Gretna Green Wedding over the Blacksmith’s Anvil

You no longer have to runaway to get married at Gretna Green:

The World Famous Blacksmith's Shop, Gretna Green..

We are returning to England from Glasgow when our coach calls into Gretna Green, a small village near the Scottish/English border. I have never heard of Gretna Green before, but obviously many runaway couples have as this village was famous for its runaway marriages.

Gretna Green’s History

Why Gretna Green is one of Scotland’s most popular wedding destinations was because of an Act of Parliament passed in 1753. The Act made the legal age of marriage in England 21 years old and if both parties to a marriage were not at least 21 years old, then they had to get parental consent.

This law did not apply to Scotland and it was possible for boys to get married at 14 and girls at 12 years old with or without parental consent. This led to many young couples eloping from England to Scotland and the first Scottish village they came to was Gretna Green.

Scottish law at the time also allowed for almost anybody to conduct the marriage ceremony as long as the declaration was made before two witnesses. Gretna’s two blacksmiths’ shops became the main centre for the marriage trade and the blacksmiths in Gretna became known as ‘anvil priests’. The nearby inns and smallholdings became the backdrops for hundreds of thousands of weddings.

The laws changed in 1929 and both parties had to be at least 16 years old but they still did not need parental consent. This compared to England and Wales where couples could get married at age 16 with consent and 18 without.

Today, Gretna Green remains one of the world’s most popular wedding venues, and couples from all over the world still come for a Gretna Green wedding over the iconic ‘Blacksmith’s anvil’, even though they are not runaways. Several wedding catering businesses have cropped up in and around Gretna Green, that cater to weddings, vow renewals, etc.

At Gretna Green you can visit The World Famous Old Blacksmith’s Shop and see the Marriage Room. It is a grey day and with no one looking to get married, we flock to the Shopping Centre. The Centre covers 30,000 square feet of shopping space and includes an impressive Tartan Shop, the Blacksmiths’ Exhibition Shop (where you can purchase smaller gift items to remind you of your visit), the Whisky House, Arts and Crafts Shops and the Border Fine Arts Gallery.

Gretna Green has a foodhall where you can have freshly made rolls or you can get take-away refreshments and snacks from nearby food outlets or dine at a restaurant.

Getting there:

Gretna Green
Dumfries & Galloway
Scotland
DG16 5EA

By Road:
From the M74 or A75. Come off at the Gretna/Gretna Green junction and follow the brown tourist signs to the ‘Old Blacksmith’s Shop Visitor Centre’

By Rail:
Trains from Carlisle and Glasgow stop at the Gretna Green station. The visitor centre is a 5 minute walk away.

By Air:
The ‘Old Blacksmith’s Shop Visitor Centre’ is 90 miles from Glasgow Airport, 70 miles from Newcastle Airport and 150 miles from Manchester Airport.