By my definition, weddings are dreamy.
How can you go wrong when you put two people who are madly in love, and add their family who are like friends - and friends who are like family? Throw in a fabulous destination with experiences added to take it over the top, and you've got Cooper and Claire's wedding.
I first visited Edinburgh when I was 20. I remembered it was beautiful, but it was like visiting it for the first time with Roger. No doubt it's my age, but the hills and stairs didn't seem as high back in 1977, and the restaurants and pubs were much nicer now than the ones I visited back then!
We arrived a week before the wedding, and loved roaming the city and attending events and activities leading up to the big day.
Our favourite thing to do in a new city is to just walk, grab a coffee or beer, and simply watch people. The sounds of different languages being spoken is like music to me, and it was clear visitors came from far and wide to this amazing city.
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| View of St. Andrew's Square at sunrise from our balcony. |
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| Roger finds the best places to eat and drink. This was no exception. |
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| Inside Dirty Dicks. |
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One of the long staircases in Old Town.
Glad Roger has two new knees! |
It was especially fun to have Brad, Anette and Magnus there to share the experience with us. We took Magnus on a tour of the Old Town and the underground world where from the 1600s to the late 1800s, people lived, worked and died underneath the city. It was fascinating but harrowing to see how residents tried to live through the plague, lack of sanitation, and crowded conditions.
After the tour, we got ready for a dinner with Cooper, Claire, Karen, the five of us and dear family friends, Andrew and Cindy that was held at Prestonfield House. The estate was beautiful, the private dining room was gorgeous, and the meal was amazing.
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| The Ladies Room was so beautiful, the girls all had to go have a look at the loo! |
The next day, the boys went on a Whisky Tasting, while the girls went to the Palm Court at the Balmoral Hotel for High Tea.
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| Left to right: Cooper, Roger, Brad and Andrew |
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| Clockwise from bottom left to right: Me, Anette, Claire, Cindy and Karen |
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| The room was stunning, and having tea served was a performance. |
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| The desserts were as delicious as they were beautiful. |
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| The prettiest "doggy bag" I've ever had! |
On Wednesday, Roger and I spent another wonderful day exploring Edinburgh.
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| Paddington Bear sits eating a jam sandwich in St. Andrew's Square, so I had to join him. |
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The Scott Monument
(and no, we did not climb to the top!) |
We spent three fascinating hours in the National Museum of Scotland. Starting from the 7th floor we saw the incredible vistas of the city and worked our way down to the ground floor. It is indeed a national treasure.
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| Edinburgh Castle |
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As a recent convert to curling, I was interested to
learn that curling in Scotland dates back to the 1600s. |
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| Whisky stills |
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| Dolly, the first cloned sheep born in 1996. |
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| British fashion through the decades |
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We ended a wonderful day with a family dinner at Mowgli,
an excellent Indian restaurant. |
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Mowgli used to be a bank. The architecture was meant to
encourage people to put their money in banks that looked grand. |
On Thursday, we hopped the tram down to Leith and walked around the port.
On Thursday evening, we attended the Welcome Reception at the Dome. It was also a bank, but now it is a spectacular restaurant and bar. It was fun to meet friends of Cooper, Claire and Karen -- many we already knew, but we also loved meeting those we hadn't met yet.
Roger and I were honoured to be asked to give a toast. In it, we described what it was like to be there the night Cooper was born, the fun times we shared seeing him grow up, and how we fell in love with Claire when we met her. We also shared some marriage advise from our 48 years together!
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| Claire, Karen and Cooper |
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| My 3 boys. |
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| Cindy, me and Anette |
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| Roger, Andrew, Anette and me |
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| Magnus enjoyed a variety of mocktails! |
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| Karen's uncle, and our dear friend, Bob Campbell |
Friday morning, Roger went to pick up his kilt, while I visited Edinburgh Castle.
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| Cemetery for soldier's dogs |
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St. Margaret's Chapel, the oldest
building in Edinburgh built in the 1100s. |
Friday afternoon gave us the first glimpse of Borthwick Castle. We loved the afternoon of Highland "coos", games and gin and tonics.
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| Borthwick Castle, built in the 1400s |
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Roger playing games with Magnus in the shadow of the damage a cannon
ball did to the castle while Mary Queen of Scots was there. |
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Having the BEST time!
Thanks Viv, for capturing this moment! |
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Who doesn't love a Highland Coo?
The one I was holding was actually named Heather! |
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| Gin and tonics, and a castle experience shared with so many people I love. |
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| View from one of the castle rooms. |
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| We got a sneak peak at the dining hall and other rooms in the castle. |
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| The chapel |
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| The reception area for before and after the wedding |
And then, Saturday, October 10th, 2026 arrived. Roger, and most of the other men wore kilts (with one in a tux looking very James Bond-ish) and it was fun hearing about their trials getting dressed (YouTube videos were referenced!) and their surprise at how drafty skirts can be!
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| Our beautiful family. |
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| Ready to head out to the wedding with Bob! |
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Magnus was the ring bearer --- so fitting because Cooper was
Brad and Anette's ring bearer almost 20 years ago! |
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| Cooper! |
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| Oh Roger! |
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Cooper and his mom, Karen.
We all missed Colin, but felt he was with us. |
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| Love this man 💕 |
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Have to admit, wearing a long velvet gown made
me feel quite at home in a castle! |
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| So very lucky to have Anette in our family. |
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| These 2 boys have lots of fun together. |
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| Bagpipes welcomed guests as we arrived at the castle. |
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| Three beautiful ladies: Jill, Karen, and Linda (Karen's sister) |
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The newlyweds -- Cooper and Claire!
Photo credit: Viv! |
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| Austin Miller and Roger being men in kilts! |
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| The dance was so fun to watch! |
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Roger and I are not known for our dancing skills, but we had fun!
Photo credit: @andygainesphotography |
The next day we took the train to London where we spent two wonderful nights.
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| We loved taking the train from Edinburgh Waverly to Kings Cross in London. |
The first morning we toured the Tower of London and had a wonderful Irish guide who could tell stories that brought history to life.
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The crown jewels were as spectacular as
you would expect. |
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There are six ravens kept at the Tower of London in the belief that it protects
the Crown and Tower. |
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It was interesting learning about the Beefeaters and how they
live on-site with their families. |
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| St. John's chapel that was built in the 11th century |
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| We saw Book of Mormon and loved it! |
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Our hotel was close to Paddington Station which had
trains taking us to wherever we wanted to go. |
We were only away 12 days, but it was packed with unforgettable experiences with a touch of Braveheart. Most importantly, it was the chance to see a much loved nephew get married to the girl of his dreams. It really was a dreamy wedding.
"You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep
because reality is finally better than your dreams."
