From the very beginning: I need advice!

[Murray of New Brunswick]

Thanks for all your help, here's what we have so far (I keep updating this to try and summarize what I have learned):

- It terms out a number of these things are matters of taste. In my case, I would like if possible for my outfit to be completely "orthodox": the sort of outfit I would greet the Queen in should she drop by one day, or at least what's considered orthodox for a groom. In cases where I depart from that, I want to do so advisedly, and in cases where what I wear as groom wouldn't be apporpriate for another occasion, I'd like to understand that too.

The well-dressed groom comes to the ceremony loaded with:

1. Prince Charlie jacket - black in my case, although it could be another colour (There are other options for jackets, but this is the more standard one)
2. and black vest;
3. fly plaid
4. with a brooch over the left shoulder;
5. tux shirt (whether with winged collar or not may be a matter of taste )
6. with a black bowtie,
7. studs and cufflinks;
8. dress sporran (white rabbit fur might go well with a wedding dress, but another one would be OK as well, a dress sporran is one with a metal cantle as opposed to a fold-over flap);
9. kilt - 8 yards and handmade for good quality - as a general rule, the heavier weight the better
9B. kilt pin, which goes through the upper apron only
10. hose (whether white or not may be a matter of taste, an alternative would be diced hose or Argyle hose );
11. sgian dubh in the right sock (unless you're left-handed):
12. flashes in either matching tartan or a color that compliments your kilt;
13. ghillie brogues - I am leaning towards piper's because they have a heavier sole and will take more wear
14. kilt belt and buckle - it would seem that the vest of the Prince Charlie may cover this, so it would be better to leave this off; however, it might be good to have this for occasions when not wearing the vest
15. Buy your bride a matching sash and place it over her right shoulder as part of the ceremony.
16. Undergarment (or not) as desired or felt appropriate


OK, so now I have this much knowledge.

Q7: On the sporran, there seems to be a lot of range. I can buy something pretty spectacular for about $400 US, with pewter etc, or there's a guy in Pakistan who will sell me one on e-bay for $20. When I check into this, it appears the folks who sell sporrans are none too fond of their Pakistani competitors flodding the markets with cheap sporran. On the other hand, there's enough Scotch blood in me that I'll save a dollar where I can. How critical is this? One Scot friend of mine has suggested I should try not to buy too flashy a sporran - in his words, you want the focus to be the kilt, not the sporran. What do people think of that?

Q8: Sgian Dubh: I see places selling "officer's" dubhs, which seem almost like a swiss army knife, include a corkscrew, bottle opener, etc. Now without putting too fine a point on it, it may just be possible that from time to time when wearing the kilt, I'll be taking a wee dram for my health. Would it be considered bad form to have a bottle opener included dubh at my wedding? In other words, does a person need to have a "formal" dubh?

[Schultz]

FWIW, I decided on wearing an Argyll jacket with a vest at my wedding because I just dont like the look of me in a PC. Maybe it has something to do with my gut and the little vest that goes with a PC. I just don't find it attractive at all, and I have to be dead sex-ay (or at least believe I am!)!

I also went with the Wyvis Sporran from Scottishkilts/Tartan Centre. It's very dressy but not flashy in the least...I think it's incredibly classy, even.

I'm going with "The Officer" sgian dubh myself, as well, because, well, I like it. The screwdriver and corkscrew are practically unnoticeable and there's also the fact that the overwhelming majority of people at my wedding are either Polish or Italian and they wouldn't know a sporran from a ghillie, so it matters not.

Wear what you are comfortable wearing.

[Murray of New Brunswick]

Yes, well I'm forced to a Prince Charlie despite my gut for the fact that I was named Charles Edward after the Bonnie Prince.

[M. A. C. Newsome]

As I said before, the choice of sgian dubh is really entirely personal. Some are obviously more formal than others, but as a general rule you can wear just about any style of sgian dubh to formal events, but formal sgians dubh should not be worn casually.

I have one of the classic "dress" sgians with a stone in the cap, and my clan crest on it, that I wear for formal events. I also have an officer sgian dubh as you describe that I wear every day. Then I have one made up from a Victorian by-knife that I like to wear for special events. It's an antique, so it doesn't get a lot of use.

I used to have a relatively plain one, oxhorn, carved into a thistle, that I wore for all occasions, dress or otherwise.

Point is, it's entirely your choice!
M

[Bob C]

Murray - at the risk of inspiring the wrath of the vendors here, DON'T spend $400 on a sporran. If you can get a nice-looking one of reasonable quality from Pakistan, Madagascar or New Jersey for a good price, do it.

I've never owned one of those officer's sgians dubh, but they look very cool. Not sure I'd wear it with formal attire. The handles are brown wood, right? I think you'd want a black handle with a jewel for wedding wear. There are inexpensive ones that look just fine. Hell, a vendor sent me one for free, once, when I bought a belt. I wouldn't brag about its quality to knife afficionados, but it looks just fine in my sock.

Matt has it right, though - much of this is personal choice. Listen to what all of us say, then adopt the advice that feels right for you.

[bjcustard]

We were married in the afternoon, so it was Argyll jacket and vest...
I have my plaid worn in an older-fashion, folded and laid square across my shoulder.

[Bob C]

Lookin' GOOD, BJ.

[Murray of New Brunswick]

Thanks for all your help, here's what we have so far (I keep updating this to try and summarize what I have learned):

- It terms out a number of these things are matters of taste. In my case, I would like if possible for my outfit to be completely "orthodox": the sort of outfit I would greet the Queen in should she drop by one day, or at least what's considered orthodox for a groom. In cases where I depart from that, I want to do so advisedly, and in cases where what I wear as groom wouldn't be apporpriate for another occasion, I'd like to understand that too.

The well-dressed groom comes to the ceremony loaded with:

1. Prince Charlie jacket - black in my case, although it could be another colour (There are other options for jackets, but this is the more standard one)
2. and black vest;
3. fly plaid
4. with a brooch over the left shoulder;
5. tux shirt (whether with winged collar or not may be a matter of taste )
6. with a black bowtie,
7. studs and cufflinks;
8. dress sporran (white rabbit fur might go well with a wedding dress, but another one would be OK as well, a dress sporran is one with a metal cantle as opposed to a fold-over flap);
9. kilt - 8 yards and handmade for good quality - as a general rule, the heavier weight the better
9B. kilt pin, which goes through the upper apron only
10. hose (whether white or not may be a matter of taste, an alternative would be diced hose or Argyle hose );
11. sgian dubh in the right sock (unless you're left-handed):
12. flashes in either matching tartan or a color that compliments your kilt;
13. ghillie brogues - I am leaning towards piper's because they have a heavier sole and will take more wear
14. kilt belt and buckle - it would seem that the vest of the Prince Charlie may cover this, so it would be better to leave this off; however, it might be good to have this for occasions when not wearing the vest
15. Buy your bride a matching sash and place it over her right shoulder as part of the ceremony.
16. Undergarment (or not) as desired or felt appropriate


OK, so now I have this much knowledge and already feel more comfortable about it all.

Now comes a couple more questions, we are getting down to some stuff that is fairly personalized now:

Q9: I see that the kilt store markets a "deluxe" kilt. Has anyone bought one of those or do they have an opinion as to whether they are worth the extra?

Q10: And here you'll think I'm mad: Has anyone ever found socks or hose that weren't made of wool? My past experience with wool socks has been that I have not found them too comfortable. Or am I nutes to even think I'm going to find an acceptable alternative?

Q11: Is there anything in particular I should be looking to carry in the sporran?

[Freelander Sporrano]

Q 10 : If you are worried about the itching of the wool when it gets warm use those panty hose socks (Called Pop socks here) Under them.they are panty hose material but like socks

Q 11: Anything you need on the day .If it's a dress sporran there won't be much room anyway.

[Doc Hudson]

A Sporran Flask with your Clan Crest or an appropriate fraternal crest (such as a Masonic Crest Flask) would be useful for fortifying the groom and his groomsmen. It would also be traditional.