the Robertson clan tartan, the wedding party's tartan. The bride had some Robertson clan ties through her mother, and the groom's father is named "Robert", so the groom actually WAS Robert's son. So it worked on many levels. If you look closely you can see their thistle boutonnieres, which they wore because the thistle is the symbol of Scotland. The Welsh symbol, by the by, is the leek, owing to an epic battle fought in a leek field there. True story! The English emblem is, of course, the rose.

Groom and Best Man

Back to the wedding though, held in Paisley, outside Glasgow, in western Scotland. Here you can see that the clouds have parted some, allowing shafts of sunlight to break through. We also see the happy couple, newly made husband and wife, and posing gallantly for pictures outside the church. As I recall they then got into a waiting white town car that took them to the reception area. Most of the guests simply walked, as it was just a few dozen steps through a parkland area by foot. It was probably longer by car, but it is always nice to have the drama of everyone emerging from a fancy car. I really like this picture. Don't they look stunning?

The Happy Couple

In this last one we find your humble chronicler in a large English wedding hat bought especially for the occassion (you know I never pass up an opportunity to wear a hat, and the hats at an English wedding are famous! Several of us had nice ones. It was fun!) with two other guests wear traditional Scottish regalia. I learned at this wedding that it is a "tartan", not a "pattern" or a "plaid". And the phrase is "Which (or whose) tartan are you wearning?" not "What does your pattern mean?". Remember that the next time you are attending a traditional Scottish wedding, which you should as soon as possible.

Be my guest

Thank you Michelle and Gareth for inviting me! I had a wonderful time!