Kate, my Texan friend and Peace and Conflict Studies classmate (whom I have previously mentioned in this blog, with both photos and videos), got engaged in St Andrews this past spring after her now-husband and her broke into the castle and snuck into a tower where he then got onto one knee. I have gotten to know Branson a little bit as I've gone back and forth from Texas, and I consider Kate a good friend. I generally don't attend weddings, mostly because my friends who are married got hitched while I was overseas, but Kate and Branson's wedding was a priority for me. They planned two weddings. The official one would be in Texas in mid-November. The second one would be in St Andrews the day before graduation. I promised Kate I would be at the Texas wedding because I didn't think I was going to graduation. When I learned that I was going back to Scotland, I figured I would attend this second, unofficial ceremony. In fact, I was more excited about attending this wedding than going to the graduation ceremony. However, the snow and hail in Scotland had made travel difficult for the newlyweds as they tried to fly into Edinburgh. After being stuck in London for a while, they took the train to a station near St Andrews. We watched for facebook status updates to see if they would make it in time for the ceremony. The couple arrived just minutes before the ceremony started. The ceremony took place at St Mary on the Rock, a ruined chapel whose foundation that is now visible dates to the 8th century. This location on the cliffs overlooking the North Sea beside the cathedral probably had a religious community regularly meet here starting in the 6th century and long before the Catholic church built the cathedral complex next door, so this is perhaps the original Christian religious site in St Andrews. As a groomsman in the wedding, I stood facing the North Sea. The hail pelted me in the face as I squinted to see the ceremony. We didn't have an official minister but a friend of Kate, so the message and dialogue was interesting. The ceremony was brief due to the weather, and we all quickly made our way to a pub for the 'reception.'
The wedding party, including bridesmaids on the left
and groomsmen on the right.
The North Sea is in the background.
At this point the 'minister' said, "If anyone sees
any reason why these two shall not marry, keep
it to yourself because it's too fucking cold out
here for us to do this all over again."
Kate was a bit surprised.
Wedding reception at the Central, one
of the best pubs in St Andrews.
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