Intro

My first time to Scotland was for a wedding of a good friend of my fiancee. What a pleasant surprise I was in for when Scotland greeted the couple and us with great weather, a brimming, bustling town and a wedding from the pages of a Disney fairy tale.

Fettes College

Fettes college is a grand location to get married in and is used as a school which, amongst other distinguished gentlemen, Tony Blair did attend. Some might argue whether Tony Blair should be considered a gentleman or a war criminal but there were happier occasions to attend during my visit. The grounds of Fettes college are extensive and command a good view over the town of Edinburgh. There are broad stairs for photo opportunities for big groups, so if you were to say yes here you are in a good spot to get all the shots for your album. You probably reenact a photo setup which many final years of the school also made use of in good British (Scottish... Jesus, what a political minefield) tradition.

The chapel within the building for the service was just right for the festivities which had approximately 150 guests. I have not been to many church weddings (in fact, this was my first), but I personally find most churches to be too big and imposing to actually feel comfortable in. I suppose this is by design to make you bow your head in the presence of the greatness of the maker. However, as I am not baptised, the bigger the church is, the more I start to count the seconds until I am going to combust struck by the holy light. Not so in this lovely chapel with a wooden roof which made it warmer and gave the whole setup a homely feel which suited the couple and occasion very well. There were also nice paintings on the glass windows for the scholarly interested and I was left to wonder why two of them were not painted. I should have asked the reverend who did a short service focusing on the importance of gifts and love underpinned with anecdotes which were just right.

The acoustics of the chapel were also nice as there was not as much echo as you would have from stone only. As we attended an Irish / Scottish wedding there were two lovely readings, one from each site of the British channel. As the layout at the front was symmetrical it was possible to have two people up front in parallel which might not work in other venues.

After the ceremony and the exchange of rings at which the bride exclaimed "Seriously!?" when the reverend pointed out that she might be putting the ring on the wrong hand (of her future husband, I might add for clarification) there was plenty of room for a few glasses of bubbly in the reception hall. A two-winged staircase provides for possibilities for a grand entrance of the couple or you can opt to go outside. The only caveat here is that there is gravel in front of the building so the ladies either need assistance or have to come well-heeled for treacherous grounds.

Once the first round of drinks is concluded with slight disorientation seeping in the function room can be booked just around the corner (which is not real estate agent code for a 15-minute drive:  the room is directly beside the college). Here you have plenty of space for up to 200 - 300 people seated (please inquire yourself, but our party only used half of the available space).

We got served a big three-course dinner with options for starter, main and dessert which my future wife had informed me about in the lead up when we (ahem she) RSVPed. I had picked myself but then forgot about it as I am a bad guest with lousy manners, never to mention partner for life. Even better in the end as this way each course was a delightful surprise. The beef was tender and "wet" as the Irish like it and I had to give up my berry cream dessert after two spoons to exchange for my better half's profiteroles. That was a bad trade for me, but wat we do for love.

If you ever were to put bets on how long the speeches are going to take care of cultural references. This is all I will say on the matter and leave the rest to the imagination and that it might be a good laugh in the end. I would never encourage anyone to gamble and have always been of an opportunistic mindset (reads: if anything happened along these lines it wasn't me or anyone near table ten for that matter). All the speeches were well rounded and finished up with a warm smile on everyone's faces.

If you had asked me upfront I would have absolutely vetoed any kind of traditional dancing at any wedding. However, food and drink can be very persuasive if applied over time and in great quantities. A concept known since the ancient greeks so I went for it. The mix between modern music and traditional dancing is definitely one of the biggest positives I take away from this wedding and I think anyone should do this to get people. We all had a great laugh and it was good fun.

In parallel, the cake was served together with cheese. As I am a long time fan of both there was no need to sell me on those, especially after twirling frantically around without having a clue what I am actually doing in a ceilidgh to the delight of my significant other.

As Fettes college is situated in the middle of Edinburgh transport was no problem and all the guests could easily and affordably find their way back to their hotels once the bar personnel called it a day in the late evening.

Castle

Edinburgh castle is stunning and you will find the Scottish crown jewels and the birthplace of James the first, son of Mary Queen of scots within its walls. There is a lot more to see and listen to with the audioguide (which as nerds my beloved and I always go for) just like in the tower of London. You can reach the castle either by the royal mile which nowadays is basically a high street for tourists in which you can buy a kilt for roughly fifty bucks (nooo, I did not) or the various pathways leading up the hill. As we had the luck to be there at the beginning of April the daffodils were in full bloom and we enjoyed the walk.

Bar Napoli

On the day before the wedding, we were lucky enough to find a taxi driver who brought us and another couple to this Italian restaurant not far off from our hotel. For my thirtieth birthday in London we faced the challenge the most of the bars we knew or the taxi drivers brought us to were closed after 1 am and we feared the worst when we had rumbling stomachs after the drinks in the Raeburn. Fortunately, we were rescued and our modern carriage in form of a black cab transported us to a piece of Italy after midnight where we were able to have a three-course meal. My fiancee was informed the next day at the hairdressers that bar Napoli is indeed an institution in the Scottish capital while I was having my coffee in Ryans at Queenberry Street.

Hotel Angel's share

The Angel's share hotel has a great bar and modern finish to it which I liked. The theme is based around Scottish famous actors, writers and sportsmen and women. What this hotel gains in a great bar it lacks in the breakfast buffet in my opinion as this was not included in the price of the room and felt all a little bit added on rather than part of the entire concept. The rooms were tidy, well organised and the bed was comfortable and fluffy. We slept well and the free Scottish tea cake more than made up for the breakfast experience. I mean, come on who could be grumpy when presented with a Scottish equivalent of a Dickmann.

Edinburgh festival

If you happen to go to Edinburgh under your own steam rather than attending a wedding like we did you might want to consider to go during the Edinburgh festival. I do not have a first-hand experience of it so do your own research. We have been told that if you like street performances, books, jazz and all other kinds of entertainment this is the right time to go in the year as the population of the town nearly doubles due to tourist influx. As prices for hotel rooms more than double likewise during this time you might want to give the university a ring as we have been told that most of the students leave town during the festival and they rent out the rooms on the campus for a lower rate.

Conclusion

The couple did everything right as the greatest pitfalls for weddings are the lack of food and drink, too long transits from the different venues, a ceremony which is too long, too long a distance from accommodation to venue and no one getting on the dance floor. All of these have been masterly handled to great success. This was my first church wedding, first time ever seeing servicemen in a kilt and my first trip to Scotland and I want more! Thanks, I am now a fan of Edinburgh and If you two can manage a big wedding like this, you can face anything in life. I am very honoured to have been invited.