We went to a friend’s wedding yesterday and it was marvellous. Weddings are wonderful things. What’s not to like about food, wine, dancing, and funny speeches? But weddings in Scotland are even better because they have ceilidhs.
The ceremony was in the winter gardens at Duthie Park which was perfect. Aberdeen put on a beautiful spring day that was mostly sunny but with occasional lashings of rain and hail however we were warm and dry in the glasshouse.
The bride wore a floaty lace dress; she looked stunning. It’s just the sort of thing I would have chosen for myself.
The reception was held at Maryculter House which is a magnificent hotel on the banks of the River Dee in Maryculter, about 15 minutes from Aberdeen. The hotel claims to have been welcoming guests since 1224 when the Knights Templar built a monastery on the site. All that remains of these original buildings are some stone-vaulted chambers beneath the great hall. The great hall however dates from 1460 and is a charming room. I got photos of it.
I got to wear a dress I bought from a charity shop several years ago and it got lots of compliments. It was, however, a little dangerous because the length of it presents a trip hazard. At one point I tripped up some stairs and swore in front of the flower girl and her friends.
The room was set up beautifully. I remember when Ben and I got married we decided it was too expensive to get chair covers. I think they wanted something like $20 per chair which was a lot for us back then so we had ugly office-looking chairs. I’ve never forgotten this and we joke about it now. Even Ben noticed the chair covers here.
How gorgeous is this cake?
All the children were given a lego set to complete at their tables. Elizabeth had Gandalf which she finished between the first and second course.
Daniel got the Balrog.
In keeping with the Lord of the Rings theme we were sat at the Minas Tirith table.
After dinner the bride and groom kicked off the ceilidh with Iron Broo doing the music.
Ceilidhs are such wonderful, fun things. Every wedding should have one. It was a bit of a dog’s breakfast in places with many of us not knowing what steps to do but that makes them even more enjoyable in a way and everyone is in such good spirits that it doesn’t matter whether you get it right or wrong. At one point a lady’s bracelet got caught on Ben’s shirt and he danced away to the next person without realising and ended up dragging her with him.
It was overall a fantastic wedding. The world needs more of them.
rachel.blog 
Scottish weddings are superior. Everyone joins in wholeheartedly.
Is that a Coast dress? I thought I recognised the pattern but basically whenever I have wondered about getting one on eBay my feet seem to reach only down to where the knees are on the dress. It looks a lovely wedding and the Lego is a great idea – they look like properly good designs.
It’s a Ted Baker dress. You can always adjust the hem if you get a dress that’s too long.
It is very beautiful and a great charity shop find. I usually have to adjust all trousers from charity shops, both Isabel and I are always surprised to find trousers that fit. Sometimes we suspect it’s because they were originally 3/4 trousers.