Thank You!

This is to say thanks to all of you for making Saturday such a wonderful day. We're both incredibly touched by the generosity of you all and the trouble you took to be there with us.

We're off to Spain now and will be updating the blog with photos and so on later in the month. Promise there'll be no photos of cats in marriage gear.

Let's air those insecurities

Here we are, 5 days from the wedding, and I am, for the first time in my life, in the middle of a girly meltdown. Instead of fretting about the drop in British Geological Survey commercial income, Government fiscal policy and Ordnance Survey contractual obligations, I am instead in a tizz over nail polish (smudged), fingernails (which keep breaking), fake tan (which is giving me spots) and teeth whitening (which did work beautifully).

I am not so much a wannabe WAG as someone who realises that no matter how hard she tries, her hair will still be messy on her wedding day.

Google eye view of Discovery

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Meet the Usher

Colin, aka "CJ" aka "Mr CJ to you," Elaine's brother will be doing the ushering duties for you. If you're not too sure where you're going, what you're doing or what the world is coming to, CJ is yer man. Sit in the wrong chair or miss a photo session and he will give you a thorough scowling and I pity the fool who gets scowled at by CJ.

Seriously, Colin should be around a bit earlier than everyone else. Please introduce yourself to him when you get there as he'll be rounding up everyone for transport after the event. If you're still not sure what he looks like then, as the photo below shows, he looks nothing like Mr T.

5 Weeks

Actually, a little less than 5 weeks to go now. We'll be sending email reminders to those who haven't RSVP'd shortly so this is your chance to get in contact if you haven't already to ask questions about arrangements and so on. I think we have heard informally from everyone but we will need to arrange transport between Discovery and the Ship for those who don't have their own.

Preparations seem to be complete otherwise. Right now, it's the end of my project on May 29th and Elaine's got to get a month ahead at work so it's all work and rather little play. Seems like a sacrifice worth making.

Finally though, if you all wish very, very hard and email Elaine, maybe she'll write the blog entry about what Discovery means to her that she has promised...

Ship to Ship transport

As you know, the reception after the wedding is being held at the Ship Inn in Broughty Ferry. There is likely to be convoy leaving Discovery around 6:30 & C.J. the usher will help round everyone up. If you check out the wedding venues map then that should help keep you straight.

Do be warned that parking near the Ship Inn can be challenging due to lack of space. If you have your own car and have not yet settled on a place to stay, possibly the Fisherman's Tavern is the easiest option. Can't guarantee it's availability because they only do bookings over the phone but it's less than a 5 minute walk from The Ship Inn and you can park up round there.

If you want to go green then let us know and we'll arrange transport for you. On that front, we've just joined the Edinburgh City Car Club. It's a great idea. Nothing to do with the wedding, we just think more people should know about it.

Humanism

As I'm sure you all know, neither of us are religious. In fact it's probably fair to say we have a distinct aversion to churches, divine texts and, Elaine in particular, organs. This makes getting married a touch difficult. On the one hand, we've both come to realise how much the opportunity to pledge our love of and commitment towards each other in front of family, friends and the world in general means. On the other hand, we have no desire to surrender our principles.

Fortunately Scotland is one of the few countries in the world where Humanist weddings are legal and we both regard ourselves as Humanists. There is no one definition of Humanism but I take it to be a moral code that comes from within and is shared among all. A quote on Wikipedia (which may be long gone by the time you follow this link) reads:

Humanism features an optimistic attitude about the capacity of people, but it does not involve believing that human nature is purely good or that all people can live up to the Humanist ideals without help. If anything, there is the recognition that living up to one's potential is hard work and requires the assistance of others. The ultimate goal is human flourishing; making life better for all humans, and as the most conscious species, also promoting concern for the welfare of other sentient beings and the planet as a whole. The focus is on doing good and living well in the here and now, and leaving the world a better place for those who come after.

We are fortunate to have Gary Smith from the Humanist Society of Scotland as our celebrant. Gary is working with us to write the text of the ceremony so the vows will be the ones that we feel are significant and meaningful for us. There is nothing more profoundly optimistic than marriage, than believing there is someone with whom a life can be shared in complete trust and honour. There is nothing more profoundly human than the choice to spend it with another. Side by side, like penguins huddled together, honking dolefully in the cold. To quote Kurt Vonnegut,

Being a Humanist means trying to behave decently without expectation of rewards or punishment after you are dead.

March Update

Tonight the clocks go forward which means THERE'S ONE HOUR LESS TO GO THAN WE REALISED!!1!

Ahem, sorry about that. Now I've recovered my composure I'll get on with updating you all.

Yesterday (Friday) we went to Dundee to hand in our M10 forms. The nice lady, with fluffy pink pens, huge amounts of bling and a smokers cough that sounded terminal proceeded to delete everything I had written on mine and gave me yet another new form to send away.

After that we headed to RRS Discovery to meet up with Debbie (aka the wedding planner) and finalise the arrangements for the day. We've arranged for a selection of wines and soft drinks to be available after the ceremony. Would anyone like coffee or tea? If so, leave a comment or email one of us.

Finally we met our photographer, Lynn Robertson, and scoped out the venue for photos. We're very keen for the photography not to take over the day so we'll be keeping the amount of group shots to a minimum. The plan is to have a small number of group shots before the ceremony and the rest immediately afterwards. There will be one final group shot of everyone in the Discovery Centre just before we leave for the evening meal at the Ship Inn.

This morning we picked up our wedding rings and right now, Elaine is busy making her bouquet while Bruce is lazing around like Lord Muck before drawing up the wedding Gantt chart. We're so organised it hurts...

Every wedding blog needs a cute cat photo

Wedding Venues

The wedding itself will be at the RRS Discovery at 5pm (Please arrive between 4:30-4:45) on Saturday May 30th.

The reception will be at The Ship Inn, Broughty Ferry and starts at 7pm. Ship-to-ship transport will be provided between RRS Discovery and the Ship Inn.

Elaine and Bruce will be staying at the Hotel Broughty Ferry. We will be there from Friday to Sunday.

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Countdown!

A brief countdown of the activities.

T minus 24 hours: Friday May 29, Bruce & Elaine arrive in Broughty ferry. We'll be staying at the Hotel Broughty Ferry

T minus 30 minutes: 4:30pm, RRS Discovery. Boarding Plank ready for guests.

T minus 15 minutes: 4:45pm. Guests assemble. Bruce has dram of whisky.
T minus 14 minutes: Bruce has second dram.
T minus 13 minutes: Bruce says "Damn it, just give me the bottle. Piper starts piping.

T minus zero. 5pm. Elaine arrives, Bruce fumbles with sporran, ceremony starts.

T plus 30 minutes: 5:30pm Ceremony ends. Photos taken. Elaine asks Bruce about the location of the whisky. Time to explore Discovery. Hot and cold drinks will be available.

T plus 90 minutes (6:30pm) Transport to The Ship Inn arrives at RRS Discovery.

T plus 2 hours (7pm) Reception at the Ship Inn.

T plus 18 hours. Midday, Sunday May 31 - Bruce & Elaine return to Edinburgh.

T plus 40 hours. Early morning, Monday June 1st. Elaine & Bruce leave for Spain on bike.

T plus 40 hours and 1 minute. Elaine worries about the cats.

B&B's in The Ferry

You've just received your invite, and thought you'd check out this 'blog' thing, eh? It's harmless, honest...

OK, overnight accommodation. This is a bit tricky. I grew up in Broughty Ferry, which means I've never stayed in any of its plethora of B&Bs. However, here's a few suggestions, taken from Trip Advisor recommendations. Trip Advisor, by the way, is fab.

• Fort Hotel
• Invermark Hotel
• Hotel Broughty Ferry. Look out for Bruce & Elaine...
• Fisherman's Tavern Hotel

And, of course, there's always good old Travelodge

If you want to explore your own options, the Visit Scotland page for hotels in Dundee can be found here. We have used Trip Advisor quite a lot in the past. It gives reports from actual visitors. One word of caution: generally people are readier to complain than praise so Trip Advisor often slightly overstates bad visits because OK visits often draw no responses. With that in mind, try this page for a list of hotels in the Dundee area.

This map shows the locations of the hotels in Broughty Ferry. The Travelodge is in Dundee central - you will have to scroll the map west and north to find it.

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Look forward to seeing you in May!

What's in a name? Plenty, apparently.

So, at the age of 43, I'm getting married. And the issue of name-after-marriage has now been decided.

Way back, years ago, when I was far more free with my opinions than I am now (bet you wish you'd known me then, eh? You can start pitying my poor parents now, if you like), I was almost militant on this subject. Were I to marry, I'd keep my own name. What right does any man have to demand that I give up the name I grew up with, the name that helps shape my identity? No right at all. Absolutely none. Etc.

Soon after meeting him, I realised that Bruce is every bit as much a feminist as I am. Shortly after agreeing to marry him, I realised that changing a name is a positive adoption of a new identity, not the loss of an old one. I learn quickly. So there we are. I'm changing my name, and from 5.30pm on 30th May, I will be Elaine Mason. This is strange; I'm looking forward to it, while realising that this name sounds strange to me. And I will have no idea what my signature will look like. I'm not practicing.

However. Since I was ten, or thereabouts, I have been titled 'Ms'. And I still will be. Anyone asking after 'Mrs Mason' at the wedding will be introduced to Bruce's mum. You have been warned - two mis-callings and it's a stiletto to the instep.

The bluebird of happiness

No wedding would be complete without bluebirds, therefore no wedding blog can be complete without the bluebird of happiness.

Not getting the plane to Spain

Today we booked the tickets for the trip to Spain. We're getting the ferry from Portsmouth on June 3rd at 11:00 and arriving in Santander midday the next day. Leaving Spain on the 25th.


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Once in Santander we're heading to Santillana del Mar to stay at the Hotel Altamira for three nights then, after that, we're on the bike to Andalusia.

Introduction

On May 30, 2009, we're getting married.

Need to know more?

Stay tuned.