Wedding Tartan
How about your very own wedding tartan?
The ultimate luxurious and romantic gesture for your wedding is
of course, to have your own tartan designed and woven. Some couples
do that together or sometimes the groom takes up the challenge on
his own - after all . . . back in 1853 the most romantic of Royal
husbands, Prince Albert, designed the Balmoral tartan for his young
wife, Queen Victoria.
A wedding tartan is forever and a good designer would quiz you
both to identify meaningful design elements that could be
incorporated into your tartan - perhaps your national colours,
historic Scottish connections in the family, even your favourite
sports teams or significant dates. Once designed and woven, your
tartan can be used for Bride and Groom and you can plan on having
sufficient left over for soft furnishings in your new home -
cushions, drapes, upholstery etc.
Over the decades, that tartan will become established as a
family heirloom and a gift to successive generations: in a hundred
years time your descendants will be telling their children "This is
the wedding tartan of your Great Grandma and Grandpa . . . this
blue and white is for Scotland where they were married and this
green is . . . . " So you see how your wedding tartan can lay down
today what is the history of tomorrow!
If you're going to go down this romantic route, DO start early
enough - the best designers are always very busy and most weavers
have a waiting list of 12 weeks or more. What about cost? If you
commission one of Scotland's best designers, you're looking at
around £1,000 for which you'll receive a minimum of three draft
designs and the progression of one of them through to your final
choice. The designer will also help in identifying an appropriate
weaver. Remember that on top of the design fee there will be the
cost of the fabric, its making up into kilts and the hire or
purchase of the other items of Highland dress.
If you would like to speak to the Scottish Tartans Authority
about its renowned tartan design services, please click here.