Jim & Jacque's Wedding - Scotland 1999

JIM & JACQUE'S WEDDING - SCOTLAND 1999 - Part Two

Sunday, 10 October, 1999 - Stirling - Fintry
The hotel included a full buffet breakfast. Jeff was the first one up, and just as he finished and began reading his newspaper I came down and joined him. Mom and Dad came down shortly, and eventually everyone else trickled down, some looking a little worse for the wear. Jeff, Lucia, Mom, Dad and I packed our bags but before leaving Stirling we visited the Wallace Monument, near the University. We hiked up and down the hill but didn't climb the 246 steps to the top of the Tower.

On to the Culcreuch Castle, in the countryside near Fintry in Stirlingshire. We checked in and were shown to our rooms. What a great place this is. Scottish castles are not the Disneyland variety. They were built as fortresses and are usually angular and relatively small except for the huge castles in Edinburgh or Stirling. This one was built for defense and was the clan castle of the Galbraith clan from 1320 to 1630. It was then the home of the Barons of Culcreuch from 1699. The present owners, the Halsams, have restored and updated it and it is very comfortable. It is close to the village of Fintry and Loch Lomond.

We have (almost) the whole Castle to the wedding party which numbers eighteen! I am in the Keep Room, which was part of the original keep with six foot thick walls. In the wall was a little alcove with a comfortable chair and a round table which overlooked the lawn. It is a lovely room with a four poster bed. Mom and Dad were in the Menzies room. When we got to our rooms we discovered that Jim and Jacque had gotten a book for each of us. Each was individually chosen and inscribed. It was such a thoughtful thing to do.

Jim and Jacque have chosen the Chinese Bird Suite. It has hand painted Chinese wallpaper that was brought from China in 1723. The room also has Chinese ornaments and furniture and is supposed to be haunted. Legend has it that a visitor was murdered in the room in 1582. Jeff and Lucia have the Honeymoon Suite, almost as nice, with a large, comfortable sitting area, big, canopied bed and nice bath.

The others hadn't arrived yet, so the five of us took off to do some sightseeing and driving through this beautiful countryside - without the suitcases packed around us, it was lovely! We headed up to the Queen Elizabeth Forest Park and the Trossachs Trail. We passed by Loch Katerine but didn't stop. It was a beautiful drive through pastures with the white sheep scattered about, penned in by hedges. We even saw one of the Scottish Highland cows, small red, long-haired cows with great big horns. It rained or drizzled during the morning, but cleared up at lunch and stayed that way the whole afternoon. We stopped for lunch at the Old Coach Inn and Restaurant in Aberfoyel: beer and sandwiches. We continued driving and finally headed back to the Castle in order to have a little rest.

Everyone assembled by late afternoon in the drawing room. "Everyone" included Jan, Jacque's older sister, Jan's daughter, Kim, Mike and Heidi Toomey (Mike was Jim's room mate in college), and Jacque's best friend Linda. Dinner was hosted by Ron and Pam in the Castle's Dungeon. It was a small room that just held the 18 of us, with a large hook hanging from the low, rounded ceilings and mounted animal heads on the walls. After drinks, we could choose from the menu, and we talked, ate, drank and really enjoyed ourselves. We persuaded them to keep the bar open well past closing time of 11:00 p.m. It was such a nice evening.

Monday, 11 October, 1999 - Culcreuch Castle, Fintry
A huge English breakfast was included between 8:30 and 9:30, and we all eventually showed up to eat. A friendly Turkish waiter took good care of us. We again split up this morning with Jeff, Mark H, Kim Hunter (Jacque's cousin) and I in one car and Christine and Todd following us in their car. After locating and checking out the church in Buchlyvie, we spent the morning and early afternoon driving up the west side of Loch Lomond. What a great scenic drive. The weather was constantly changing. Cool and mostly clear, it changed every 15 minutes. It would drizzle, then bright sun and blue skies, then it would rain, then sun. We saw rainbows all over. We got all the way to the top of the Loch, stopping a few times to check out the view a little more closely, then headed south past Loch Earn, the Pass of Levy, Callander and home to the Castle. A three hour tour, without the shipwreck at the end.

The bar was still open so we had beer and sandwiches, and then got ready for the wedding at 4:00 p.m. Except for Dad and Jeff, all the men had kilts, and did they ever look sharp. They had the full "uniform" even to the shoes and small knives in the socks.

We finally left for the Kirk of Scotland chapel Buchlyvie, and took our seats in the church. There were candles all around, some of the 75 that Pam and Ron bought on their way up from London, as well as cream colored roses. The organist played, and finally Jim took his place at the head of the aisle. Jacque, in her beautiful wedding dress carried on the plane from Austin, followed Moira the minister down the aisle. She was indeed a beautiful bride and looked stunning. The service was fairly short but very nice and included some poetry reading. We took lots of photos, with Christine the clear winner in number of photos taken, and probably quality of shots as well. Finally we let Jim and Jacque walk down the aisle - what a nice service.

We all went back to the Castle - on the way back we saw a double rainbow, as well as one of Jeff's favorite "hairy cows." Jim and Jacque hosted a reception followed by a dinner. Dinner was in the elegant formal dining room (the Laird's Room), lit by candles and candelabra and decorated with the cream colored roses. The table was beautifully set up so we could all sit at one long table, with Jim and Jacque at the head. There was a prepared menu with a few nice choices, all nicely served and very good. Mark H gave a nice toast and we all ate. We also played games such as make the glasses sing and I introduced some "stupid broker tricks" at one end of the table. Much laughter and happiness. The cake was cut - not smashed in each other's faces - and served with cream. What a nice event.

On to the bar where we continued our games and joviality, and where Ron and Pam opened another tab. What fun we had! The wedding itself was great, but even more was staying in the Castle together for three days and how much everyone enjoyed the conversation and company.