Mr. and Dr. Wood's Wedding

Something old… being an usher; I’m starting to get the hang of that now, what with it being the third time I’ve done it. Admittedly, the job was made much easier by the level of planning that had been done for me - I was furnished with two sides of A4 of instructions, plus a guest list, and a seating plan and spare copies of the directions from church to reception which include photos taken en route for you to check that you’re going the right way!

Something new… wearing a kilt. I was a little apprehensive about doing so, mainly because I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. However, it seemed well received; none of the Scots present challenged my right to wear one; and I quite enjoyed it. It just took a little while to get used to sitting down in it correctly without getting it crumpled under me or unwittingly displaying what was under it.

Something borrowed… the kilt. Well, hired, but that’s pretty much the same thing. From the very helpful, if a little hard to find (the shop is a tiny converted house, so quite easy to miss) Stuart Tailors on Chesterton Road in Cambridge. A much better selection of tartans to hire than the three that Moss Bros offer!

Something blue… the tartan of the kilt. Although not quite as blue as I’d have liked. Unfortunately, the McEwen isn’t amongst the thirty or so tartans offered for hire by Stuart Tailors. The kilt I hired was the Hunting Stewart tartan, which was the closest match to the dress McEwen but it doesn’t have quite as much blue in the weave.

Karl, Malcolm’s housemate and one-man-ceilidh-band extraordinaire is a fellow clansman, and his kilt is the family tartan - he’s third from right in the pictures of all the kilts in attendance.

It was a lovely day. The exchanging of vows seemed to lift the clouds and brought out the sun in time for the photos. The speeches were entertaining, Malcolm’s in particular was superb; I’d like to hear more from the best man as to why the chaplin had to put Malcolm to bed though… And as mentioned, Karl’s ceilidh provided for suitably energetic celebrating long into the evening.

There are a few photos over in my photo album, but I’ll leave you with one of the happy couple…