GRETNA GREEN WEDDING SERVICES

Gretna Green History & Romance

Gretna Green has been a haven for romantic lovers for more than 250 years years and this tradition is still going strong today . .

So, how did Gretna Green become the World's number 1 Marriage Venue?

The Scots, like the Celts, are warm, hospitable and loving people who have always had an open & progressive attitude towards marriage. Other countries, including England & many other European countries, hold different values.

Traditionally, in Scotland, a man & woman over the age of sixteen could be married by declaring themselves husband & wife in front of witnesses.

In England, such marriages were prohibited by Act of Parliament in 1745 with the result that eloping couples fled to Scotland for their marriages.

Gretna Green was the first changing post across the Scottish Border for the stagecoaches on the main London to Edinburgh route & so began its long association with the romance of the runaways.

Gretna Green Ceremony

The ceremonies were often carried out over the anvil with the ''Blacksmiths Priest'' officiating. This remained the position for over 100 years . . . .

Then in 1857 another Act of Parliament imposed residential qualifications on the fleeting lovers, whom locals took to their hearts as they lived out the compulsory 21 days in the area before they could marry.

In 1940 Parliament stepped in once again to outlaw the ''Blacksmiths Priests'' & their anvil marriages.

Thereafter, marriages could only be conducted by a Minister of Religion or an authorised Registrar.

But the romances lived on . . . .

Today, with no residential qualifications for marriage in Scotland and no parental consent required for couples over 16 (unlike the regulations of many other countries) couples have continued to run away - albeit with the need to serve notice to the Registrar. Gretna & Gretna Green have attracted visitors form all over the world.

World Wide Interest in Gretna Green

So many thousands of lovers have wed at Gretna Green that it's name & traditions live in all corners of the globe . . . 

All modes of transport have been used to deliver couples to the anvil: car, van, lorry, fire engine, horse & carriage, bicycle & motor bike.

One couple arrived with their boat in tow . . . 

En route to Inverness for the honeymoon on the Caledonian Canal, they stopped off at Gretna to be married, then continued up north.

The boat was decorated with streamers & balloons & the traditional ''Just Married'' sign had been placed on the stern bedecked with a couple of L. plates.

Another couple had arranged their wedding to fit in with their journey to Aviemore to take part in International sled-pulling competitions. The 29 Huskies remained in their transporter outside the anvil whilst the marriage was being solemnised.

Gretna Green - Everyone's doing it !

Wedding outfits worn at Gretna Green have been varied. When the wedding parties arrive on motors bikes resplendent in black leather; the bride is the one with the bouquet . . .  

Robin Hood & Maid Marion arrived at the anvil on horseback. Fortunately, the horse was tied to a tree outside the building whilst the ceremony was taking place.

More than one couple has arrived in Gretna Green without a common language & these marriages require the presence of two interpreters. You may wonder how they arrive at a point where they wanted to marry here!

They may have seen Gretna Green on television as numerous TV production companies from around the world have arrived to make programmes . . . however the couples arrive at Gretna Green & however they are dressed, they are all made most welcome.