Gretna Green
GRETNA GREEN | BLACKSMITHS | HISTORY
Beth and Kieron were probably one of the most laid back couples I have come across, and their wedding day perfectly reflected this. It was small and intimate, with only 2 of their friends in attendance along with their gorgeous baby boy. They planned a Gretna Green elopement with a short service, no muss, no fuss. They then headed to their Air B&B where they had hired a private chef to cook them a gorgeous meal on the evening of their wedding, which they paired with some board games and a little bit of whiskey (they were in Scotland after all).
This was my first time shooting at Gretna Green - and even being there at all, and I gotta say, I fkin loved it.
Gretna Green has a reputation for its small elopement style weddings. It’s quick and easy way of just heading over the border, have a quick service and get the job done. It operates as revolving door type system, with weddings being back to back throughout the day (however, you do not feel rushed or pressured to move it along in any way, its all extremely accommodating and personal when you are there, Beth and Kieron had a wedding just before there’s and one straight after, but we never ran into the other wedding parties, you are kept very much to yourselves with no interference from anyone else), its extremely private and a genuine pleasure to be a part of a Gretna Green wedding, and I hope I have more to come in the future!
So - WHAT MAKES GRETNA GREEN SO SPECIAL? WHY DOES IT HAVE THIS REPUTATION? ITS SUCH A RANDOM PLACE!
Well, I love a bit of history, so here’s what I learned -
Back in the 1700s, it became illegal to marry under the age of 21 without your parents permission in England and Wales - but this law was never passed in Scotland. So, thousands of young lovers would make their way over the border and into Scotland in the hopes to evade this new law, and marry one and other as they saw fit. So, WHY Gretna Green? Well it’s the first village you come across in Scotland after passing the English border, of course. Back in the day, anyone with a trade could legally marry you - it was the equivalent of a Captain of a ship being able to marry you aboard his vessel (..that is a thing isn’t it??), well thankfully, Gretna Green housed a huge blacksmiths workshop - and so began the tradition of running across the border, heading to the nearest blacksmiths and marrying the love of your life - with or without your parents permission!
During the ceremony, the blacksmith would slam his hammer down on the anvil thus symbolising the forging of two lives in a now unbreakable bond - and you’ll be pleased to know, that Gretna Green still practises this tradion today. You get married over the anvil, in an actual blacksmiths workshop, and the hammer is indeed struck against the anvil (I wasn’t ready for it, and I shit myself, so just bare that in mind). Not only do they withhold this symbolic, and frankly, cool, tradition, but the ceremony spaces they have up there are absolutely beautiful. I genuinely loved it. It had so many quirks and little corners, I would highly recommend getting married at Gretna Green. What a journey.
