Father of the bride.........

[Blu (Ontario)]

My oldest daughter is to be married this year at the end of July. Although not openly opposed to my kilted attire, she has been quite insistant that I not wear a kilt to her wedding. So I agreed to wear a tuxedo like all the others in the wedding party. She later said that it would be ok for me to wear a kilt for the dance afterwards. "Fine", I said, "but not much point really." Recently, and completely on her own, she recanted and advised that I could wear formal highland attire for the whole wedding. Needless to say I was pleased that she changed her mind.

I have already collected most of the kit I need... nickle cantled dress sporran, hand knit off-white hose, ghillie brogues with tassled laces, pleated wing collar shirt, silver studs, black satin band bow tie, etc. etc. I also own a very nice (Scott Blair) Argyll jacket that I wear to better restaurants and such. But I was uncertain that the argyll would be formal enough for this ocassion so I have reserved a P.Charlie jacket and vest to wear that day. This will be the first time I've worn one and I'd like to get it right.

Questions...
Should the shirt color match the socks? (off white)
Would it have been formal enough to have worn a matching black vest with the Argyll as father of the bride?
Should I button the vest and leave the jacket unbuttoned?
Done properly, a belt should not be worn with a P.C. and vest - true statement?
Should I leave the sgian dubh home that day?
Can anyone here enlighten me with regards to the use and traditions of the quaich?

Any and all advice appreciated.

Cheers,
blu

[Canuck]

Questions...
Should the shirt color match the socks? (off white)
Would it have been formal enough to have worn a matching black vest with the Argyll as father of the bride?
Should I button the vest and leave the jacket unbuttoned?
Done properly, a belt should not be worn with a P.C. and vest - true statement?
Should I leave the sgian dubh home that day?
Can anyone here enlighten me with regards to the use and traditions of the quaich?

Any and all advice appreciated.

Cheers,

blu

Leave the PC jacket open, buttons done up on the vest.
wear the sgain dubh.
I wear a white pleated tuxedo shirt with studs and cream colour hose, for my eye it looks OK but we should get Ham to wiegh in on this.
Congrats on wearing the kilt. It will be a hit I'm sure.
Cheers
Robert

[Graham]

Congrats on your daughters wedding Blu, I'm glad she now accepts you kilted, after all, it was fine with Mary Donaldson about her father kilted (Denmarks' Royal Wedding)

[Jewddha]

Congratulations on the big occassion, and of course congratulations on your daughters wedding as well ;)

[macwilkin]

Blu,

Should the shirt color match the socks? (off white)

Off white will do nicely, especially if you already have a pair handy.

Would it have been formal enough to have worn a matching black vest with the Argyll as father of the bride?

Depends on several factors, including what time the wedding is, and what the groom's party is wearing. If it is a day wedding (before 4-ish), then I would suggest the Argyll jacket. At an evening wedding, a Charlie would be more appropriate, but then again, the old rules about no black tie before 5 pm are "oot the windae" anymore anyway. (Hamish, what say you?)

Should I button the vest and leave the jacket unbuttoned?

I don't like to see buttoned Argyll Jackets, and Charlies do not button. Show off the vest -- do you have a pocket watch & chain? Always a nice touch.

Done properly, a belt should not be worn with a P.C. and vest - true statement?

One or the other -- waistcoat or belt.

Should I leave the sgian dubh home that day?

Not especially, unless you're concerned about trouble with the local constabulary. I suppose you could check with the padre/ministed officiating, but I wore my sgain dubh to my wedding, especially since it was a gift from my wife.

Can anyone here enlighten me with regards to the use and traditions of the quaich?

Tradtionally, after a toast is given, the quaich is drained, flipped upside down, and the bottom of the quaich is kissed to signify that it is empty. "Slainte!" (Slanje) is certainly appropriate to end the toast.

Cheers and congrats!

Todd

[Blu (Ontario)]

Yes, I was quite tickled that she came around to the idea. I really believe she has come to understand the meaning behind it a bit better. She was also impressed with the look of the P.C. jacket and vest. At this point in time it looks like I'll be the only one in highland attire.

Is anyone on the board able to converse in gaelic?

[GMan]

Blu,

Glad to hear that wonderful news I am sure that nothing will take away her radiance on her special day. That for sure is something to be proud of A lovely bride, what a wonderful highlight for her with you in your Highland attire

Now as far as conversing in Gaelic, I speak it fluently (in my dreams )

[Andrew Breecher]

I'd wear a white shirt with a wing collar (a tuxedo shirt), either pleated or plain. The other members of the wedding party will be wearing white shirts, so it will help you all fit together, all wearing black and white up top. A white shirt looks just fine with off-white hose.

Andrew.

[Jimmy Carbomb]

Hey Blu... that's great news about unleashing one of the kids!

With my own wedding due in less than two months, my future father-in-law and his gaggle of brothers have JUST decided to wear kilts! I know in my case that I couldn't care what they wear with them. I'm having them wear black shoes, off-white kilt hose, green flashes, all-black kilts, off-white shirts, green ties... and if they want a jacket... that's their decision. It ain't exactly Celtic traditional, but I couldn't give a rat's patoot. Getting these guys in a garment that they SWORE they would never wear is enough for Mr. and Mrs. Carbomb.

I, being the groom, will be a little more "traditional".

[M. A. C. Newsome]

Should the shirt color match the socks? (off white)

The standard off-white hose you see everywhere will match a white dress shirt fine. I have some people try and insist on pure white hose for formal events to match their shirt, but really then you just wind up looking like you walked out of a pipe band.

Trust me, the colors are close enough - off white hose and a white shirt go fine together.

Would it have been formal enough to have worn a matching black vest with the Argyll as father of the bride?

I got married in a black Argyll and all my groomsmen wore the same. Granted, it was an afternoon wedding, but I would have worn the same in the evening. I just like them better than the PCs. Keep in mind that since you are going to be the only one in the kilt, you will automatically look snazzier than everyone else (save the blushing bride, of course), so I wouldn't worry about it. Either one is fine, but if you want to save yourself the rental fee, your Argyll should be fine.

As for wearing a matching vest -- if you wear the PC a vest really should be worn, and should come with yoru rental, anyway. If you wear the Argyll, vest or no vest is ok. I personally really like the look of a 5-button vest with an Argyll, either in a color to match the jacket, or in the same tartan as the kilt (particularly if the tartan is on the bias). But if you don't have one, no sweat.

Should I button the vest and leave the jacket unbuttoned?

If you wear the PC you have to wear it this way. They don't button. The Argyll jacket will button, so you can wear it either way, but I prefer the unbottoned look, particularly if you are wearing a vest.

BTW, I just noticed in The House of Edgar's new 2005 catalog they are offering 5-button Argyll vests now at a very reasonable price.

Done properly, a belt should not be worn with a P.C. and vest - true statement?

Correct, though I see people breaking this rule all the time, I still say if you are wearing a vest, leave yoru belt at home. The bottom of the vest will cover the top half of the belt and look unsightly.

When we rent formal kilt outfits from our gift shop, we do not include a belt in the package for just this reason.

Should I leave the sgian dubh home that day?

Why? Feel free to wear it. And if you have a fancy one, now's the time to break it out.

All this reminds me of a story. I had a gentlemen come in the shop one Saturday afternoon to be measured for a kilt. He wanted the most formal outfit that we had available, PC jacket, ghillie brouges, silver cantle sporran, the works. And he wanted more accessories on top of it -- fly plaid, jeweled plaid brooch, etc. He wound up putting together a really top notch outfit and spent easily $1400, if I remember.

He told me he had a deadline for recieving all this, and I asked what the occasion was. "My daughter's wedding" he replied.

"Oh," I said, "Is she having a Scottish wedding?"

"No, not really," he said.

"Oh, so just you and the groom will be in kilts, then? That's nice."

"No," he told me, "It's just going to be me in a kilt. I've always wanted one, and this is the perfect excuse to wear one."

"You better watch out!" I said, "You are going to out-dress the groom."

He just winked at me and said, "Are you kidding? I'm going to out-dress the bride!"

Aye,
Matt