Snow and Kilts

We just returned from Inverness, Scotland for a wedding.  I know the pictures of Heath in a kilt have been highly anticipated!  We took the train up on Friday and stopped for the afternoon in Edinburgh.  The castle was amazing.  It's where Mary Queen of Scots was born.  We really only had enough time for lunch and a tour of the castle before catching our train up to Inverness.  The wedding was in a little spa town called Strathpeffer.  Durning the winter there's not much there besides an art show and a chocolate shop.  Needless to say we went for hot chocolate because it was freezing!  Heath wore the tartan for that region of Scotland which was a lovely green and purple.  The English are all allowed to wear the Stuart tartan because that's the tartan of the last Scottish king, James I, who became King of England after Elizabeth I.  As we're not English, Heath wore the regional tartan.  There's a lot more to kilts than meets the eye and we struggled to get Heath in his.  First you put on the shirt and bow tie.  Then you put on your knee high socks and shoes with the tartan garters around your calf.  Don't forget the knife that goes into your right sock!  Next you can put on the kilt it's self that weighs tons!  Then you have to figure out the belt and sporran!  The sporran is the purse like thing that goes around the waist.  Traditionally it's made out of seal fur and they can get quite pricey.  It was nice because I didn't have to carry a purse for a change.  Lastly you don the vest and jacket! Quite an ordeal to get dressed!  The legend is true as well- You don't wear underwear under your kilt.  One just hopes they dry clean those rentals!

The wedding was so much fun!  The band played a mix of southern and ceilidh music because the bride and groom were from Georgia and Scotland.  Ceilidh dancing is the traditional dancing of Scotland.  It's like square dancing but it's actually lots of fun.  The band played until late and we danced the whole time.  We felt like old people when we retired after one.  The scotsmen were just dipping into the whiskey when we went to bed.  All and all if you ever get invited to a Scottish wedding I highly recommend you attend!  Make sure you wear a kilt though!