No.3

I'm really enjoying watching the second series of 'The Musketeers' on Friday nights, not just for the swashbuckling action scenes and wonderful costume design, but because most of the female characters have long curly hair. I love to see how the updos have been done and whether I can recreate them for my next wedding attendance.
            As I woke yesterday morning it was clear to see that we wouldn't be seeing a lot that day as the mist lay thickly along the Moray coastline. I knew immediately that I wasn't going to wear my hair down as misty weather is , as all us curly girls know, a formula for a bad hair day. Curls turn to frizz in the blink of an eye and for anyone who had the joy of watching 'Crystal tipps and Alistair' back in the late 60s, you'll know exactly what I mean. So kirby grips on hand I attempted to to a twisty Musketeer lady hairdo and finished it off with a swoosh of 'weatherproof' hairspray and a prayer.
This was Helen and Paul's big day, both living in Banff they had decided on the Banff Springs for their nuptials.
                As you know, it's a struggle for me to come up with a new dress that the folks at the Springs won't have seen before. But low and behold, just as I was sitting having my morning tea, the post came. I had been e-baying through the week and won a Jacques Vert, slate grey ,chiffon dress for a snip. Thanks to all those hard working postmen, here it was a few days earlier than expected. I got Phoebe to open the wrapping as I'd just done my nails and was understandably incapacitated. Once dry, I was able to pop my new aquisition unto Delilah my tailors dummy, who with a bit of padding to the bust area and a bit of polestyrene carving to the waist is pretty much a scary doppleganger of me that stands in our livingroom next to my craft corner. Just a few minor alterations ( yes, I have been watching The Great British Sewing Bee) and my new dress was ready to roll.
                  We arrived at the Springs only to find the the front entrance was blocked by huge barriers and building work was underway to create a new front entrance. You would imagine that any bride would be a bit put out at their big day being marred by this, but not Helen. She and Paul had met about a year ago, both having been in previous relationships and obviously decided to grab love with both hands. Here they were a year later tying the knot and that was all that mattered to them, to have their loved ones around them and enjoy a great day.
                    The Moray suite is a lovely space that seats about 40 people and has a wonderful view out over the sea. The room was set up with sheer crimson ties on the back of the chairs, unsurprising as of course this was Valentine's day and really, what other colour would do?
                  Stuart, the bestman, had been at school with Robin since P5, and even though I'd never met him and Gwen, his wife, before, we found out that we had heaps in common , especially Gwen at our joint tedium of living with a sports fanatic ( I mean watching ,not doing, here!). Thankfully Gwen was in the same position as me, being left on her own to sit in the ceremony, so we gladly chummed up and went through together.
                    The flower girls were Helen's daughter Cara and Paul's, Holly, both about 6 years old and dressed in antique cream with red fur stoles. Sacha, Helen's eldest , also in red,walked her Mum in, both looking beautiful. As soon as Helen walked in, I realised that I knew her from back in the days of going to Playgroup and nursery with Caleb and Phoebe and a lot of the guests were folks that I knew from that time.
                         I do love the idea of not having name tags on the tables, allowing folks to sit with whoever they feel comfortable, and it worked really well. At a do a few years back, all of the tables had two empty seats at them and the Bride and Groom moved to a new table at each stage of the meal, so they would get time to spend with all the guests,one of my all time favourite wedding seating ideas.
                    We had very pleasant company at our table , a very musical bunch. Helen's Uncle Gerry sings in a local band and is a fairly well known local celebrity, though you wouldn't know it from speaking to him, a very unassuming and pleasant guy. His brother Graham was sitting next to me and is a vegetarian sound engineer. I use the word vegetarian loosley as he did admit that he felt sausages were an honorary vegetable! His mushroom tagliatelle looked delicious though and made me wish that I had the courage to ask for the veggie option. I have tried this on occasion, just as I liked what was on offer, but am wary now after the owner of the Fife Lodge hotel a while ago assumed I was vegetarian and bought in Quorn sausages ,specially for me to have in the evening with the teas ,while everyone else was having bacon butties. I had to confess to her, at the next wedding we went to there, that I was indeed an omnivore when she told me that she had asked the chef to make a special veggie option just for me!
                    The Valentine's theme was very tastefully covered with bowls of floating red roses and a heart shaped cake. The huge icy trees from last week's wedding were still insitu, so I can anly assume that they belong to the Springs and that Gary and Linda didn't leave them behind from last week.
Paul spoke meaningfully of his love for Helen and his thanks for all and Stuart gave them a box of essentials to cope with married life, including sandpaper to rub off their rough edges and a packet of Starbursts for when they needed an extra burst of energy.
                   Obviously a popular couple, a huge number of evening guests arrived and filled the dance floor as we did the Grand march and kicked off our shoes when the bunions got too much to bear. We knew a lot of the folks there, previous and future weddingees so had a lovely time chatting and dancing till it was time to phone J.Js and hit the road.
                   It was so lovely to spend such a relaxing and happy day with everyone. All, I can say is that if the past year is anything to go by, the future ones can only be wonderful for Mr and Mrs Nash.

No.2

Phoebe, my youngest child, has a beautiful wardrobe in her bedroom. But rather than being full of all her fashionable teenage outfits, it is instead, filled with my dresses. I have at last count 22 dresses all with the word 'bargain' as a common theme. I am a regular in the local charity shops looking for the perfect outfit for future weddings. I even have my own personal shopper in the Red Cross shop, Beth, who let's me know when any good finds come into the shop that might tick the 'wedding outfit' box.
    Generally I am very good at rotating my outfits for each wedding to make sure that I don't wear the same one to a wedding that has a similar guest list. I have a lovely selection of pashminas in differing colours ( thanks to my big sister Susan) and various pieces of jewellery that when mixed and matched with a carefully chosen pair of shoes can give any well worn outfit a new twist.
      The bain of my life though is the Banff Springs. Now don't get me wrong, it is a fantastic hotel, run by a great team of staff but they do such a great job of offering a complete wedding package that at least half of the weddings that Robin is doing this year will be held there. This is  a bit tricky for me as even if the guests think that my outfit is fairly new, the beady eyed staff at the Springs will know that I wore it at least 5 times over the last few years, and that's a conservative estimate for some of my all time favourites.
    This week's couple Gary and Linda decided the Springs was the place for their big day and it was the perfect location for them. Over the Christmas season the hotel had been decorated with icicle light fittings tranforming the function room into a winter wonderland. This fitted in beautifully with the bride's idea of a similar theme,silver sparkled name tags with trailing fairy lights from giant martini glasses full of wispy white feathers on the tables and  full size translucent icy, twinkling trees in the corners of the room tied everything together fantastically.
           I walked into the function room before the ceremony. There were 146 guests to be seated and as is the way, the neatly laid out rows of chairs lead to a few uneven numbers at the back.
               Last year, at a particularly large wedding where I knew no one, there were three chairs at one side and 4 at the other, so I decided that as I was on my ownsome I would sit at the end of the three leaving the last unfortunate couple to come in to sit next to me. As the hall filled up with glamourous guests I sat doing the needful. Suddenly someone came over and asked me if anyone was sitting next to me, I smiled politely and said no, thinking they wanted to sit down, but instead he removed the two chairs beside me and placed them over with the four at the other side leaving me sitting at the back of the hall totally on my own, while they created another beautiful row of 6 to match the rest of the seating. I sat feeling completely ridiculous waiting for the bride that I'd never met before to walk through the doors. All in the past now, all in the past...
               At this wedding the bridesmaids were looking beautiful in electric blue which matched the sheer ties on the backs of the white chairs. Foolishly I thought this was part of the immaculately planned theme, only to find out later that Gary was Rangers biggest fan and probably had quite a bit to do with that part of the colour scheme.
    He greeted us in the foyer, in his Ranger's tartan kilt, before heading in for the ceremony telling us how Linda had been on the phone three times that morning to keep him right on the fact that he was to say 'I do' after one section of their vows, then again after the next section and a final 'we do'  for vows that they would be asked together.. He was mildly offended by her lack of faith in him as  he felt well able to deal with this simple task. Needless to say she was right and he was wrong is all I will say, though surely that's the way of most marriages!
       Their vows veered from the norm as Gary promised Linda that he would put the recycling in the correct container and she vowed to him that she would stop leaving half eaten biscuits in the biscuits tin. Now there's true love I say.
          Robin and I were at the top table, which is always an unexpected honour. Thankfully we were sitting together, as it has been known for folks to follow true etiquette and put me at one end and Robin at the other like bookends. Not really a huge trauma, but it is lovely to sit together ( just in case any future couples are reading this!) even if it is only to work out what on earth we ordered for our meal when the invites came through 2 months ago!
           After the meal and all the speeches we adjourned to the bar where we caught up with Billy and Lisa. They were Robin's couple no.19 and were one of the loveliest weddings I have been to where I didn't actually get to see the marriage. Ellis, Billy and Lisa's youngest was around 2 at the time and as we all gathered at Fyvie castle for the ceremony, Ellis was doing really well. Little did we know that Lisa was turning up in a vintage car that only went at one speed and that was go slow. By the time she got there Ellis was getting well fed up and was starting to get a bit tired, so I volunteered to take him out for a wander about the stunning castle grounds. Good as gold as I walked about with him in my arms, I decided to pop him down on the ground for a minute to rest my weary arms. I didn't know a two year old could run so fast!! Off he set at full pelt along the grass towards the car park and I was in my heels! I flung my shoes off and spinted after him , thankfully catching him before he could reach the stoney path. Once back in my arms he fell asleep and was the picture of angelicness by the time the happy couple emerged as husband and wife.
      We said our farewells to Linda and Gary as they were dancing the night away and catching up with all their guests, wishing them much love and happiness for their future together and who knows the recycling might get placed in the right box from now on, one can only hope.....
     

No.1

Obviously I don't get to meet most of the couple's that Robin marries until their big day, but you can tell a lot about a couple by the type of wedding that they choose. Now anyone who decides to get married in the winter months gets a big thumbs up from me...here stands a couple who are not bothered about getting sunshine  and perfect lighting, they know that as long as the important people in their lives turn up that's all that really matters.
   Jill and Michael decided to get married at the Cullen Bay hotel which I'm sure is just stunning in the summer months with it's expansive panoramic views along the Moray coast. But I must say, as we sat waiting for Jill to come in and looked out the windows at the sea crashing up against the rocks just down the hill, I was thinking that a scene like that would take a lot of beating.
   My least favourite part of any wedding is the dreaded hour before the service. Robin is flitting about practicing his talky bits, making sure the schedule has arrived safely, organising quiachs, whiskey, candles and handfasting cloths, calming nervous bridegrooms and the like. I have no role at this point in the day, no one knows who I am, so I go and sit at the back of the room, bagging the furtherest away seat possible so I don't take up precious space. I have over the years tried to make this a positive hour, catching up on texts that need replying to or doing my kegels exercises ( yes ladies, you know you need to!)....but this wedding was different.
        When we arrived the door was opened for us by Ian and Reena the owners, who ushered us in and took our coats. Then they offered us tea and although Robin refused due to his 'duties' that needed attending to. I was brought a wonderful cuppa in a little sitting room where I could put my feet up, so to speak. What a treat and the attentiveness didn't stop there, we we're offered more tea and coffee after the service and Ian showed us around letting us see how beautifully they have refurbished things, and all by his own fair hand....well with the help of an amazing handy man called Paul who I can't say any more about unless someone tries to come and steal him away, needless to say he is a very valued member of staff!
       When I did sneak in to the sevice I was warmly welcomed on both sides by members of Jill and Michael's family. I really must go to Keith more often if thats what they are all like. The only down side being I didn't get a single kegels in the whole day!
        Jill came in with Ashley their little girl of 17 months as her bridesmaid, both looking really beautiful and the service began, all going smoothly until Colin, Michael's brother  and best man, pulled out the box with the rings in it, only to find there was only one. The colour drained from his face as he rifled about for the other ring, only to realise that Jill's ring fitted perfectly inside Michael's and had been hiding there all long.
             After their vows ,and the schedule had been signed ,came Ashley's turn. Today was to be her naming ceremony as well as Mum and Dad's wedding. It was a perfect complement having the focus turn to blessing this little one who was obviously so loved, not just by her Mum and Dad, but by everyone in the room and she happily took her place in the whole day, running from one part of the hotel to the other, bring joy to all.
                The rest of the day was very relaxing, more tea ( well I was driving) and then probably regreting it as I had worn a jump suit.  I won't go into too much detail, but I can be a rather chilly time when going to the 'Quines' if you have to unpeel yourself each time. Lesson learnt is all I will say.
      At the meal we were sitting with a couple that Robin had married in the summer, Rachel (Michael's neice)and Gary who are now expecting their first baby in July, I do love a sequel to a good wedding. On our other side was Jill's cousin Shirley and her partner Martin. The conversation flowed as we discussed why you shouldn't use an electric blanket with a memory foam mattress ( surely that can't be true!) and how far away you have to sleep from your partner to make sure you don't get a bruise when they kick you for snoring. I discovered that Shirley and Martin had been dating when they were 17 and then split up ( very vague on who did the dumping!) and met again about 5 years ago( 20 years later)  at a funeral and started to date again.
    The food was fantastic and really will take a bit of beating in the next 49 or so weddings. Marinated feta and olives with salad for a starter. Baked haddock with a herb crust on a mound of mash with the most amazing steamed vegetables for my main and the inevitable but totally delicious sticky toffee pudding for desert.
               Speeches were well executed, my favourite being Jill's Dad, who said what had to be said and then sat down, always brings a tear to my eye when speeches are heartfelt. Colin, the best man had come all the way from Thailand to perform his duties. I supppose it was only fair to have the wedding at the coldest time of year to remind your brother of what he is missing when he is lounging about in the 30 degree heat. That wasn't quite what he said during his speech , but something along those lines.
              After the meal we relaxed through in the bar while the staff cleared the room. We stayed for a while longer watching Mr and Mrs Mearns do their first dance to Rod Stewart's 'I don't want to talk about it', well what else is there left to say? There was a fantasic display of waltzing and  two stepping that always takes us back to the time when we went to dance classes and failed miserably to glide or float the way that older couples seem to do so effortlessly. I suppose we will have to keep doing our eighties thing right up until we are in our eighties and ignore the disparaging looks from all the young ones.
       We left everyone sitting chatting having had a lovely day and even Shirley the wedding cynic said she had a tear in her eye when she saw Michael and Jill get up to dance with Ashley in their arms, all looking so happy and fitting together perfectly. It was a pleasure to be invited to their special day and I wish them all happiness and blessings for their future  together.