Highland Toastmaster & Highland Wedding MC

05/06/2026

It's been a long while since I was Toastmaster for a wedding at Airdrie Town Hall.

In fact it was Autumn 2019 that I last treaded the boards at the hall. Nearly 7 seven years ago. A lot has happened since then. COVID, retirement from the Army, celebrant vocation, umpteen cruise 🚢 holidays, city breaks and bought a new build.

Today, I have the "Reds" on for a change in order to officiate at Ben and Stephanie's wedding breakfast and thereafter including the "1st Dance"!

Association of Scottish Toastmasters

Highland Toastmaster & Highland Wedding MC

07/05/2026

Whether you're looking for a city break or hoping to explore stunning countryside, there really is something for everyone in Scotland.

06/05/2026

Happy 37th Wedding Anniversary to us, Val Baxter

What was fashionable and trendy, at weddings in 1989?

Well, here ye go...........

Being married by a Priest, Minister, or Registrar were the only options that couples had. There was no script given to the couple. You donated a some of money to the clergy, mainly to pay for the heating of the venue!

Marriage Certificates when completed were by calligraphy writing. These days, they are typed.

The wearing of military uniforms was popular for serving personnel.

The church wedding service lasted a minimum of 2 hours. St Leonard's in the field Holy Trinity Church, Perth. Today, average duration of a wedding ceremony is 30 minutes!

Val's dress and headgear were all the range then. 😆

Guests during the day and evening were asked to give gifts that the couple requested. Saved, getting 12 irons, 4 ironing boards, and 25 kettles.

We had a 4-tier wedding cake, which was unheard of then. The contents were all fruit cake. You kept the top tier for your firstborn's Christening or Baptism, now known as Baby Naming. The cake cost (a guard commander duty). Army Chef made it. So, it cost nowt!

We had 150 guests at our evening reception in the Isle of Skye Hotel, Perth.

Our wedding, in total, costs £880. We still have the receipts.

Oor Piper was Alastair Duthie. He finished his recruit training the day before our wedding. I, for the life of me, did not bully Alistair to play at our wedding. 😆

We had Esk Valley Videos (They did the Glencorse Barracks Recruit Passing Out Parades) for £150, which included our photo album. Videos at weddings were also unheard of in those days.

Sandy Cu**in, (The guy who jumped - escaped from the Big Brother House) was an evening guest!

My hairline was starting to take holidays abroad, 😆

Our honeymoon was to Blackpool!

We had lived in 15 military houses from when we got married. Since then, we have owned 3 and sold 2.

17/04/2026

Toastmaster claes on for tonight's

Centenary Life Members Dinner.

Association of Scottish Toastmasters

31/03/2026

Wedding Suppliers!

A message from the chair of https://marriedinscotland.com/ MIS and Scottish Wedding Industry Alliance - SWIA

I am so pleased to see lots of great wedding suppliers taking advantage of their FREE full page premium listing on MIS.

The history of the SWIA and MIS.

The SWIA is a leadership group that have connection now to Scot Gov and Visit Scotland and was set up during COVID to give our industry a voice.

Our group along with some amazing other founders helped to raise 25 million for the industry during covid to help keep businesses afloat.

The Scottish Government were unaware of how much revenue weddings brought into the Scottish economy.

At last count this was around 1.4 billion, helping to sustain around 40,000 jobs.

Our wonderful backdrop brings couples from across the world, the scenery, suppliers and history of “Scottish weddings” is well known the world over. Not to mention, we know how to party!

We work to highlight problems in our industry and report findings.
Trying to ensure Scotland remains at the top and encourage more stunning weddings to happen.

MIS site was an off shoot of SWIA, it’s a consumer-based site that is linked to Visit Scotland.

That site is FREE for suppliers across Scotland to list on.

We are a not-for-profit group helping the Scottish wedding industry which is the BEST PART.

For the industry, by the industry. By volunteers.

Now with over 150 wedding suppliers listed this is fast going to be where couples will visit.

Our volunteering leadership group of 15, more to be announced on
https://swia.scot/swia-leadership-group/

Who all work tirelessly on What’s app chat, meetings and email to help the industry.

Wedding Suppliers - What can you do?

List free, create an account!
You receive a premium listing!
Lots of content, even video and link all your platforms!
Be an ambassador and tell other great suppliers!

This is a MUST REQUIREMENT-

Link back to our site!
Our team will cross check all suppliers on a monthly basis.
If not a link on your site, even in your bio.
As seen on etc..........
Use your featured on logo as credibility!

Join our open meetings (more details to follow).

All suppliers are welcome as long as you tick these boxes -

Established 6 months +
Have proof of 5 weddings on your platforms to see.
Are professional and deliver quality weddings.

Join here - https://marriedinscotland.com/

A tutorial can be found by scrolling down on the FB page for Married in Scotland.

Listing creation video - https://youtu.be/BvMb4D6KsJE
This will help you.

One thing to remember is - landscape images or it cuts off the head in photos, and my team won't then allow it on.

Even just put one pic on just now if that helps.

You can always log into the same place to update anytime.

**please note we are not having any mention of awards or awards logos on the site** this was a decision made by our group to have the same opportunity for all on the site.

Just so you know how we are promoting!

All wedding shows ran here www.engagingweddings.co.uk will promote the MIS site to help couples to find suppliers.

One of our leaders from the Scottish Wedding Show will also be promoting to engaged couples.

We are growing our audience on socials with weekly content across Facebook and Instagram with Tik Tok coming soon.

META adverts coming soon 😉

Let me know if you need any help. More than happy to do so.

Have a lovely day 🙂

Alexa Scott
Chair
Married in Scotland/ Scottish Wedding Industry Alliance

27/03/2026

Thank you to Beckie Michie & Fiona Pugh and others, too many to mention from Murrayshall Country House Hotel & Golf Club for a couple of hours looking around the new addition to the estate, i.e.

'The Pods"

These wee and big huts truly are special. In fact, you could probably book a whole football squad into the current 22 pods whilst they are visiting the Fair City of Perth when they play St Johnstone! 😆

Those in attendance were treated to a wee bit of "hog roast" cakes and some swally.

Nice to network with some locals too!

Onwards and upwards for Murrayshall Country House and Estate.

23/03/2026

We’re delighted to shine a spotlight on Scottish celebrant Brian Baxter in our latest blog feature.

Brian’s journey is one rooted in a genuine love for people and their stories.

From heartfelt weddings to thoughtful farewells and joyful naming ceremonies, Brian is passionate about crafting moments that reflect each individual’s unique story. His approach is warm, personal, and authentic, ensuring no two ceremonies are ever the same.

In our blog, Brian shares what inspired his career change, what he loves most about being a celebrant, and why storytelling lies at the heart of everything he does.

Discover Brian’s story and what makes his ceremonies so special, link in comments 👇

Brian Baxter - Humanist Celebrant with the Fuze Foundation

10/03/2026

I am celebrating 14 years of volunteering for SSAFA Perth and Kinross and long may it continue!

It all started with being a caseworker, then I moved onto fundraising and now onto mentoring.

Scotland

SSAFA, the Armed Forces charity

07/03/2026

Scottish Wedding Suppliers.

Did you know that you can list your services for free on the Married in Scotland website.

Its big, it's better and is FREE!

Celebrant | Married In Scotland https://share.google/rMpzPbzZZF3pljXqM

11/02/2026

WEDDING SUPPLIERS 📍📍

The www.marriedinscotland.com website is now ready for established wedding suppliers to add their

FREE PREMIUM LISTING WITHIN their chosen category.

At the Scottish Wedding Industry Alliance - SWIA we have links directly with the Scottish Government and Visit Scotland and with this site we want to help drive more wedding business to Scotland.

Visit Scotland see over 1 Million hits per month and we already have hyper links from their site to ours.

So to add your listing all you need to do is follow the instructions on the next post which is a video showing you how to set up your account and add the content.

IMPORTANT NOTE - all we ask for in return is -

All suppliers must add a link back to our website either on their own website or in their Facebook or Instagram link bio section.

We will also supply an As Featured on logo for you.

Photographers, videographers, venues, content creators we would ask that you send us in real life weddings to feature in our blog.

The inspirational section of our site needs stunning Scottish weddings and suppliers will all be credited. Please send to [email protected]

Criteria -

You MUST be based in Scotland.

Be established over 6 months.

Have 5 + weddings proof on your socials/website.

All listings will be signed off by our leadership team.

We will do checks on all of the above.

Any questions please email. [email protected]

Association of Scottish Toastmasters

Showcasing the best of Scotland's wedding venues and wedding suppliers. Promoting the whole of the Scottish wedding industry.