April 1, 2024
Got Talent: Wedding Planner’s Witty Stories Unveil Decades of Quirky Characters
By Cynthia McFarland
Got Talent: Wedding Planner’s Witty Stories Unveil Decades of Quirky Characters
Spend any time talking to Marilyn Ferguson Vallely and it’s obvious she tells a great story. Even better, her memorable and often hilarious accounts are all true tales.
Marilyn jovially shares adventures from her 40 years as a major wedding planner in her native Scotland in her books “All My Big Fat Scottish Weddings,” published in 2022, and “More Big Fat Scottish Weddings,” published in 2023.
From the groom too drunk to walk the aisle to the ceremony threatened by double fire alarms, a special encounter with Princess Diana and more, she entertains readers from cover to cover.
Most of the nonfiction stories are lighthearted, but there are some tug at the heartstrings.
And one doesn’t have to be a bride to enjoy the read and the occasional witty “Scotticism.”
“The books I write are not serious. People are funny,” says Marilyn, whose stories focus on the quirkiness of her characters, who happen to be real people.
As for her own story: Marilyn met her husband, James, an American teacher, back in the late 60s when she wente to Detroit for a journalism internship.
The couple lived in Scotland and raised their son and two daughters there.
With her journalism background, Marilyn worked as an editor at Collins Publishers. Interested in starting her own business, she launched a wedding dress rental service from home in 1971. The business model evolved and what started humbly from a spare bedroom grew into one of Scotland’s top wedding specialists, providing full wedding packages from cakes to photography to limos and everything in between.
In 1997, Marilyn and James bought a second home in Leesburg. They’ve been back and forth to the States over the years. Now they spend most of the year in Central Florida and the summers in Scotland.
Last fall, Marilyn went on a grand book tour in Europe. She’ll return this year to promote her second book, which was published in December 2023.
Both of Marilyn’s books are available online on Amazon in paperback and Kindle.
Because she occasionally performs songs with her book signings, her Facebook page is titled, “All My Big Fat Scottish Weddings and the Singing Authoress.” Visit Marilyn’s page to follow her and find out about upcoming events.
"I fell in love with words early on and knew from fourth grade that I wanted to be a writer,” says Cynthia McFarland. A full-time freelancer since 1993 and the author of nine non-fiction books, her writing has earned regional and national awards. Cynthia lives on a small farm north of Ocala; her kids have fur and four legs
