Share your kilt reaction stories

[OC Richard]

wouldn't a "half kilt" mean 5 yards instead of 8?

I was thinking something along the lines of what happened at one wedding I was to pipe for.

It often happens to a wedding piper: You show up before the service, you're told that you should touch bases with the Best Man, and you end up in the room where the Best Man and Groomsmen are getting dressed, putting on their Kilt Hire attire.

For many gents it's their first time, and you see a lot of strange things.

There are the typical things like having the pleats in front, or the Sir Sean thing of separating the pair of flashes for an inside-outside thing, etc.

But one thing took the cake: a guy had put on his kilt so that the under-apron, instead of continuing across and going underneath the upper apron, had it folded and doubling back at his right side, and going under the back of the kilt. This left his right thigh bare all the way up!

He was actually going to go out and stand in the wedding that way.

[Canadian Vet]

I was thinking something along the lines of what happened at one wedding I was to pipe for.

It often happens to a wedding piper: You show up before the service, you're told that you should touch bases with the Best Man, and you end up in the room where the Best Man and Groomsmen are getting dressed, putting on their Kilt Hire attire.

For many gents it's their first time, and you see a lot of strange things.

There are the typical things like having the pleats in front, or the Sir Sean thing of separating the pair of flashes for an inside-outside thing, etc.

But one thing took the cake: a guy had put on his kilt so that the under-apron, instead of continuing across and going underneath the upper apron, had it folded and doubling back at his right side, and going under the back of the kilt. This left his right thigh bare all the way up!

He was actually going to go out and stand in the wedding that way.

... sounds like an Oscar Award Red Carpet kilt arrangement.

[kilted2000]

I was thinking something along the lines of what happened at one wedding I was to pipe for.

It often happens to a wedding piper: You show up before the service, you're told that you should touch bases with the Best Man, and you end up in the room where the Best Man and Groomsmen are getting dressed, putting on their Kilt Hire attire.

For many gents it's their first time, and you see a lot of strange things.

There are the typical things like having the pleats in front, or the Sir Sean thing of separating the pair of flashes for an inside-outside thing, etc.

But one thing took the cake: a guy had put on his kilt so that the under-apron, instead of continuing across and going underneath the upper apron, had it folded and doubling back at his right side, and going under the back of the kilt. This left his right thigh bare all the way up!

He was actually going to go out and stand in the wedding that way.

Curious, when you see things like this, do you say something or not?

[OC Richard]

Oh yes I say something.

It seems part of the job, giving tips on first-timers how to put everything on.

Another part of the job is informing people what pipers can and can't do.

Sometimes the client will say things like "I want you to play quietly while they're saying their vows" or "I want you to start quietly then turn up the volume" or "I want you to start loud then fade out".

The piper has to explain that there's no volume control knob on the pipes- it's "on" or "off". (If these things are asked in advance I can bring my Scottish Smallpipes for the quiet bits.)

And for some reason they always want the piper to march up or down stairs while they're playing.