Summer Weddings Problem Solved
The wedding season is in full swing and kilt hire companies are swamped with orders. But what do you give to those getting married when there is a squeeze on all our spending?
I did some research on wedding gifts through the ages and celebrity presents in the recent past. When The English King Charles II and the Portuguese Catherine of Braganza married the dowry was pretty immense. It included trading rights and the settlements of Bombay, now Mumbai and the African town of Tangiers. And several jewels were added to the royal treasury as the original English crown jewels were melted down and sold by Oliver Cromwell. The Scottish crown jewels of course were saved as they were hidden during the Civil War and re-discovered many years later. Catherine of Braganza also popularised tea drinking. Good old Kate!
The Guinness World Record for a wedding gift was held for a long while by the wedding of Sheikh Mohammed and Princess Salama in 1981. The nuptials were held in a stadium built specially for the event and then given to the bride. Not sure what you do with a stadium.
Before the acrimony and wrangling set in film star Angelina Jolie gave her ‘A List’ groom a famous present. It was a vintage typewriter that had been used by US novelist Ernest Hemingway to pen his many novels. It set her back a cool quarter million dollars. I hope she kept the receipt. Mr Pitt you might have seen at the Wimbledon final between Djokovic and Alcaraz this month, with the younger man triumphant. Sir Andy Murray was there too, seated with Scouse Wimbledon doubles winner Neil Skupski.
And no list would be complete without the wedding of Charles to Diana. The Emir of Bahrein gave them a model boat encrusted with jewels, valued a half a million pounds, which naturally sank from sight, being stolen, after the death of the Princess.
George Clooney’s new wife Amal, a human rights lawyer, treated the actor to 12 handmade Murano cocktail glasses from Venice to remind him of their wedding in La Serenissima (Venice). They were replicas of those they had drunk their wedding toast from. They were priced as outrageously as all things Murano, but you can emulate Amal Clooney in spirit at least. The Glencoe 6 Crystal Large Wine Glasses in a wedding suitable black leatherette presentation box by Royal Scot Crystal are available in our wondrous Summer Sale at a charming half price. The glasses feature a beautiful deep cut classical diamond and fan hand cut design likely to be instant heirlooms.
