Kilt Outfits

Scottish men often opt for the traditional look when it comes to weddings, be they the groom, best man or a guest.

Those interested in the history of the kilt can find many sources online and in print giving timelines and details of how the kilt came into being, but suffice to say that it’s been around for a fairly long time, dating back to at least the 17th Century.


Whether hiring or buying a kilt outfit, the options are vast. Picking a tartan can often be the most troublesome aspect. The bride will have picked out a colour scheme, but does the Groom’s family tartan compliment the colour scheme or does it clash?
One of the other difficulties is if the Groom comes from a traditionally Scottish family, does he have a kilt in the tartan of his mother’s family name or his father’s?
There is some speculation that the Groom should wear the tartan of his mother’s family so in our case, my fiancée has a kilt in Lindsay tartan instead of Macintosh (Noble).

There are different jackets for different looks of kilt outfits; the casual look is best with a Crail Jacket, or Argyll Jacket, whereas the Bonnie Prince Charlie Jacket is deemed to be the traditional choice for formal events.
Typically with the Bonnie Prince Charlie Jacket a 3-button waistcoat is worn, with a bow tie, or dicky bow. However it is now becoming more popular to wear a 5-button waistcoat with a cravat or ruched tie.





When’s a Scotsman not a true Scotsman, when he’s got something on under his kilt, and as the Bride you’ve every right to have a wee peek to check!



No kilt outfit is complete with out a sporran, kilt socks and a sgian dubh.

Fear not, kilts are available for all the men in your life, even the little ones!!



Pictures reproduced with kind permission of Jac at Little Tiger Creations and also to David Kane at David Kane Photography

Important People and Their Roles

There are many people that are “necessary” for a wedding, the members of the bridal party are just one example. The “traditional” bridal party consists of the bride, the groom, the bridesmaids, best man, groomsmen, ushers, flower girl, pageboy and mother and father of the bride. However with traditions changing and becoming more modernised it has become normal practice to have more than one best man and in some cases the mother of the bride is the one to give the bride away on the day.

Brides fear not the overarching traditions, this is your day (well technically you have to share it with the groom) and if you choose to have things a certain way then you should do so.

In the case of our wedding, there will be no Maid of Honour, but 2 bridesmaids of equal standing and 2 best men/groomsmen. The father of the bride is not invited to the wedding so it’s a fight to the death between the mother of the bride and the brother of the bride to see who will be giving me away!! To further break from tradition the bride will be giving the first speech at the wedding reception.

Each member of the bridal party has a specific set of tasks associated with their role.

The best man for instance is primarily charged with looking after the groom on his stag night and the morning of the wedding. The best man traditionally gives a speech at the wedding banquet, loaded with jokes and good humour.

The bridesmaids, apart from looking absolutely glamorous are in charge of the hen night planning and keeping the bride calm. On the day they should help the bride get ready and prepare her for the ceremony. Generally they help with all details of wedding planning, from making up favours to blowing up balloons the list of tasks is endless!

The ushers are meant to look presentable and direct the guests to the right side of the church or ceremony venue whilst handing out the Order of Service booklets. Unless you are our ushers who are planning on causing havoc and directing people randomly to seats…..we shall see how long they live after that! Ha ha

Lets not forget the witnesses. In Scotland you are required to have 2 witnesses, both over the age of 16 to bear witness to the marriage and to sign the register to that effect. These can be 2 random people off the street if you so wish, however most couples choose to ask the best man and the chief bridesmaid. A growing trend is to ask the mother of the bride and the father of the groom so that all parents have a "role" in the wedding.
In our case we have opted for 2 close friends to act as our witnesses.

It has long been tradition to have both a flower girl and a pageboy at your wedding, however they have no specific "fixed" role, other than to look abslolutely adorable. The Pageboy can be asked to carry a ring box up the aisle to the groom and best man, but depending on his age this might be a risky idea - often young boys will try and keep the box!

As for the flowergirl, she generally walks down the aisle ahead of the bridal party scattering petals or confetti before the bride makes her way down the aisle.

To Do List

Right as a basic starting point this is the sort of to do list that I worked from:

1. Groom (pick one!)
2. Pick a date
3. Pick a ceremony type
4. Pick venue
5. Pick attendants (bridesmaids, best man etc)
5. Draw up a rough guest list so you have an idea of numbers
6. Think about colours/themes/ideas
7. Keep a scrapbook for dress ideas/reception ideas/general ideas
8. Research photographers
9. Research videographers if you want one
10. Think about dresses - use your scrapbook for ideas of that you like in a dress and take that with you for trying on dresses.
11. Make bookings
12. Research wedding cars
13. Look into stationery
14. Start thinking about favours and thank you gifts for important people
15. Pick readings for ceremony (and music if applicable)
16. Wedding cake!!
17. Organise the groom - what's he going to wear?
18. Pick a menu for the wedding banquet
19. Research wedding make up and hair
20. Make sure you have all the relevant paperwork in order!!

That's just a rough guide, there are no doubt things missed off, but as you go along you end up adding extras to the list, merging bits together and then taking things off the list when you change your mind!!