my 1980s kilted wedding!

[OC Richard]

Thanks so much for all of your congratulations!

About my dress, I must say that knowing what I know now, having been exposed both here and on trips to Scotland to the way the Scots do things, I probably would have worn less-formal attire, perhaps a charcoal Argyll jacket. Looking back, the white tie etc were a bit over the top!

About the denominational stuff, we had a "mixed" wedding, as my wife was raised Catholic and I was raised Methodist. (Where I'm from everybody is either Methodist or Baptist. The town I'm from has only those two churches, one of each. If a town has four churches, it's two of each!) However around the time I got married I began attending Catholic services and eventually went through the process of conversion (RCIA).

The level of informality of dress at Catholic Mass around here was surprising to me at first. People would wear t-shirts, board shorts, flip-flops, etc which was quite a contrast to back home where men wore suits and women wore dresses. I became somewhat used to it all, but I still wear slacks and a buttoned shirt myself.

About the pipe band stuff, yes that's the band Kevin founded! I've played with Kevin since the late 70's when he was only 12 or 13. At the age of 15 he took over as Pipe Major, the youngest person in the band, but already at that age a talented piper and musician and a natural-born leader.

By the time of his tragic untimely death at the age of 40 he had been Pipe Major a quarter-century, as well as being the President of the Western United States Pipe Band Association and the choir director of a church. Countless pipers around here began under his teaching (at some points in time he would have 30 or 40 students.) He brought his pipe band from Grade Four to winning Grade Three at the World Pipe Band Championships in Glasgow and being promoted to Grade Two.

For many years the band was known as RP Blandford & Son due to being sponsored by his father's shop. After Kevin's death the band's name was changed to Kevin R Blandford Memorial. (The tartan also changed from its longstanding British Columbia to Roxburgh District, the tartan Kevin had worn for many years. As you can see from the wedding photos Kevin wore an Anderson kilt back in the 80s.)

Thanks again! Richard

PS look at how much shorter we were wearing our kilts back in the 80s compared to the recent photo of the band posted above, where little knee is visible.