On Friday the 10th of May 2002, my cousin Paul married Fiona at Brigadoon. It was a fairytale wedding if ever there was one. Brigadoon is an idylic setting, it's seen many famous people joined in marriage.

We arrived an hour before the ceremony was supposed to start on Janice's instructions, however Janice had obviously forgotten that my mother is her only punctual sibling, as no well else was there for at least 45 minutes. So we went for a wee (soft) drink before it all started.

My brother and I

The ceremony was good, it was the first wedding cermony I'd ever been to. The reverend was quite young and gave the congregation afew laughs, unfortunately using all the best man's jokes. The choir was quite good, and there weren't any of the Jeremy Beadle moments of people fainting or being too choked up with tears to talk. However the organist was doing something slightly alternative with the music...the less said about that the better.

After the ceremony, photos were taken and a piper played as we walked the short distance to Brigadoon for the champagne reception, accompanied by a jazz band playing 'doon' by the river.

The Jazz Band

Endless photos were taken of the newly weds and everyone else for that matter. Here's the collection I came away with.

Janice, Marc, Paul, Fiona and Bobby

Back:Margaret, Janice, Bobby, Larry, Peter, Susan, Anne, Moira, Wendy, Karen, Anna, Norma

Front:Gordon, Johnny, David, Vincent

Sarah-Anne, Audrey, Marcus, Gillian, James, Mhairi, Roddy, Jennifer, Craig, Karen

When the cameras finally started running out of film and the smiles were running out of steam, we went back inside for dinner. The meal was fabulous, for me it was nice to be on the other side of the table as it's similar 5 course meals we serve at the hotel where I work. Although I must admit, Brigadoon completely outclassed my hotel. The food and the service were outstanding.

The speeches after dinner were highly entertaining, the best man even managed to recover some of his speech that the reverend had stolen earlier on.

Tables and chairs were swiftly whisked off the dance floor and the band were set up and playing in no time. Paul and Fiona had their first dance as husband and wife...

The First Dance

Dancing the Night Away

A great day was had by all. We retired to our hotels, exhausted and full of warm thoughts. The day had passed without anyone misbehaving or fighting. However, I dare not ask what Roddy and Gordon were doing in this photo...

Male bonding?!?

For those of you that missed Thomas' Christening in Furnace at Easter, here's a couple of photos for you.

Back: David (holding Ethan), Barry (holding Emily), Marcus (holding Thomas), Caroline

Front: Daniel, Alex, James, Marc, Stephanie

Susan, Vincent, David, Bobby, Janice, Stephanie, Jennifer, Craig and Mary