Scottish Weddings

Scottish Weddings: differ depending whether you are a Low Lander or a High Lander, on the East Coast or on the West Coast. How many of you watched Brave Heart starting Mel Gibson? Do you remember what the landlord could claim from the bride on the eve of their wedding? Are you of Gaelic or Celtic ancestry? All of these factors will affect the choices you make when deciding upon the traditions you wish to adopt when planning your wedding.

- The first major difference in Scottish Weddings is that in Scotland it is the Priest/marriage Celebrant who is licensed to conduct a marriage, as opposed to a building or room being licensed in the rest of the UK.
- Two marriage ceremonies would be conducted, the first outside the church in the Scottish language, the second in church were the ceremony would be performed in Latin.
- The minimum age permitted to marry in Scotland is 16, with parental consent.

Traditions Associated With Scottish Weddings:

- Pope Nicholas I in 860 AD introduced the engagement ring as a pledge to marry. Originally it was a gold band, the diamond ring a latter day tradition.
- An engagement party was held for both families to meet.
- In the 13th Century the priest would announce on three successive Sundays the proposed weddings, now know as “the bans of marriage”. Today notice of intent is only required.
- On the eve of the wedding the bride and groom had their respective Hen and Stag nights. The bride would have her feet washed by her bridesmaids, but the groom had his greased, and smothered with ashes, soot, cinders and sometimes feathers. Today, such festivities are usually held a fortnight prior to allow time to recover!
- The bride and groom would not meet on their wedding day prior to meeting at the church. This tradition is still valid today.
- Traditional brides wedding dresses were not white. A 1907 description of a dress was blue, with matching hat, white veil over the face and high-healed lace up boots.
- The groom would have originally worn a suit, a pinstripe suit if he could afford it. Today a groom would wear his clan’s tartan kilt. Click on the following links for further information:
- Grooms Highland Dress
- Grooms Highland Shoes
- The bride would carry a bouquet with a spring of white heather in for good luck.
- The bride would be presented with a horseshoe, again for good luck.
- A sumptuous wedding feast would follow the wedding with plenty of Scottish dancing. Click on the following link for a Scottish Wedding Feast
- The groom would carry his bride across the threshold of their home to protect her against any lingering evil spirits. The priest would be asked to bless their home and their marriage bed.

Forgotten Traditions Associated With Scottish Weddings:

- “A Penny Wedding” is when guests would be asked to bring their own food and drink to the village hall to celebrate once the wedding is over.
- “Handfasting” is when the bride and groom would live together for one year and one day after which time they would decide whether or not to marry. The emphasis was not on purity, but on fertility and compatibility.
- “Tying Shoes” to the bumper of a car, instead of tins, goes back to the Egyptian times when sandals were exchange at the time of exchanging goods.
- “Leap Year Proposals” on the 29th February was only when women could propose. Nowadays, women often take the initiative. The next leap year for any remaining traditionalists is 2008.
- “Two grey horses” pulling your carriage were considered good luck.
- “Creeling the groom” is when the groom would be expected to carry his weight in stones upon his back abound the village until the bride agreed to kiss him.
- “Samhain” beginning of the Celtic New Year on November 1st a very auspicious time to marry. For those with Gaelic ancestry March was the auspicious month.

Scottish Weddings: introducing a Scottish theme to your wedding day:

- have a tartan alter cloth
- have a skirl of bagpipes
- have your bouquet and flowers threaded with tartan ribbon
- have Robert Burn’s poems for your poetry readings
- incorporate a tartan sash into your bridesmaid’s dresses
- hire a “ceilidh” band
- have “haggis, neeps and tatties” as an entrée to your wedding feast
- have port for the toasts
- have your wedding rings made out of Celtic gold

Alternatively you may just be lucky enough to get married in one of the many Scottish castles. If you are not Scottish residents, and wish to travel to Scotland to marry, check with your Embassy the legal documents required and notification periods. As a minimum you will need your birth certificates, passports, death certificate if widowed, divorce certificates if applicable, and in some instances an entry visa.

Scottish Weddings