Gretna Green has over the years acquired an aura associating it with runaway marriages and elopements, as it is the first place over the Scottish border and Scotland’s regulations on marriage are not as restrictive as those of England and Wales. Scotland was outside the scope of the 1754 Marriage Act that governed the other countries; at one time it was possible to marry in Scotland simply by a declaration before two witnesses, but their laws have now been tightened up considerably and are bound by the Marriage (Scotland) Act of 1977.

You may marry in Scotland provided that you are 16 or over; if you are under 18 you do not need to have the permission of your parents or guardian. You can be married by a registrar or assistant registrar in the registry office, or you can be married by any clergyman, parson, priest or officer of any religious denomination who is entitled to undertake marriages according to the 1977 Act. Whichever type of wedding you choose, you must have two witnesses present who are over 16. Banns are not necessary for Scottish church weddings, and the minister has wider discretionary powers than he does in England and Wales; for instance, he may be willing to many you in your home or at a hotel. (more…)