Plaid with a regular suit?

[Father Bill]

But the OP hasn't signed in since the day of the first post either.

[Willie T]

I have to strongly disagree. A tartan is not a fashion accessory, thus is not ever clashing. It is a nametag. No matter what you wear, your nametag cannot "clash".

Father Bill, I actually agree with you 100%. :-) I don't think I was very clear about the context that I was thinking of when I made my comment earlier. I was envisioning the circumstance where a bride or a bride's family who may not be familiar with tartans and their purpose and might wish the use of tartan by the groom to be limited to a small amount of tartan or to a tartan that isn't as bright so as not to upstage the bride or clash with the other colors chosen for a highly color-coordinated wedding which I mostly see in my corner of the United States. For some people that might be an issue.

[okaykatelyn]

Thank you all for the wonderful feedback! Sorry for the delayed response. I am not a member of a clan myself, so I think we have decided that I will wear a sash after the ceremony. He is wearing a very slim black tux and I am trying to convince him to opt for the tartan bowtie to kind of tie it in hehe... I don't think he will go for it as it is quite loud and he is more of the understated style type of guy. I do have another question. When selecting the 'type' of tartan pattern, are certain ones best for certain occasions, or is it just personal preference? We both like the MacMillan 'old/ancient modern' style, it is similar to the original but a bit darker (without that loud pinkish hue!) Also, I am learning to navigate this site, so I hope I am responding in the correct way!

[piperdbh]

The choice of colorway is all about personal preference. No tartan is more formal or more casual than any other. The modern/ancient/weathered variations of tartans are a recent invention aimed at selling more tartan. Whichever you choose is equal to the others.

[Father Bill]

You're doing fine here!

The colour hues are your personal choice. Just know that "Ancient" and "Weathered" etc. are just marketing ploys claiming that it's what the tartan would look like if it had been around for a century or so.
Absolutely nothing wrong with them, but they're not older, better, or more traditional, just a faded version of the tartan.

Cheers, and best wishes for the wedding!

Father Bill+

Thank you all for the wonderful feedback! Sorry for the delayed response. I am not a member of a clan myself, so I think we have decided that I will wear a sash after the ceremony. He is wearing a very slim black tux and I am trying to convince him to opt for the tartan bowtie to kind of tie it in hehe... I don't think he will go for it as it is quite loud and he is more of the understated style type of guy. I do have another question. When selecting the 'type' of tartan pattern, are certain ones best for certain occasions, or is it just personal preference? We both like the MacMillan 'old/ancient modern' style, it is similar to the original but a bit darker (without that loud pinkish hue!) Also, I am learning to navigate this site, so I hope I am responding in the correct way!

[plaid preacher]

Thank you all for the wonderful feedback! Sorry for the delayed response. I am not a member of a clan myself, so I think we have decided that I will wear a sash after the ceremony. He is wearing a very slim black tux and I am trying to convince him to opt for the tartan bowtie to kind of tie it in hehe... I don't think he will go for it as it is quite loud and he is more of the understated style type of guy. I do have another question. When selecting the 'type' of tartan pattern, are certain ones best for certain occasions, or is it just personal preference? We both like the MacMillan 'old/ancient modern' style, it is similar to the original but a bit darker (without that loud pinkish hue!) Also, I am learning to navigate this site, so I hope I am responding in the correct way!

Katelyn, fight the good fight. I happen to think that the MacMillan Modern is a smashing tartan, and would look very smart. If you wear the tie, do go with the matching waistcoat or cumberbund. That will help to pull it together a little more than just a tartan tie alone. You can find bow tie/cumberbund sets at many Scottish shops..and if not they can certainly bring them in for you. It is his tartan, so I hope he wears it with pride.

[Michael A]

Yes a tartan bow tie is quite enough. He will honour his clan in a way that makes him comfortable and does not distract from you - the bride - and you will both be happy.

I might also add that the kilted Wiggle (Anthony Field) in the first picture was overdressed compared with the others. The kilt should be just another form of dress commensurate with a given level of formality. Anthony looks like he is about to play in the Edinburgh Tattoo.

[OC Richard]

By far my favourite MacMillan tartan is this one, I think it's called MacMillan Old.



It's not the normal MacMillan in different colours, it has the various stripes arranged differently. It's symmetrical, while the normal MacMillan is asymmetrical.

I don't know if Jock has seen all of the various ways people dress for weddings around here. A tartan tie or waistcoat or cummerbund in a rather muted tartan like MacMillan Old would hardly be loud or gauche by our American standards.

(I piped at a wedding where all the bridesmaids were dressed in orange, the bright traffic-cone orange, and the men were in black tuxes with orange ties and cummerbunds.)

[Jock Scot]

By far my favourite MacMillan tartan is this one, I think it's called MacMillan Old.



It's not the normal MacMillan in different colours, it has the various stripes arranged differently. It's symmetrical, while the normal MacMillan is asymmetrical.

I don't know if Jock has seen all of the various ways people dress for weddings around here. A tartan tie or waistcoat or cummerbund in a rather muted tartan like MacMillan Old would hardly be loud or gauche by our American standards.

(I piped at a wedding where all the bridesmaids were dressed in orange, the bright traffic-cone orange, and the men were in black tuxes with orange ties and cummerbunds.)

OCR.

I saw your post yesterday and have since thought long and hard how to reply to this without causing upset.

The answer is that I have an idea what you are talking about, partly because we see it here in what I call the "wedding arrangement company and hire company" style of wedding as opposed to "knowledgeable and traditional" style of wedding. Perhaps "old school" as opposed to "new school" may also help to describe the situation. Following on from that, internet pictures of 'traditional Highland wedding attire" -----mostly there is little that is illustrated there(try google images) that is one bit traditional, ----- this really confuses the issue even more. Then, if we add ignorance to what is actually done as opposed to the "Hollywood" idea of what is required then it is hardly surprising we get what we get.

Added to that, the trans-Atlantic aspect(which I have often seen here in pictures and rarely appear to be traditional in my eyes, even though they may be trying so hard to be traditional) and the fact that we in the UK do not appear to have evening weddings and you chaps appear to, does complicate things further. Dinner suits(tux) and bow ties and bow ties worn with the kilt plus PC etc., worn during the day, over here, for a wedding is an absolute no no to the traditionalist eye. Without trying to be contentious here, to a British person with attire knowledge, would consider a black bow tie and dinner suit worn during the day is worn by hotel staff, snooker players and I am afraid to say, the ill informed.

Of course one can talk about these theoretical things on a website such as this as long as we are not talking about a specific wedding, but not a word would pass ones lips should one be actually attending any wedding, but BUT that does stop one from observing and thinking!

[OC Richard]

I have an idea what you are talking about, partly because we see it here in what I call the "wedding arrangement company and hire company" style of wedding as opposed to "knowledgeable and traditional" style of wedding.

At least around here, your second category doesn't really exist.

I used to pipe at around 40 or 50 weddings a year, I've seen every sort of wedding there can be in this region (well every sort which would have a piper!) and here it's the "hire company" style. The rare exceptions are things like people getting married in their back yard wearing jeans and t-shirts with buckets of KFC on the table for the reception.

So here as you point out people wear black tuxedos for any wedding, day or garden or church. Guests show up in aloha shirts, in shorts, wearing flip-flops, in jeans, wearing cowboy hats, or however they feel and they're not judged. (Indeed there are people who dress in aloha shirts, shorts, and flip-flops every day of their lives, be it at work, attending a funeral, or attending a wedding. For many people throwing a sport jacket over their t-shirt and blue jeans and boots is as dressed up as they get, some of these people wealthy and prominent.)

Hard to measure our situation with a traditional British yardstick.

Yet, this site is about Highland Dress and it's very interesting to be informed about the traditional British views, though they might not be applicable to us.