Getting Married in Scotland

Scotland is regarded by many as one of them most romantic countries in the world. Sure it may not have the beaches and palm trees of the West Indies or indeed the hot weather although even this does vary across different parts of the country.

Unlike the neighbours south of the border in England there is no need for parental permission to be given provided both of the wedding couple are over 16. (In England and Wales it is essential that parents give written consent for anyone over 16 but under 18 prior to the wedding taking place.)

All applicants looking to get married are required to give notice to the registrar for the district in which the marriage is to take place. The appropriate forms can be obtained from any registrar’s office or direct from the General Register’s Office in Edinburgh. They need to be submitted at least 15 days prior to the wedding day although they generally recommend 4 weeks (or not more than 3 months).

The Registrar will check all documentation to be satisfied that the parties are free to marry and then will prepare the marriage schedule.

In the case of a civil wedding ceremony the Registrar retains the schedule until the date of the wedding.

If a religious marriage is intended, the schedule is issued to the parties, no more than seven days before the wedding to be passed to the appropriate priest or minster conducting the wedding ceremony.

The Registrar then retains or must have the schedule returned to them within 3 days so that they can register the marriage.

Documents required:

Both parties will need to present to the Registrar a form of photo ID such as a passport or drivers license along with certified birth certificates. If either party has been married before you will need to present either a certified copy or original of the final divorce decree or a death certificate if that marriage had ended after the death of the spouse.

If one or both of the wedding couple had not been resident in the UK for at least two years you will need to provide some form of certified proof issued by an appropriate authority to confirm that there is no legal impediment to any marriage. If in any doubt about what would acceptable contact the local wedding registrar prior to leaving your country of residence.

If any of the documents are in a language other than English you will need to have a certificated translation of each and every document.

Scotland has many wedding traditions that are unique and we will be adding them to this site shortly.