The origins of the traditional Scottish wedding

The modern Scottish wedding is an intricate blend of ancient highland tradition mixed in with modern, streamlined rites which influences what we know as traditional America weddings. Back in the 13th century the medieval Celtic church would proclaim the 'banns of marriage' for three successive Sundays. This practice of announcing a forthcoming marriage lasted up to the 20th century, where it became standard to 'give notice of intent' to a registry office several weeks before the intended event.

Celtic wedding traditions

Celtic Scottish wedding practices had roots in pagan rituals. Handfasting (read below) originated from the bride and groom ripping their wedding plaids (clan tartans) and tying the two strips together as a symbol of the unity of the two families.

According to Gaelic tradition it is unlucky to marry in the month of May or during a waning moon. The remote Scottish Islands have Celtic wedding traditions and superstitions unique to their culture. On Barra, for example, it was traditional to sprinkle water on the marriage bed and bless it. In Mull, it was customary that the young couple sleep in a barn for their first night and in Lewis they lived for a week with the bride's parents before going to their own home.

Medieval Scottish wedding traditions
It was normal practice in olden times for an entire village to get involved in the preparations for the 'big day'. People would line the streets to the church to cheer on the happy couple before they took their vows. In pre-reformation times, there is evidence that two Scottish wedding services would frequently take place. One in which the priest would address the party in Scots dialect and lead a ceremony outside the church. Whilst the more formal Latin mass and nuptial ceremony would take place inside.

The exchange of the rings has always been a main feature in Scottish wedding ceremonies from ancient times . A ring has no beginning and no end and as such symbolises the love within a marriage. The kissing of the bride follows on from this exchange of rings, and often leads to a cheer from the body of the kirk.

Following on from the formal church ceremony, a piper or group of pipers would frequently lead the entire group of guests down the streets, often to a relative's house, for a non-stop night of celebration, feasting and enjoyment. Local musicians led by pipers would get the dancing started and tradition has it that the first dance, normally a reel, would involve the newly wed couple. Following on from their efforts, the rest of the guests would then dance all the way into the wee hours. In this respect, little has changed over 800 years - maybe apart from the dress code and the type of beer on tap.

When the wedding celebrations were over, the married couple would then leave to spend the night in their new home. The ancient tradition of carrying the bride over the doorstep was linked to the superstition that evil spirits inhabit the thresholds of doors. Hence the bride is lifted over the thresholds - and into the wedding bed. In medieval times, a priest would often bless the house and bless the wedding bed at this time. Then for the first time, as man and wife, the newly weds would have some quality time on their own.

Other wedding rituals such as the Highland custom of 'creeling the bridegroom', involved the groom carrying a large creel or basket filled with stones from one end of a village to the other. He continued with this arduous task until such times as his bride to be would come out of her house and kiss him. Only if she did, would his friends allow him to escape from the ‘creeling’ otherwise he had to continue until he had completed the circuit of the town.

Hens night (yep, Scottish origin)

Often before a Scottish bride is married, her mother holds an open house for a traditional "show of presents." Invitations are sent to those who gave wedding gifts to the couple and the wedding gifts are unwrapped and set out for viewing. After the show of presents the bride-to-be is often dressed up and her friends escort her through her town, singing and banging pots and pans, heralding the bride's wedding day.

This tradition has evolved into the legendary 'hen night'.

Stag night (yep, Scottish origin)

The groom, meanwhile, is taken out for a stag night on one of the evenings preceding the wedding. The Stag Night is meant to be a celebration of the last night of freedom, and a way of reassuring friends that being married doesn't mean that they are shut out of your life. The groom, like the bride, is dressed up and taken around town by his friends and work mates. There is often a great deal of harmless practical joking, of which the poor groom is the main target. When the night winds down, the groom is sometimes stripped of his clothes and covered in soot, treacle and feathers and left overnight tied to a tree or post. In some rural areas an open lorry is hired and the groom is paraded through his local area with much noise and celebration.

The Speerin

The Speerin is quite a challenging tradition, where the groom must go through a series of tasks and trials to impress their would-be father-in-law before gaining his approval.

The Wedding Sark

The wedding sark is quite literally the exchanging of gifts between the bride and groom, and it is often the bridal dress and the groom’s clothing that get paid for by either side. The bride would normally buy the groom’s wedding sark or shirt, and the groom would pay for the bride’s dress.

Additionally

• The Groom should give his bride wheat to provide for the home

• The Bride gives the Groom some woven cloth to provide for the home

• The Groom gives a dagger for the defense of the home

• The Bride gives a Bible for the spiritual defense of the home

The Luckenbooth

The Scottish bride is often adorned with a luckenbooth, which is a brooch given as a token of love by the groom. They are normally made of silver and engraved with two love hearts.

The name derives from an old Scots word for a lockable stall. The Luckenbooths of Edinburgh, were where jewellery used to be sold – located on The Royal Mile near St Giles Cathedral and were the city’s first permanent shops dating back to the 15th century.

Attire

The bride's white gown and veil is a modern instigation. A Scottish bride will usually wear a traditional white or cream wedding gown. Bridesmaids may wear whatever the bride has chosen to match her dress and it may include a little tartan accessory. Bouquets may include tartan ribbons or bows.

The wearing of a veil originated with arranged marriages. In these, the groom's family informed him that he was to marry, but they very rarely let him see the bride. After all, if the groom didn't like the bride's looks, he might not agree to the marriage. With this in mind, the father of the bride gave the bride away to the groom who then lifted the veil to see his wife of all eternity for the first time.

A gent's highland wedding outfit consists of Bonnie Prince Charlie jacket and waistcoat, kilt, tartan flashes to match kilt, white hose, gillie brogues, kilt pin, sgian dubh, black belt with buckle, formal sporran with chain strap, wing collar shirt, black or coloured bow tie, and a piece of lucky heather on the lapel. The Groom or Fathers of the Bride and Groom also have the option of wearing a fly plaid, which is anchored under the paulette on the shoulder of the jacket and secured by a large plaid brooch (Cairngorm); it is inappropriate for any other guest to wear a fly plaid. For a morning or day wedding, black or tweed Argyle jackets and day sporrans are appropriate. 

Please consult our Attire pages to learn more.

Handfasting (a modern take on an old Scottish tradition).

Handfasting was a custom used during the Middle Ages to mark the beginning of a period of engagement between a couple (in England) but it was also, in most cases, a legally binding commitment and the couple could then be considered legally wed.  Meantime, in Scotland, this Celtic tradition created a temporary (or probationary) marriage which was usually formalized with a religious ceremony after one year. In Scotland, handfasting involves a witness to the wedding tying together the couples’ right hands, usually with ribbon/s, fabric, sash, woven cords etc. This is literally 'tying the knot'! 

With a tartan scarf or sash of sufficient length, of the Brides and/or Grooms clan; hands get ceremonially tied together. This is where the saying “Tying the Knot” comes from!

After the Bride and Groom exchange rings, the betrothed continue to face each other and hold each other’s hands as the officiate wraps their hand with the tartan scarf / sash. The officiate then names the clan / clans and says something like:

With the exchange of rings and this handfasting you are now bound one to the other with a tie not easy to break.
Take this time of binding as your vows are made to pledge to learn what you need to know so that you may grow in wisdom and love for each other.
And pledge your marriage will be as strong as the clan(s) that surround you and support you.
That your love will last as long as the story of your family which has been passed down from generation to generation in this life and beyond.

According to www.gettingmarriedinscotland.org/celtic-handfasting there are many interpretations and representations of Handfasting for inspiration; having evolved from Pictish, Pagan, Celtic and Druid sources

The Oathing Stone

An oath given by water or over a stone was said to make the marriage binding. Over time, the tradition has evolved into the bride and groom Handfasting on a stone as they recite their vows.

In some parts of Scotland, the couple will carve their names into the bark of a tree or on a stone. Some such bridal stones still exist across Scotland today.

Nowadays, guests decorate small stones by etching the bride and groom’s names or initials and the wedding date.

The Groom’s Siller

Scottish grooms would be expected to pledge to ‘provide and protect’ to which end he would bring his ‘siller’ or silver (usually coins) to the ceremony.

Before the cerimony the groom would give the officiant 13 silver coins, called ‘arrhae’. During the ceremony, the priest or minister would drop the coins into the groom’s hands. The groom then dropped them into the bride’s hands. She in turn dropped them back into the groom’s hands. The groom then loudly dropped the coins into a plate, held by an assistant of the officiant.

The sound of the dropping coins symbolised the groom’s promise to provide financially for his wife. The bride returning the coins symbolised her promise to share their wealth, and husband their money wisely.

Celebrants’ passages

If you are a professional Minister new to Scottish ceremonies, looking for traditional passages or seeking inspiration for your own prose, here are some ideas…

We cant take credit for these (source) but if you have anying touching, please let us know…

The Scottish Quaich 

The Scottish Quaich or ‘Loving Cup’ is a two-handled silver bowl presented to the Bride; which is topped up with whisky (by the bride), and then passed around for the wedding party to sip once the legal proceedings have been concluded.

Originally, Quaichs were made of wood but by the 1600s, silver quaichs were more commonly used.

The Quaich must be held with both hands. This is extremely important as historically a marriage would often join two Scottish clans together, and these clans were not always on speaking terms. Because the Quaich had to be drunk with both hands it showed trust in the opposite clan and was a mark of honour and respect (if both hands were on the Quaich, neither were holding a weapon!)

Traditionally the Quaich would have been handed round all of the clan leaders present after the bride and groom had drunk their fill. Today it is usually passed around anyone and everyone in the wedding who wants a dram!

Wedding Confetti

While the word confetti comes from Italian and means “candied” (for an Italian wedding, it refers to sugar-coated almonds – the almond symbolises the bitter-sweetness of marriage and the beginning of a new life) the act originated from the ancient pagan rite of showering the happy couple with grain to wish upon them a 'fruitful' union. Pagans believed that the fertility of the seeds would be transferred to the couple on whom they fell. The throwing of rice has the same symbolic meaning.

The throwing of rice at the bride and groom was replaced because it was prone to cause injury. These days, Scottish wedding confetti is somewhat unique, with Tartan plaid and shamrock shapes a common sight; or flowers and petals.

The Wedding Scramble

The wedding scramble is traditional in most parts of Scotland. As the bride steps into the car, her father or the Groom throws a handful of coins for the children (who have gathered outside the church to watch) to collect.

Believed to bring about financial good fortune, it also takes place in weddings in Ayrshire where it is known as a 'warsel'.

This “scramble” is the reason children make a bee-line for local weddings. As the couple leave the ceremony the groom dips his hands into his pockets (or sporran), and throws all his loose change out on the ground for the children to scramble for.

Carrying the bride over the threshold

The Scots believed that it was unlucky if the bride tripped on entering the house for the first time. So to avoid contact with 'evil spirits' they arranged for several members of the bridal party to carry her over the threshold. Nowadays the groom is expected to do the job himself.

Leap year proposals

The right of every woman to propose on 29th February each leap year, goes back many hundreds of years to when the leap year day had no recognition in English law (the day was 'leapt over' and ignored, hence the term 'leap year'). It was considered, therefore, that as the day had no legal status, it was reasonable to assume that traditions also had no status. Consequently, women who were concerned about being 'left on the shelf' took advantage of this anomaly and proposed to the man they wished to marry. 

It was also thought that since the leap year day corrected the discrepancy between the calendar year of 365 days and the time taken for the Earth to complete one orbit of the sun (365 days and 6 hours), it was an opportunity for women to correct a tradition that was one-sided and unjust.

For those wishing to take advantage of this ancient tradition, you will have to wait until February 29th 2024!