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The Braw Bride of the Barras
Jun 27, 2020
A day in my life as I reminisce over conducting a wonderful wedding ceremony that was to be a walk down memory lane in the heart of the Glasgow Barrowlands.
I recently received an email to let me know that a wedding I officiated at in September of last year, had been featured in the Braw Brides blog. This was a really exciting thing to see and moved me to take the fine opportunity of sharing it with you.
I do this for many reasons but mainly because this kind of work brings me a huge amount of joy, love, happiness and excitement and I feel like I am truly making a difference in the day of each and every couple I get a chance to meet.
Also – isn’t it a wonderful thing to be able to see the story of a whole day unravel?? To bask in the joy that must’ve been shared and felt on that very day by all who were in attendance.
I have been fortunate enough to travel the length and breadth of Scotland both in this capacity and in a Storytelling capacity and I can say again and again and again - Scotland is an amazing country for weddings.
You can only imagine how excited I was then when I was asked to conduct a ceremony in The Famous Glasgow Barrowlands for this incredibly hip couple!
I have very fond memories of visiting Rita’s fashions in the Barras as a child, with my mum, picking up fresh fish and all other sorts of delights, whilst wandering through the streets looking at all of the things people didn’t need or want anymore. Piles and piles of memorabilia just waiting for my inventive brain to make up stories to attach to them. The atmosphere was amazing back then and the people and their street-life taught me many lessons about what it is to be human, to be alive and to be kicking it up with gusto and gratitude and with the life that’s in me.
On the day of the wedding, the banter on entering the venue had its own kind of electricity as I stopped to speak to a man dealing in bikes of every kind. The sun was blazing and the feeling of love, humour and family connection around me as I stepped inside was and still is something I will always care to remember.
This is the poem that was woven into the script for Laura and Mike and it was perfect for them.
You can see all of the photos by the very talented Martin Venherm at the link below and you can contact Martin here: https://martinvenherm.com/contact/
https://www.brawbrides.com/blog/iconic-glasgow-wedding-barras?fbclid=IwAR3Fvsp6OyaeGgDkYjtw1JiTeDtuB7HZRq-oeflMG3ZCsQ4hCxp-gR-7WV4
All that I am
You’re my mussel
my clam
my words
my yarn.
My wool
my cloth
my sweet,
fragile moth.
You’re my north
and my south
my body,
my mouth.
My day
and my night,
my dark
and my light.
My waking
my sleep;
the thoughts
I hold deep.
You’re my freedom
my plight
my flee
and my fight.
You’re the reason
I’m here.
You’re my hope
year on year.
You are mine
and I’m yours
as a matter
of course.
You’re my storm
and my calm.
I woman,
you man.
You are all
that I am.
We’re both part of
this plan.
- Maria Cairnie
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What are you drawn to when it comes to natural resources? Do forest walks leave you reminiscing about your childhood days of discovery and natural experience? What kinds of effects do these beauties of nature afford your wellbeing?
Someone once reminded me of a story that occurred when I was a child coming home from school one day with homework about the senses and I was asked the question 'With what do we feel?' and my infantile answer was 'comfort'.
It’s at times of real difficulty, stress or heartache that we often see the greatest amounts of kindness and tenderness that any one human being is capable of giving or sharing.
Self-work is a long, sometimes arduous, at times very difficult but also greatly rewarding journey and the amazing thing about it is that it really should never end.
Show yourself that you are capable of so much more than worry by stopping to take time to breathe, stand still, look at yourself closely and know how far you’ve come.
When was the last time (before this pandemic took root and made us prisoners in our own homes) that you really stopped to look at, feel close to, listen to, touch or consider the immense power of the mighty trees that gives shelter above your head?
Yarns, chronicles, anecdotes, tales… Be the reader. Be the reader of awe-inspiring books and epic tales but also take time to read the actions, thoughts, feelings and sharings of those around you by putting down the devices and simply being with each other.
Have you felt during this pandemic that there has been a feeling of ending? Endings of course are a necessary part of life but the anxious feelings arise in the ‘not knowing’ when the new beginning will come around.
Our secure bookshop is now open with a collection of children's books to delight and inspire through literacy and creative arts written by Maria Cairnie.
'This time will pass' is a really important phrase which helps me to understand and rationalise my feelings around this time we find ourselves in, knowing that this time won't be forever and that being mindful is all about keeping within the present.
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You can contact Maria by calling 07920 064 441 or by emailing maria@starmusa.co.uk
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