Married…

Long time readers of this blog might recall that about two years ago as the GingaNinja finished the outstanding Durty Events Craggy Island Triathlon I got down on one knee in front of assembled triathletes and asked her to marry me. Some of you may recall this was as a result of something I’d said years earlier to her, ‘if you ever complete a 100 mile walk, an any distance ultra marathon or an any distance triathlon I will ask you to marry me – she did, so I did.

At no point did I say we would take it any further…

The GingaNinja and I at that point had been together more than a decade and it seemed to me that perhaps we were beyond the point of marriage – we had already moved to other countries together, bought houses together, had a child together and even run races together (the ultimate test of a relationships ability to survive I’ve found). I say this because as we moved further and further away from the triathlon engagement the importance of the wedding slipped further into the background.

However, fast forward to February this year and I was in the middle of a short hike through Alva Glen – the place were we decided to move to Scotland – and I had a eureka moment where I said to myself with a sly grin creeping across my lips, ‘if we are getting married, we are getting married here‘.

14 days later I had my plan and I had outlined the idea to the GingaNinja and I had made contact with those that could possibly make it happen. What was the plan? a canyoning wedding of course, and as far as we can tell, the first time it’s been done (if you know of other people who have done this then I’d love to hear from from them or about it). My idea was that we would go to the top of the inescapable slot canyon at Alva Glen, canyon through it together unmarried – abseil down a waterfall into a lovely deep pool, get married, pick up the child and then canyon through the rest of Alva Glen as a married couple.

So with the family on board for an adventure filled wedding it was full steam ahead but there was one thing missing and that was the getting dressed up in your finery. It may come as little surprise that you can’t really have a canyoning wedding in a wedding dress. And to be fair I wanted to use the wedding as the opportunity to get the kilt I’ve always wanted and so I said to the GingaNinja, ‘we can have a dress up day a few days before in the Ochils’.

And thus it was set – from a standing start in February we had about 6 months to get all the bits together that we wanted to happen and then it would be split across two days – one dressed to impress and one dressed to adventure.

Day One
This should have been the easy day as no wedding was happening, this was basically ‘wedding cosplay’ in our favourite hills. We arrived early so we could transport a rope and telescopic ladder up into the hills to make getting the bride and bridesmaid up into difficult to access places a bit easier. We did some litter picking too because I’m sad to say that we get litter here too, thankfully there wasn’t too much but I’d rather it was gone, as much for the environment as for the state of my photographs.

Then it was time to get changed, me in to my newly made Ochil Flora tartan kilt, with material woven by the amazing Taffled Threads and hand made by the truly exceptional Crimson Kilts and the GingaNinja in a simple and elegant wedding dress with some wonderful dried flowers from Willow Dried and all of us in our hiking boots. There was of course ASK too who delighted in telling all who would listen about ‘her wedding day and wedding dress’.

It was quite the experience, bounding through Alva Glen and the Ochils in a wedding dress and kilt and despite not being the wedding day itself it was a hugely emotional day. Stood atop the hills overlooking the glen was a reminder to me of how far we had come together and why we had come this far together. As the wind whipped through our hair, destroying headbands of dried flowers and blowing dresses high above heads I took in the sight of my bride and bridesmaid and was happy.

And without the stress of the ceremony we had all the time we needed to enjoy ourselves and not worry about what came next…

Day Two
The actual ceremony happened a few days after the photographs were taken and was a truly magnificent but slightly odd occasion. Once more we arrived early and took a telescopic ladder and a rope up to the ceremony location for anyone that might need it and then headed back down to the starting point to meet Ruaridah and Diana who would be leading the canyoning part of the wedding. We got into our neoprene and made our way slowly through the mists of Alva Glen on another glorious day. The benefit of doing something mildly dangerous for your wedding is that you don’t give much thought to the nuptials because you are concentrating on surviving. So when we arrived at the foot of the water we said goodbye to Diana and to ASK (they’d be joining us in the water at the ceremony point) and off we went making our way to our waterfall venue to be married.

And what an adventure it was…

And to conclude
I can really only write for myself but I got the kind of wedding (and life) that I wanted.

The wedding had in attendance only my now wife and daughter because it was about those people and I considered it a private matter between us – so yes you can blame me for the lack of invites and forewarning. However, it was a couple of days filled with adventure, tributes and nods to both our past and future, what more could I, and hopefully what more could we, have asked for?

In my vows I quoted one of my favourite writers – Dr Suess who said, ‘We are all a little weird and life’s a little weird, and when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall in mutual weirdness and call it love‘. I think he got it about right because we are both a bit odd, we have had good times and bad and yet despite, or possibly because of, all the weirdness we find ourselves here and I’m very happy about that. I hope the GingaNinja is too.

And some thanks

Scotland’s Canyons
The wedding, in the form we did it, was only made possible because Ruaridh and Diana (two of the best human beings ever to walk the earth) said yes to helping us with a plan, that on paper, looked ridiculous and in practice should have been ridiculous. Here’s the thing though, they took my ridiculous plan and they made it work, on the day that made it all look simple and I know it’s not simple. Occasionally I’d catch glances between them as they silently co-ordinated things so that we could have the best possible day. Scotland’s Canyons are an absolute gem of an adventure company and absolute stars as people. I should point out that they don’t specialise in weddings they specialise in canyoning and adventuring and trust me they are truly superb for canyoning and adventuring but they do a hell of a wedding too (and they make delicious cookies and cakes too).

Find out more here: scotlandscanyons.com

Matt Hall Photography
In my day to day life I’m a graphic designer and have a very specific view on photographs and I knew that I wanted the pictures from the wedding to be timeless, simple and classical. The trouble was I also needed a photographer who was willing to do a bit of adventuring too and even possibly get very wet. Matt was all of the above and more, he simply blended in with everything that was going on but he was also a part of the proceedings as he jumped in and out of the water. You’ll see from the pictures that he did a truly fabulous job capturing the beauty of the Ochils, the power of the water and the fun of the day. Matt did everything he said he would and more and he is a fabulous person to be around – all the right ingredients for your wedding day elopement and your photographer.

Find out more here: hall.photography

Kendal the Celebrant
Neither the short gingery one or I are religious and therefore we knew that a humanist celebrant would be required to help us make things legal – but as with our photographer we knew that we were going to need someone who could get on board with the madness. Thankfully the Humanist Society has a excellent search facility and we spent a very productive evening drawing up a list of just one that we thought would be silly enough to agree to marry us – her name was Kendal. Now while Kendal was incredibly professional and made sure that everything was above board – she is also the most fantastic fun to be around and got stuck in and went over and above. If you were looking for a celebrant I can highly recommend her!

Find out more: facebook.com/Kendalthecelebrant

WillowDried (Willow Houseplants)
Now for those of you that follow either of my Instagram accounts you’ll know how much I love a houseplant – with the majority coming from Willow Houseplants in Callander – but did you know that the owner of the business, Janine, is also something of a dried flower expert who beautifully crafts dried flowers for all occasions? Well she does! and I was delighted that she was happy to do the small amount we required and I was doubly delighted that what she produced was incredibly beautiful. The sight of these beautiful creations really elevated the dresses and gave the whole natural vibe we were aiming for a massive lift, it was also perfectly matched to my beloved tartan! I should also say that Janine (and Neil – mwah!) sourced one of my wedding gifts to the short rouge one – a Florida Ghost Philodendron – hard to come by I might add. But not only did they find one, they found a decently sized one at a great price. The best plant and dried flower emporium in the world, well worth a visit!

Find out more here: willowhouseplants.co.uk

Taffled Threads
My family tartan isn’t very nice, I mean it’s okay but you wouldn’t want to get married in it. So off I ambled to the Tartan Register of Scotland to explore the more generic options and also the MacDonald colours to which my family name is associated, none of these were floating my boat and then I had an idea! What if there was an Ochils tartan? A quick search and an email later to the Ochil Flora tartan creator and suddenly I found myself having the fabric for a kilt made by Claire at Taffled Threads. Oh my word… how brilliant! how beautiful! how wonderful! In addition to the stunning fabric I also had blankets/shawls made for the bride and bridesmaid as connective tissue between our outfits and these were as fabulous as the fabric for my kilt. I almost found myself crying when I picked it all up because such care had gone into something that was being made for such a special day to me. Taffled Threads are truly exceptional and Claire is awesome and having my fabric made just a couple of miles from where I would be getting married was doubly special.

Find out more here: taffledthreads.co.uk

Crimson Kilts
I didn’t have anyone to make my kilt when I spoke to Claire at Taffled Threads but she said she knew a lady that made them locally in Tillicoultry, right next to the Ochils – where you are getting married – how fortunate! I immediately headed over, almost unannounced, and from there I found a lady, Lesley, who would craft, with love, a kilt that I couldn’t adore any more than I do. Lesley showed that deep passion for her art that has come out, so deeply, in the making of my kilt and that passion translated over to both the GingNinja and I and made us even more enthusiastic for it. I will add that the finishing touch was, that Lesley and her wonderful husband Jim came up to the Ochils on the day of the wedding photoshoot to say ‘hello‘ – a really classy touch. I love wearing my kilt, and do so at every available opportunity, and know that if you choose Lesley and a Crimson Kilt then you’ll be very, very happy too.

Find out more here: crimsonkilts.co.uk

Skive Sporrans
I didn’t have anyone to make my sporran when I spoke to Lesley at Crimson Kilts but on the wall of her studio were some simple and simply beautiful sporrans that I instantly knew were what I needed. Some sporrans I’d seen elsewhere felt a little fake but there was no such problem with the beautifully hand crafted sporrans from Skive Sporrans. Every single person we asked to make things for the wedding were absolute artists and this was no exception but it is exceptional. My sporran is the perfect size and the perfect smell and the perfect… well you get the idea. It wasn’t just the making of the sporran that was special though it was also the maker himself – Jim was just a passionate and dedicated crafter and that really translated into what he was making for me. For a sporran that feels like it was really made for you and your kilt then I can highly recommend Skive Sporrans.

Find out more here: facebook.com/skivesporrans

Sally Grant
It was quite a long time ago that the GingaNinja and I approached Sally Grant to make the engagement and weddings rings for us. We looked long and hard for someone that could capture our distinctiveness within their own creativity. Sally did this through the engagement ring by helping us tell the story of the people we love, those missed and our love of Scotland. The wedding bands are simpler but have a little peak on them which reminds me of the mountains, hills and outdoors that I look to and engage with each and every day. Sally, in her crafting, delivered rings that are a constant reminder not only of the love we share between us but also are a reminder of the love of the life the GingaNinja and I share.

Find out more here: sallygrant.co.uk

Faodail
Because everything had been so local, from the rings to the tartan to the people bringing to life the actual ceremony I wanted a gift for the GingaNinja that represented that and I stumbled, about a month before the wedding, upon Faodail who was sourcing agates from the Ochils and surrounds and turning them into beautiful jewellery that I’d never seen anything like before. Obviously I contacted him immediately given the shortness of the timeframe I was working with and within just a few weeks we had the perfect piece for the GingaNinja (and ssshh I got one for the child too but for later in her life). It was the greatest pleasure to work with someone local who was using his passion for the outdoors and craft to make something so beautiful and who, like us, was at the start of a new part of their journey. I have no doubt that these beautiful pieces will become very popular indeed.

Find out more here: faodail925.com

And finally…

Thanks to my wife… for turning up.