Hiya Folks,
Hope you've all had a great start to the festive season,
This is a quick share in case you've not seen it yet...a montage of some of the best, strangest, funniest and just lovely bits & pieces of some weddings that my esteemed colleagues have been involved in!

New HSS Wedding Film

Crieff Hydro with Katie & Laurie ( & Baxter the dog! )

This is just a taster of Katie & Laurie's day, as I couldn't resist putting up this wee film by David Gillan Photography, so waiting for the photos to accompany it was not an option - (now added!)

Between all the wee bits of the ceremony and the rest of the day that are shown though, you really do get an idea of the spirit of the occasion, and the warmth and humour they managed to imbue it with.......and just how much Baxter the dog means to them both!

Baxter is in fact a bit of a celebrity in his own right. Katie voluntarily runs Missing Pets Perth & Kinross and the Perthshire Dog Friendly website with places to eat with your pooch around here…and as she often puts up photos, Baxter has some pretty devoted fans - some of whom even sent congratulations cards to the Bride and Groom - via a favourite dog friendly cafe - when they read about the upcoming wedding!

BAXTER IN FULL HIGHLAND DRESS & KATIE READY TO WALK DOWN THE AISLE

Although I'd never met Katie before we started planning the wedding, I know her Mum and Step Dad pretty well, and have worked with Laurie a few times over the years...way back, Laurie worked with Katie's folks as a funeral director so we met first in that context, but he now runs the Highland Fling Bungee Jump place at Killiecrankie - and guided myself and my bungee jumping wedding couple through the safety and rigmarole of that crazy day! ( Bungee Jump Wedding! )

Katie and Laurie went for something a little more dignified - and the venue of course had to be dog friendly! - and it really was a lovely day altogether, with a very relaxed atmosphere despite the rather grand setting of the drawing room at the Hydro, the mood helped a lot by the fact that the bride was pretty chilled, and the groom more excited than nervous, and that seemed to keep everyone on an even keel!

There were lots of lovely elements to the day ( I was crazy about Katie's dress! Spot the wee Jewel on the chain down her back!) and I’ll write about more of them once I have the photos to add…but for now here is the poem that was read by Bridesmaid Robyn as they stood with their hands bound…There are several that seem to fit this spot – some serious, and some not so much – but I never tire of hearing this one read with feeling, by someone who loves them, as they think about the vows they are about to exchange…

The blessing of the hands 

These are the hands of your best friend,   

young and strong and full of love for you,

that are holding yours on your wedding day,

as you promise to love each other

today, tomorrow, and forever. 

These are the hands that will work alongside yours,

as together you build your future.       

These are the hands   

that will passionately love you

and cherish you through the years,

and with the slightest touch, will comfort you like no other. 

These are the hands

that will hold you when fear or grief fills your mind.

These are the hands

that will countless times wipe the tears from your eyes;

tears of sorrow, and tears of joy. 

These are the hands

that will tenderly hold your children.

These are the hands

that will help you to hold your family as one. 

These are the hands

that will give you strength when you need it.

And lastly, these are the hands

that even when wrinkled and aged,

will still be reaching for yours,

still giving you the same unspoken tenderness

with just a touch.

Poem: sadly anonymous

 Video by: David Gillan Photography
 Still pictures by  Crieff Photography

CAKE!

This is one of my favourite subjects...for all the yummy reasons I can think of...and the options and approaches that all you wedding folk take are amazing...from the exquisite delicacy of perfect sugar paste roses,  black lace or the story of your lives - to cheese & fruit, Lego cake stands, art attack projects, and my own personal favourite...the Cake Table.

where do you even start?

The cake table is (I think?) quite a new idea for weddings, and is very simple, will appeal to every single one of your guests, and is very cheap...in fact it often costs nothing at all...
You just write a list of all the best bakers who are coming to the wedding(and your aunties neighbour who does the Cherry Bakewell too!) and ask them to bring you their very best version of their very best cake...their own perfect show stopper signature cake to use the Bake Off parlance...

These are then all placed on the same table, and your guests get to indulge as they like...so if Tarte Tatin is your all time favourite, then get stuck in! Brownies? over there...individual carrot cake with a half inch of cream cheese & lime topping? oh HELL yes..

Now, I am not against traditional wedding cakes in ANY way shape or form...but as a true cake lover, I want ALL the cake, not just a sliver of one kind with my coffee, which is as much as a lot of folk want...but then I see a confection like this rose extravaganza below, and I just love the artistry and effort...and in this case, spend ages trying to take a decent picture of it!

How beautiful are these roses? Just perfect.

Cake toppers have been getting crazier, more accurate and more fun too...Cally & Ryan pictured here had movie references throughout their ceremony so having them in the cinema with their box of popcorn made absolute sense...and the colourful ones I've seen a few of this year have been just beautiful...with the one on the right here all the flowers, toadstools and leaves were 3 D, rather than flat, and so beautifully made.

The Lego Cake stand here was the attraction rather than the cake itself...and is actually from one of my very earliest weddings, and I just found this picture in a random folder recently...which started my cake collection photo file!It really was a proper feat of engineering, and was a a cause of endless discussion before and after the ceremony...with actual arguments breaking out about the flying buttresses!

The one on the left here was a very elegant piece, and the flower were all the decor...as they were across the board that day...all the dresses, settings and the cake too were very simple and plain, but adorned with the themed flowers. A lovely idea...
and right, we have the love story of Andy & Ange, which I think I have on another post too...their dogs fell in love first on the meadows in Edinburgh under the cherry blossom...

On the right here we have 'naked' cake...with loads of cream and fruit, so actually quite simple, but looks amazing, and seriously yummy too...Then last but not least one of my all time favourites: Rainbow cake - which went with the rainbow bouquets,  rainbow table names, rainbow chair bands....
Incidentally, all the Groomsmaids were
dressed in Black - each of them carrying one of the bouquets you see here, and a matching ribbon to handfast the grooms together. Loved it!





PS: Every time I see the word CAKE in capital letters I think of this illustrated story...and now that CAKE is on my blog, I see it often.
If you have ever been a small child with a sweet tooth this may resonate with you...or if you're a parent, it may serve as a warning about the dangers of thwarting such a child...
This has absolutely nothing to do with weddings at all, and is only about the overwhelming desire for cake, but I suspect a few of you might enjoy it:
http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.co.uk/2010/10/god-of-cake.html

What’s in a name?

Last Sunday young master Ellis Alexander Hepburn celebrated his naming day with his family and friends.

He turned one just the week before, and we ended with a truly rousing rendition of Happy Birthday, but there were lots of other elements to the occasion too, both as part of the ceremony, and the party.

I got to know Ellis’s parents a wee bit when I conducted their wedding in the Gardens at Inchyra Byre back in 2014, so was properly chuffed when they wrote asking how the Naming thing might work…which is a very good question!

 

Like our wedding and funeral ceremonies, a naming is written just for you, and will be about the child themselves in most cases, but may also be about what is important in their lives, and the lives of those around them.

They can take place anywhere, and at a time that will suit the baby or the family, or both. So Ellis’s do was at the local Bowling Club where his Granddad was a member for many years, and has been a focus of family life for a long time…
Stephanie, Ellis’s Mum even working behind the bar there when she was a student!

There is a pretty endless list of things that can happen at a naming, from words, thoughts laughs and disasters shared, to symbolic gestures, such as lighting candles, giving special gifts, or even planting a tree or making pledges or vows to the baby.

You can have a good play on the web finding things that appeal to you, but ‘usually’ we have poems, and occasionally a song, a bit about the family and the pregnancy, a bit about the Guide Parents (or Odd Parents?) if you're having any, and why they’ve been chosen, and sometimes a bit from them too, perhaps about what they are looking forward to sharing with the wee one as they grow up.

Depending on the age of the baby or child, once you know a bit about their character, it can be nice to talk about who they are becoming too, as well as how the family and parents and those around them might be instrumental in their lives at different stages. 

If the wee one has older siblings or is part of a larger or extended family group, then big sisters and brothers, cousins, step Sib's or whoever might want to take a key role in welcoming their new partner in crime.

I got together with Stephanie, Steve and wee Ellis a few months ago to talk through all that, and we came up with a shortlist of what they fancied over the cups of tea (and I even got a proper snugly baby cuddle, 'cause Ellis is friendly like that!?!), then I sent them a question list of things they’d need to think about, write or tell me, and roughed a draught out for them once I had all that - plus my notes, and we even managed to adapt their own marriage vows into their pledges to their son.

So last Sunday, that all came together with a MONSTER theme.

Awesome cake, loads of colour and a veritable ocean of children and food. There were toys and games, fizz for the grown ups and a soft play area set up once the ceremony bit was over. They also had a Time Capsule chest for everyone to put gifts into for when he's 18...so lots of imaginative and hilarious offerings in there, along with a copy of the ceremony and the certificate his parents and odd parents signed.  There was a collection too for the Sick Kids Hospital in Edinburgh, where Ellis had spent a few days as a tot.

The photos from the naming are by the lovely and very patient Kirsty McLachlan will hopefully set the scene for the wee excerpts of the ceremony I’ve put in below...link to her details is at the bottom.

A properly lovely day, and huge thanks to Steve, Stephanie and all their guests for letting me post all this, and last but not least thank you to Ellis for being so incredibly patient and cheerful at his ceremony...and I hope your Dad remembers all your guests (and your celebrant!) when you lift the Webb Ellis Trophy for the Scottish Rugby team, and he wins a monstrous huge prize on that sneaky wee wager he made at the bookies the day they officially registered your name!!

"…and we’re going to start with some advice, for Ellis from his big Cousin Skye"

Jump in puddles
Dance in the rain
Play in the mud
Don’t worry about stains

Go barefoot
Wear clothes that don’t match
Lay on the ground
Enjoy the feel of the grass

Laugh out loud
Catch a snowflake on your tongue
Enjoy every moment
Of being young

+++

Parent Pledges

Ellis, your parents promise to love & support you

give you the best of themselves

listen to you, trust you and respect you as your own person

remind you that you are not expected to be perfect

cherish & guide you

help you learn right from wrong

share with you their time and attention

show you how to respect others & the world around you

bring joy, strength and imagination to your life

encourage your dreams and help shoulder your challenges

be there whenever you need them

and laugh with you every day.

They also promise to

Let you jump in puddles, dance in the rain, climb trees and roll in the mud, 

no matter how much mess it will make

Tell you frequently how much they love you and how proud they are of you, 

 even when it makes you cringe

And, most importantly, 

never forget how lucky they are to be your parents and be the best parents they can be.

Stephanie and Steve also make the same promises to Ellis that they made to each other on their wedding day:

Ellis, today before your family and our friends

Your parents proudly acknowledge you as their son

Loving what they know of you,

and trusting what they do not yet know,

they look forward to the laughter

and falling in love with you a little more every day.

Whatever your future may hold,

they will always, always be there for you.

Stephanie and Steve, do you undertake to try and fulfil these aims?

We do

 

+++

 

Photos by

Kirsty McLachlan

http://www.kirstymclachlan.com/

Murthly Castle: Max & Hannah

Photographs by Ricky Baillie

I'm very excited to share these pictures, and had a hard time choosing as you can see...While the actual ceremony was in Murthly Castle Chapel, with the reception in a Triple Tepee in the walled garden there, the Brides Team got ready at Eastwood House, and the Grooms Team got ready at Dunkeld House - so between them they covered almost all my most local venues...in fact a few photos over at the Hermitage would have completed the set!

Anyway, the Chapel is amazing in many ways...the colours, the history, the artworks, the positive feel of the place, and indeed the family who care for it and by whom it is still used by as a place of worship, as well as allowing Humanist's like myself to conduct ceremonies there.

...and although I've conducted several over the years, I have so far failed spectacularly to get any decent photos...So Hannah sending these through and saying I can take my pick pretty much made my day, and I couldn't wait to get them up here! 

Photographs by Ricky Baillie

 Hannah & Max fell in love with the place on their first speculative visit, and wanted to get all the family and friends away from the usual haunts in Edinburgh for the celebrations.

They'd been together for over 10 years already, and are very close to all of each others families and friends, so there weren't going to be any awkward introductions or quiet tables at the meal, and that familiarity also meant that they felt comfortable enough to be absolutely themselves, and pretty relaxed - even in all their finery, and standing in front of everyone.

Photographs by Ricky Baillie

Who says veils don't work on windy days? Depends what you want to use them for!

Photographs by Ricky Baillie

In contrast to the drama of the setting the ceremony itself was elegantly simple and flowed beautifully, with a string quartet playing and particularly lovely readings, but no handfasting, candles or anything...just beautiful words about Hannah & Max themselves, their lives together and their friends and families...and several teasing mentions of their devotion to food!

Photographs by Ricky Baillie

 The vows were simple but heartfelt too, borrowed from the work of Bertrand Russell

Today I marry my Best friend,

The one I have laughed and cried with,

The one I have learned from and shared with,

The one I have chosen to support, encourage,

And give myself to, 

Through all the days given us to share.

Today I marry the one I love.

Thank you for letting me share a few glimpses of your day guys, and my very best wishes for the future.

Links below to the Venue at Murthly Estate and to the Photographer, Ricky Baillie

Photographs by Ricky Baillie

http://www.rickybaillie.com/edinburgh-wedding-photographer-ricky-baillie-latest-weddings-blog/


http://www.murthly-estate.com/

Lothlorien Calling

Now, lots of my weddings are fun, and lots of them are really emotional, and some are really simple, and some are fancy and complicated, and many of them will have a colour theme or theme that we use to help write or unify the ceremony (scouting? gardening? hiking? football?) that I will happily - and often enthusiastically - go along with.
However, I've only dressed up - as in fancy dress - three times.
Once as a medieval lady for a Robin Hood themed wedding. I really wanted to be Friar Tuck, but there were too many of those going already - and it would have been a bit dodgy for me to dress up as clergy anyway.
I also got all dressed up for a full on Edwardian Wedding, up at Guthrie Castle, where all the guests looked like the cast of My Fair Lady, and played croquet on the lawn afterward. I carried off the School marm/Mary Poppins look rather well I thought...black cummerund and white starched shirt that buttoned up the back, and of course a cameo broach at the throat, and button boots.

THEN...

I got to go a bit LOTR for Rab and Kelsey's do, up at the Mains of Taymouth.
It wasn't just the outfit though, we wove bits from the books and lines from the movie into the ceremony, and yes, we asked the best man to "Bring forth the rings" and then sent them off with "the good wishes of men, dwarves, elves and all free peoples".
The tables were named after places in Middle Earth, they cut the cake with a proper sword and the decor was woodland based at every turn...they even had white trees all down the aisle....and afterward, just for the photos, I got to wear Elf Ears!

Special thanks to Rab and Kelsey for being just mad enough to go with this, and for letting me share the pictures with you, and to Cat for lending me the ears and elf coat.

This is me trying to take an 'Elfie (sorry!) with Rab & Kelsey.

Photo by Alan & Gill from Burfly Photography

Cakes and swords!

Photo by Alan & Gill from Burfly Photography

 ...and finally, Jane gets to be Elf!

Photo by Alan & Gill from Burfly Photography

Dunkeld House; JimJen!

Photo: Rob Thomson @ lifetime Photography

I first met Jim and Jen at a wedding fair at the Rothes Halls in Glenrothes on the 21st of February 2016, where I was manning the HSS Stall with colleague Gillian Stewart,  they said that they were looking into having a Humanist ceremony had been in touch with a celebrant near their venue at Dunkeld...so I asked if it was the 20th of August next year, and with raised eyebrows they said yes! 

I had replied to their e-mail that morning confirming I was free, and asking if they wanted to meet up....

We met for a cuppa a couple of months later - and got on like a house on fire!

Paperwork done, and set aside for the time being...

Sent them a happy new year & bundle of questions in January...which they printed out and scribbled all over in the pub.

Then we met to actually plan the ceremony at Loch Levens Larder at the End of January, and they handed me their notes as they hadn't had time to type them up!...and again we could have stayed there all day chatting...

...and this is one of the points at which things vary from the norm...I went home and started typing up my notes from the meeting & their scribbles from the pub, and only realised about 2 hours later that I had pretty much constructed the whole thing! 

It still needed a fair bit of work to get it ready to send, but I think it may have been one of the easiest weddings to write EVER...not because it was particularly simple or straightforward, just that I had a really good feel for who they were and what they wanted, and the words just flowed. (If I could bottle that stuff, life would be a LOT easier - and yes, celebrants can suffer from writers block!!)

So, I'm all pleased with myself, and thinking that I must be awesome at this stuff...but it turns out that while I might be a bit awesome sometimes, I'm will never be as awesome as Jim & Jen...

We did a LOT of drafts, but there was good progress on every one, and TBH I pushed them a bit to make a few things more 'them' rather than using versions or examples that I'd sent...which is pretty much my top advice for any wedding.

So when the big day arrived I was really excited, and the weather held so we got to be outside, and one of my first thoughts was that the flowers were awesome...and just a bit mad, and pretty over the top too (flower special to follow).

So I'm setting up, and the waiter who is helping move chairs starts chatting away about how awesome the Groom was last night at dinner, and how much fun the day was going to be working with them again...and then the photographer is there, saying how awesome their engagement shoot was to do...and after the ceremony was all over I chatted with the florist as well, who was moving some of the huge mad flower displays around, and she said how awesome it was to get to go crazy like this, and how it was all their ideas and plans, and how much she loved them both...and had even stayed just out of sight and watched the wedding - which if course the florist very rarely gets to do...

The lesson of the story?

Be yourselves at your wedding.

Look around and spend the time to find folk to work with on your day who get who you are.

They will be far more likely to enjoy it all, and get on board with all your ideas.

Want mad flowers? Find someone who would love to do mad flowers!

Want the celebrant to wind your Dad up? Find a celebrant who is happy to wind your Dad up!

Want the back row of the guests to secretly form a percussion section & chorus with added French horn for a sing-along?? If you have friends mad enough to do so? Go for it!

Want the celebrant to photobomb you even though she usually doesn't? Make sure you get one with right (lack of) decorum for the occasion!

Thank you to the truly awesome JIMJEN who took the time, and made it their very own.

From all of us who had so much fun being dragged along in your wake!. xxx

Photo: Rob Thomson @ lifetime Photography

Alina & Andrew at Gaurdswell Farm

As promised below when I posted about the very first ceremony at Gaurdswell Farm a few weeks ago, I now have some lovely photos from the bride and groom to share, and they each give me an opertunity to talk about why they are the way they are...so first up, the big KISS moment!

Photo by Michele Lamb

I try really hard not to photobomb my couples big moments, so as seen here, I am WAY off to the side while they share their vows and exchange their wedding rings...which most often puts me out of shot when the moment happens.

I have several reasons for this, but the first, most important and most obvious one is that this is very much THEIR moment, and the ceremony is about them, and they don't need a strangers face between theirs in the pictures that will grace their Mums mantelpiece for ever more!...as a side note, we blew out the candles you can see on the left there just after this, as there was a definite risk to bridesmaids frocks when they all stood for photos.

Next one shows that maybe I'm not a total stranger by this point...

Photo by Michele Lamb

I always (aim to!) arrive an hour before things are due to start.

First off I need to know that if I get lost, delayed by traffic, or some sort of natural disaster, I should still be able to get there on time. Once I arrive I will check that the legal paperwork is there too - so if it is not, we can hopefully retreive it from whereever it has been left. With legal paperwork assured I have time to move furniture if needed, chat with photographers; venue hosts; bridesmaids; groomsmen; readers; musicians - and as seen here - might have a chance to chat with the bride herself, often with accompanying Mums, frocks, fizz and make-up artists!

With Alina I had to check a few of my pronounciations (again!) as we had a properly international gathering, and I'm loath to trip over someones name as I introduce them!

I trully love that brides room buzz, with the excitment almost as thick in the air as the hairspray, and as noted in my first post about Gaurdswell, the accomodations were pretty lavish, so I had a good Oooo and Ahhh as well!

After that, with all my checks made and everyone happy about how it's all going to go, it's into my suit, a fresh coat of lippy, and sit quietly in a corner out of the way until we're good to go!

And after it's all done....

Photo by Michele Lamb

...well...I can't say it's my favourite photo of myself, but I am one of those folk with the 'expressive'  faces (plasticine?) so still shots are not always kind (another reason not to photobomb my couples!) ...but I do enjoy chatting with guests after the ceremony, and I take photos too...even though they are generaly not good enough to use on here, I still like to 'collect' all my couples...which sounds a bit creepy now that I write it down!

Alina and Andrew, thanks for sending me these through, and for sharing your day at Gaurdswell Farm with us all, and as I said in the other post - I'm so glad you took that leap of faith booking a stone shell and some mud with an amazing view!

Mid Summer Delight

I really could share all the photos from the wedding I did last midsummers day for my beautiful cousin Naomi and her wonderful husband Bravo. It was held at the home of another cousin just over in Dunkeld and very much a small family affair, with kids and fun and WAY too much food!

...and the view, oh the view, I could sit there and stare at it all day...

Yes, that it Dunkeld Cathedral in the background

 

 I was upstairs putting the signed legal paperwork away safely when the Scottish style dancing to wonderful African music broke out - and had to try and capture the moment before I ran back down and joined in....

Laura & Daniel at Inchyra Byre

Let the weather do its worst!

 

I first met these two by Skype as they were London based, then we managed to find a weekend they'd be up seeing Laura's folks in Glasgow and I'd be down in Edinburgh...so I popped over to meet for a coffee near the station at Queens Street on my way back to Perth, so we were able to do at least some of the planning face to face without anyone having to pay for flights!

...but all the plans in the world can do nothing about summer rain in Perthshire, so as the afternoon got darker and darker out on the lawn, the Inchyra staff and I hatched a plan for what we hoped would be the most efficient system of getting everyone inside the barn while still mostly dry if it decided to come down in sheets, as it was threatening too...

... it did.

It went roughly " Ladies can you please make you way inside and right to the back of the barn as quickly as you can, Bride first!...and then if the younger gentlemen can grab two chairs each and take them into the side room, we'll restart as soon as we can..."

It wasn't very quick, and lots of us got at least a bit damp, but it did mean that I had long enough to make up a few very bad jokes about getting the best value out of every room they were paying for at the venue...and Laura potentially getting two grand entrances!

Folk say that wee disasters like this can make the day, and it really can...everyone was in stitches - including the bride, who was so relaxed and happy throughout and just so excited about the whole thing, that it really could have rained cats and dogs all day, and Laura would not have cared!

The same can't be said for Daniel though...he was properly nervous as we set up, and the lovely cheesy grin below did not really put in an appearance till the paperwork was signed.

Major props too to their great team of pals from London, all of whom donned the kilt for the first time at the wedding, and wore them with pride...though the photographer and I did offer some instructions on how to sit down ‘politely’ in one... if only Kilt Hire firms issued instructions!

Congratulations and thanks to you both, such a lovely warm joyous ceremony!