News Flash: Flashes Gone Missing!

[ehiker]

Alright, I have a small problem and I wanted to get some advice.

Fortunately for me, when I planned out my wedding I gave myself plenty of time to get everything ordered and made. Good thing, because it took the local Scottish shop more than 4 months to get my kilt in. They kept blaming it on customs in New York.

Come on - I'm not stupid, people. The store clerk was obviously the one at fault here. She couldn't order a cheeseburger at McDonald's if you drove her up to the speaker and that was the only thing on the menu.

She once told my best man, when he called in about his order, that the rest of the groomsmen in the wedding party were wearing straight ties and was he sure he wanted to wear a bow tie. He said considering he was the ONLY guy in the wedding party that he would probably stick with the bow tie.

Anyway, the end result is that I got my kilt two weeks before the wedding, but the flashes never came in! They gave me a pair of black flashes and refunded my flash money (hehe - flash money), but... I'd really rather have flashes in my kilt tartan (Ancient Campbell of Argyll).

Anyone have any mill contacts I can email or call to see about getting some flashes made up for me?

I understand there might be slight variations in the tartan pattern between mills, and my best bet would be to contact the mill that made my particular order, but that doesn't bother me so much. I think their smaller size would negate or nullify any minor differences.

Ineptitude, incompetence, and a lack of responsibility - those are the things that bother me.

Any information or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Ethan

[cacunn]

I'd give Matt Newsome a call at the

The Scottish Tartans Museum
86 East Main St
Franklin, NC 28734
(828)524-7472

tartans@scottishtartans.org

He might have some of the tartan on hand or be able to direct you to another source. Because of the time element I'd phone rather than PM.

If he doesn't have the proper tartan he may have something more approprite than black.

Most important is that you are getting married to the most beautify woman in the world - don't sweat the small stuff.

Best of luck.

[McMurdo]

You might want out check out Celtic Croft, here is a link to the flashes page and they do have your tartan available:

http://www.kilts-n-stuff.com/Highlan...e_flashes.html

Another thought if you don't have the time to wait for shipping is to see if there are any other tartan shops in your area, I'm lucky in that I have several tartan shops close by, not sure if that would be an option for you or not, but it might be an idea.

Good luck with it, and congratulations on your upcoming wedding.

[Rampant Lion]

You might be able to order enough material (perhaps a couple swatches would be enough) and then get a local tailor/seamstress to make a pair up for you. If not, definitely contact Matt Newsome. I would try to get the material from the same weaver that supplied the material for your kilt if possible, just to make things match better.

[billmcc]

Ethan,

I suggest garter ties. I think they are better looking than flashes. See them here:
http://giftshop.scottishtartans.org/garters.html

[Skweres]

that sucks, im sorry you had so much hastle, i hope it all works out and soon

[mang1974]

Hey Guys, just to let you know that the actual wedding was last October, and it went wonderfully (I was the best man). ehiker is just trying to obtain the flashes now.

[Riverkilt]

You may have to go with solid flashes. Most of the jobbers carry them but you'd be well advised to call and verify that they are in stock and can be shipped right away.

I'd also suggest Matt's (Scottish Tartan Museum) traditional garter flash dealies if he has a color in stock that you can use. Last I heard they were awaiting a shipment.

Or, if tartan red works let me know and I'll let you borrow mine for the gig. Isn't "something borrowed" a tradition?

Here's a pic of one, a tad out of adjustment and cropped.



Ron

[Riverkilt]

Okay...grumble....was composing when you were posting...never mind....

Ron

[ehiker]

I apologize for not being clear about when it was. The wedding day has come and gone and it was a grand day, to be certain! It was made all the better with my best friend at my side.

Seriously, one of the only things that went wrong (in my book) was that I had to wear the black flashes instead of the tartan flashes.

If that was the worst thing the fates could throw at me on that day, I wasn't going to complain too loudly.

But I'd still like to remedy the flash situation.

Thanks for all of the suggestions! I'll start checking into them.