Civil or Religious Ceremony
Why Is There A Divide?
One of the first decisions to be made when getting married is, do you want a civil or religious ceremony? The split between civil and religious comes from The Marriage (Scotland) Act of 1939. Previous to this act all ceremonies were expected to be religious - known as a regular marriage, or if done any other way were known as an irregular marriage.The 1939 Act stipulated that the religious marriage had to follow the accepted form of the Christian or Jewish faith and made no reference to marriages of those committed to other religions. As our society became more multi-racial, it was clear that a change to legislation was necessary. This was done in 1977 when the Act was amended.
Certain common elements are relevant to both types of marriages. For example, the minimum legal age is 16, parental consent not being required. It is necessary that both partners are sufficiently mentally sound to appreciate the nature and obligations of what they are entering into, and are acting by their own consent.
The Legal Stages To Getting Married In Scotland
First, both parties are obliged to formally advise the registrar in the district where they are to be married of their intention, by completing a marriage notice form. This form is valid for a 3 month period. Technically it has to be completed and returned at least 15 days before the date of the wedding but registrars recommend that the form be presented four to six weeks ahead of the date (things can go wrong). The form should be accompanied by birth certificates and proof that any previous marriages have been formally terminated.It is from the marriage notice form that the registrar prepares the marriage schedule. If it is to be a civil ceremony, the form will be retained by the registrar once it has been signed by the necessary two witnesses.
Getting Married In Scotland When Not A Resident
While there is no need for a residency qualification to be married in Scotland nowadays, people from elsewhere can have difficulty in proving formal endings to a previous marriage. Documents have to be available in the English language.Use is often made of this residency flexibility by couples who live outside Scotland. One of the most famous occasions of recent times, of course, was when Madonna married Guy Ritchie at Skibo Castle in Sutherland.