The Scots are renowned worldwide for having their own sense of identity and style. When it comes to traditional Scottish weddings, you certainly can’t expect anything less. Scotland is a country rich in history, culture and diversity. Today’s Scottish weddings provide young couples with the perfect blend of ancient Highland traditions and streamlined modern wedding practices.

Scottish wedding traditions can be traced back to the 13th century, when the medieval Celtic church used to announce “banns of marriage” every three consecutive Sundays. The practice of proclaiming the banns of marriage lasted into the 20th century, until it became standard for the Scots to simply submit a “notice of intent” to their town’s respective registry office weeks prior to the wedding ceremony.

The Origins of Scottish Wedding Traditions

In the past, whole villages would get involved in preparing a couple’s wedding. There would be people lining the streets near the church just to cheer the couple on even before they exchanged vows.

There were two primary practices conducted in those early days; one had the couple perform a nuptial ceremony and a formal Latin mass inside the church, and the other had the priest addressing the crowd in Scots dialect outside their place of worship.

Since the early beginnings of Scottish wedding traditions, it has been customary for the bride and the groom to exchange rings. The ring symbolized the endless love between the two people about to be married. It was also traditional to have the groom kiss the bride after the exchange of rings. These practices have remained intact throughout the centuries.

After the formal ceremony held in church, a group of pipers or a lone piper would lead the entire crowd through the streets and into a family member’s house where the festivities continued all night long. Feasts were provided by the newlyweds’ families as a way of celebrating the couple’s nuptials. Local music would be heard outside the house, and the guests would dance throughout the night. Essentially, little has changed since the origins of Scottish wedding practices and traditions.

Once the festivities ended, the newlyweds were required to sleep inside their new home. The bride was usually carried over the threshold and ceremoniously placed on the marital bed. Carrying the bride was believed to be a way of protecting her from evil spirits that supposedly inhabited thresholds. During medieval times, the couple also had the option of having a priest bless the entire house and the marital bed as extra precaution against unseen evil forces.

Other traditional Scottish rituals included events prior to the Scottish wedding. Before the bride was married, her mother would hold an open house of sorts so that visitors could view the wedding presents given to the couple. After this ritual, the bride was taken out by her friends to go around town singing loudly and banging pans and pots together to announce the bride’s coming big day. The open house tradition later gave way to become what we now know as the hen night.

The groom, of course, is not to be left out. While the bride shows off her gifts, the groom is taken out for the Stag Night or Bachelor Party, when the groom’s friends celebrate his last night of freedom. The Stag Night was viewed as a way to ensure that despite getting hitched, the groom was not abandoning his friends. Usually, on this night, practical jokes are unleashed on the hapless groom. Some of the jokes involve nudity and being tied to a post until morning.

Another wedding ritual is the Highland tradition called creeling. The ritual involves having the groom carry a large basket or creel filled with stones from one side of the village to the other. He must continue this practice until his bride steps out of her home and offers him a kiss.

Contemporary Scottish Weddings

Not much has changed since this time of rituals, practices and superstitions. Today’s Scottish wedding still embodies the jolly feeling of the past. For additional glamor, most couples have bagpipe music played during the ceremony.

A piper wearing the traditional Scottish Highland dress usually waits by the church and plays music while the wedding guests make their way to their seats inside the church. After the formal ceremony, he leads the couple to their car while playing traditional pipe music.

As the couple makes their way out of the church, flower petals and paper confetti are thrown at them. There are some rural districts where the couple also throws coins at the waiting children outside the church.

Again, the piper plays his pipe during the reception. He later hands the bride a sharp highland dagger to cut the wedding cake.

Most of the traditions, including the exchange of rings, the groom’s stag night and the bride’s hen night, are still followed, but with minor alterations and a change of activities to suit the individual preferences of the bride and her groom.

During the reception, the bride throws her bouquet over her left shoulder. Behind her, a crowd of unmarried female members of the wedding entourage patiently await. The girl who catches the bouquet is believed to be the next woman to be hitched.

Scottish Wedding Attire

Prior to the wedding, one of the most important aspects the bride and the groom have to take care of is their Scottish wedding attire. Traditional Scottish wedding outfits are the perfect addition to a splendid and classy Scottish wedding ceremony.

Most grooms prefer wearing the traditional Scottish highland dress, complete with the jacket, the kilt, the sporran and the dirk, while the bride dons her beautiful white or cream-colored wedding dress. Some brides even wear a horseshoe on the arm for additional good luck.

Bridesmaids may wear whatever garments or dress styles the bride has chosen for them, while the male members of the family and the wedding entourage are expected to come in full Highland dress with their clan tartan on display.

Here is a video of a Scottish Wedding.