Gretna Scotland Continues To Attract Wedding Couples From Around The World

Couples from all over the world come to marry in Gretna Green. The town released the most recent statistics on weddings there, showing that 4,452 couples married in the town, and 86% of those ceremonies did not involve a resident of Scotland, much less a resident of the town itself. The number of weddings is up slightly from 2006, when 4,434 weddings took place there.

Gretna Green’s all-time record for weddings was logged in 2004, when 5,555 marriages were recorded in the town, nearly 100 of those taking place on St. Valentine’s Day alone. In 2002, the town recorded the first civil marriage to take place outside of a Registry Office. That was the year that changes to the Marriage Act in Scotland rubbished the requirement that marriages take place in Registry Offices, and permitted nuptials to take place in hotels, castles and private homes.

Traditionally, young couples traveled from England - where the age for legal marriage without parents’ permission was 21 - traveled across the border to marry in Scotland, where the marriage laws were more lenient. Gretna Green became known as a destination for eloping couples, and that reputation has spread all over the world.

It’s a reputation that Gretna Green works hard to keep, and has recruited dozens of officiants to meet the varying demand each year for marriage ceremonies. The town averages about a dozen marriages per day, but certain days are busier than others. The Registry Office in Gretna Green works with couples from around the world to ensure that their big day goes off with the only hitch they’re expecting.

Keywords: Wedding Planning, Weddingblog, Wedding

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