LIVE Consider it Dunn

Scottish thistle flower arrangement at wedding reception

Whatever your occasion why not call for a chat and talk about what we could do to add that wee bit scottish flare to your experience

Some hae meat and canna eat And some wad eat that want it But we hae meat and we can eat Sae let the Lord be Thank it

I m sorry what s he saying about his meat

Say a little prayer as Aretha Franklin would say To be exact she said I say a little prayer for you forever and ever you ll stay in my heart this reminds me of the sentiment of Burns work it s a note of despair the way falling in love is despair that hope that is right on the edge of hopelessness like your last ever hope is barely clinging too Yet invoking the Devine here the holy blessing that faith is to those that possess it we are being asked by Burns to be mindful of those less fortunate than ourselves while we indulge It is a quintessential Burns comment before any formal meal for me it s all about finding that uniquely Scottish balance of being able to indulge and enjoy ourselves without being ignorant of those who have not the chance It s a poem about the have s and the have not s and how we reconcile disparity in our society For my tuppence worth I would say we are still having that profound debate now the socialist soul of Scotland can be found in these words while we enjoy the banquet or the meal that we have before us and relieve that to be celebrated human sense for justice fairness in our community

The Balmoral Hotel, a historic building in Edinburgh - Scotland

Everything from Traditional HOTELS pubS to award winning Nightclubs and michelin starred restaurants Iain has pretty much done it all

over 20 years serving and catering to a broad spectrum of premium and super premium family couple group and individuals international clients from the world of business politics and the world of showbiz royalty and new media forms of entertainment these skills can be employed and deployed at your whimsical demand by calling the holism desk and choosing

leading your wedding ceremony will be your celebrant of course however it s those spaces between where we often need an extra person juke box person maybe there s CEREMONy where a toastmaster can ensure things are moving along punctually Something as simple taking a bunch of gifts or caked and coordinating with the kitchen and service staff where needed The joy of weddings is tiny bits of managed chaos that make something memorable and beautiful rather than stiff or awkward iain will go above and beyond to help your day go how you want it gracefully smoothing over any bumps on the road those unforeseeable chaos elements

Formal or completely informal whisky tasting events often dependant on the volume of whisky sampled

Cognac and cigar. glass and bottle of elite cognac, whiskey with cigar made from the possible tobacco.

INCLUDES A whisky history talk tasting notes explained additional content can be provided such as poems readings and no limit on whisky spending on whisky is negotiable none of the prices here include food or beverage

All those years of hospitality have not scarred Iain so much that he won t pick up a glass pour drinks or take food to your guests should the need arise and in whatever way is need be disposable to make sure things go smoothly like a chalet girl but hairy and hobbit like Mucking in is exactly that maybe it s a hospitality emergency and you need some support for a short period agency style booking and you can expect to see Iain chipping in whatever way is needed on the big day or at your venue and thus you have an extra safety net pair of hands

Hand Holding Tray with Champagne Glasses

Iain s first formal employment was aged 15 years dressing up as santa the beard suit etc so that s not weird at all then eh just one example of the many wackadoodle shall we say broad spectrum of experiences he has had

Serious Hospitality Management work began for Iain in the dundee student socialite scene - which is as good as it’s reputation in terms of fun and lively nights out. Iain worked in various hospitality venues & CLUBS in Dundee throughout 2002 -2005, 3 & 4 star level.

notably Iain contributed a lot of time and energy to the renovation of a nightclub into

a now legendary 80's theme bar this was before the 80's revival, ahead of it’s time. Yes he is that old. he thrived with the spontaneous nature of this work. dundee’s students benefitted from iain occasionally getting peoples drinks right and some epic karaoke renditions of non-ironic, fully committed ricky martin and backstreet boys numbers. This discovery that being behind a bar increased his height by about 10% seemed to have produced an uptake in interested romantic leads from females by several hundred %...and so romance became a bigger part of iains life, romance with being slightly more attractive behind a bar.

iain did a lot of retail too, george street brands such as white stuff - mens formal wear, next menswear, a gadget shop...the generation of gadget shops that enabled one to spend a working day demonstrating remote controlled toys in a large shopping mall. iain was a university student in politics & Philosophy while he was in dundee but this time was spent on the above or some aft gang a glee moderately polite protesting and campaigning against certain wars and poverty etc. after completing scottish history with distinction learning of Charles Rennie MAcintosh in particular became an obsession of his - iain felt like academic achievement was a habit of the very dull and pedestrian and iain seems to love going the path less tread etc and so he did the now cool but wasn’t then thing for bat shit types - drop out. Iain went pro hospitality career at that point age 21 and managing a traditional bar had become something of a quiet ambition of iain’s.

Hotel work was a real highlight of iains career

a little more sedate era followed the studenty madness of dundee and so between

2003 - 2007 iain was in fact often fully sedated...while he did a little night manager shifts - again this is before it was james bond level sexy cool to do this job it was in fact rather unglamorous by the sounds; night shifts; otherwise known as fridge raiding... allowed iain some study...of food, wine and cheese...Iain i am sorry to out here was in fact the balgeddie larder mouse...it was these habits and others that cemented the young man’s night owl tendencies and these became a lovely work life balance of a lifetime.

iain clocked his first award winning service provision around 2006 which was in weddings and would start a long career of many thousands of weddings he has served, planned, setup or ran on the day. so many magical moments that left their mark upon the stoic soul of iain Dunn... and indeed sometimes they literally left an actual mark.., like damage to property and staff etc - these were fife weddings back then mind...

anyway;these weddings warmed the poets heart and stoked the old romantic DNA within iain. Literally, dna was meh not being dished out quite as much as you’d think around this time, career focus was a thing - but we digress. it is around here that iain rediscovered a connection to his burns ancestry, through The songs and music of his forefather; which were bringing so much joy and tradition and love to others jigging around those epic halls.and yet here is this secret descendant of burns penguin suited tray carrier; was neglecting to celebrate fully that heritage himself in anyway at all.

the practice of Reciting burns out loud wouldn’t become a hobby of iain’s until many years later when he turned 30 and got spooked about time passing etc and he got that longing for his roots, some hills and rain and his culture and his heritage. That longing remains unsatisfied, insatiable need to understand how those works could have influence today.

bar and service Management roles were enjoyed at Balgeddie house hotel & later Balbirnie house hotel famously one of scotland’s finest wedding venues, both have a special place within iains memory - these are golf course adjacent but not too heavy on the BMW wankers, so, one shouldn’t hold that against fife in general there is more than just golf paradise for tank topped wankers etc. the garden at balbirnie is truly, memorably gorgeous in the summertime and the winter and the autumn...spring is also a great time there.

iain would Work briefly for Macdonald hotels and resorts, based in the trossachs forrest hills hotel; one of the most stunning garden bar locations and a wee bit off the beaten track there.

gaining great whisky appreciation here was a good thing for iain and sometimes learning the consequences of failure is extremely valuable.

Iain really started to enjoy running weddings from start to finish and again iain is around romance spending the day getting to know a family and catering to them throughout a special day, potentially a perfect day for many, iain will have been a part of the best day of their life. this is an immense honour and great fun. This time working in the north of scotland also allowed iain access to the highlands, distilleries, the smoke houses and just the locations and scenery of scotland all having a special place in his heart.

highland games & equestrian events

providing contracted hospitality at five Star level experience and premium hospitality in outdoor spaces and temporary setups taught iain that he did not want to do too much of this sort of work. “not for all the gold in fort knox” he says would he consider working with horses and alcohol again. think that comment tells us all we need to know.

Cocktail barman Edinburgh 2006/7 Iain claims to have invented the VODKA red bull by accident - however unless he has a time machine he is talking ‘shite’. he went from pulling pints to making mojitos and long island iced tea... which should only be had on long island, where those american measures happen. Anyway Cocktails, again iain found a female attention upgrade and it is hard to argue that this was not the main thing keeping iain’s adhd brain in this work also a lack of ability to imagine himself doing anything else.

then came the Balmoral Hotel who risked iain as a lead bar man back in wedding heaven - now at the absolute top of the scottish wedding food chain - he was working with the award winning finest here. he excelled well and was quickly promoted to the lofty sounding ‘headwaiter’ which meant iain was providing a full service. that sounds a bit wrong. We could talk all day about the balmoral he says - glad to visit some of his earlier career - stay tuned for tales of BAlmoral hotel;

Banquets, Weddings & Events Headwaiter took iain up to his health crisis and the loss of his mother lead to his great career shift to running his own business - iain is adamant about never returning to employment but loves great hospitality!

Lead Barman, Headwaiter

2007- 2012

Assistant Studio manager & lead instructor at

pilates works, balanced & Pilates Hub

Volunteering roles in the talking therapy fields

FOUNDER HOLISM inc.

IAIN DUNN PILATES

2013-PRESENt