Wedding Blog

How did the little village of Gretna Green, in the south of Scotland, and on its west coast, become so famous for weddings? In the past, Gretna Green was the place for runaway marriages to take place. This was because, from 1753, in England, young people under the age of 21 years, could not get married without parental consent. But in Scotland it was possible for boys to get married at the age of fourteen, and for girls to get married at the age of twelve, without any need for parental agreement.

This meant that young couples, where one or both were under the age of twenty one, who could not obtain the permission of their parents to get married, eloped over the border to Scotland, getting married at the first Scottish village that they came to, which, in the west, happened to be Gretna Green.

Scottish marriage law was also less strict in terms of how the marriage was conducted, and as a long as a declaration was made in front of witnesses, the marriage was considered valid and legal. It became the custom for people to get married at one of the two blacksmith’s shops in Gretna Green, and later a number of Inns also provided the service.

Nowadays Scottish marriage law is still more liberal than in England, and young people can get married at the age of sixteen without the consent of their parents, however, in England, although you can get married at sixteen, this has to be with the agreement of your parents, and you can only get married without their permission when you are eighteen.

Even now, Gretna Green is one of the most popular places to get married, not just in the UK, but in the world, appealing to people who desire a less traditional wedding ceremony.

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