Duncan and Becca's wedding!- 4th of October

I flew back into Heathrow airport from America on the 2nd of October to arrive back on the Friday morning. I went back to my Mum's flat were I did a quick change of suitcases and went off to meet Nathan at Gatwick airport.

It was really good to see him as I'd been gone for 2 weeks... and before that had only seen him 3 times in 2 months!

We also met up with Benji and Catriona who'd just flown back from holiday. The four of us then jumped in a taxi to Bury where we were staying for Becca and Duncan Stewart's wedding.

Nathan has remained very close friends with 11 of the guys he went to school with. They all meet up when they can (which isn't often) but without fail they all make sure they get together on Christmas Eve... I have a feeling this will remain a tradition for a long time to come!!

All the guys and their wives/ girlfriends were in the same 15th century country inn- The Swan Inn- near the wedding venue. We arrived in dribs and drabs over the Friday evening and had a great time catching up! The evening wasn't too late though as the landlord closed the pub and we ended up outside drinking in the courtyard! (this is when I realised it was definitely autumn!!!)

Duncan is such a lovely guy. When I was in my last year of school I organized a charity ball with him and a group of other independent school pupils from around Edinburgh. So he's one of the guys I've known the longest. He's always very gentlemanly and has found a gorgeous bride in Becca.

I was blown away by all she had done for the wedding. She is very much into design and in Duncan's speech he alluded to the fact he had to stop her from trying to carve the tables herself!!

The theme was of harvest festival and every attention was paid to smallest things!! I loved her bridesmaid dresses- bright orange, short and very 60's looking! (they all had great legs so looked stunning!)

Both Becca and Duncan looked so happy and we all had a great time! Some of us attended the brunch on the Sunday which was such a good idea as it meant we had a chance to catch up with the bride and groom. They were off on honeymoon to an island on the west of Scotland... (every detail!!).. it sounded so idilic!!

My most notable memories were Hector and Ian playing the bagpipes on the bus on the way back, dancing strip the willow, the cheese and cold meat platter being devoured, Duncan's speech and the general fun and games!! A great wedding! The floral displays were beautiful and the orange colour was so different! It worked brilliantly! I really liked the small orange berries and corn that was tied together with an orange ribbon that was placed at each setting.

Scottish Country Dancing! I love doing Scottish reels as it gets everyone involved! The reception part of the evening ran on a little later than planned so we had a limited period of time to get down on the dance floor! But we really went for it! I had to flip my shoes off and be prepared to be twirled like mad!

The next day both Catriona and I had really badly bruised arms from doing strip the willow- those boys can be vicious with the twirling!

Nathan and I

Catriona and BenjiColin and Jarrien. Stuart and his Mum and Dad, Anne and John Paterson who are good friends of Duncan's parents. Finnie with the girls! Sally, Catriona and Katie

Katie and Hector, whose table we were at. Hector also pipped in the bride and groom- something he has done for all the boys who have married so far!
Sinead and Ian (Sorry if I spelt names wrong!!)
Simon and Tanya

The last wedding of the group was Geoff and Ross who got married in June 07. All the boys were actually much better behaved at this wedding than last year!! I have a vivid memory of Ian wearing nothing but his kilt and a tie around his head (like rambo!) dancing with one of Ross' older family members!
Sally caught the bouquet so all bets were on as to who the next couple to get hitched would be! ... well we didn't have to wait long for an engagement!! Less than a month later on the 2nd of November Andrew asked Sally to marry him!

I can't wait for their wedding... and I'm thinking Nathan can't wait for the stag weekend more!!