Why thousands of couples are choosing Scotland to say 'I do'
A quarter of all marriages in Scotland involve couples who don't live here but see it as the ultimate wedding destination.
By BBC News
Thousands of couples are choosing Scotland as their wedding destination, with nearly a quarter of all marriages registered there last year involving people who did not live in the country. Figures from the National Records of Scotland show that 6,596 of the 27,191 weddings recorded in 2025 were between non-residents.
The BBC report says the appeal is especially strong for destination weddings, with Gretna Green attracting more visiting couples than anywhere else in Scotland. Of the non-resident marriages recorded last year, 3,492 took place in the Dumfries and Galloway town, meaning more than half of Scotland’s destination weddings were held there.
The story also focuses on Hayden and Savannah, a couple from Pennsylvania in the United States, who chose Scotland for their wedding last May after looking at locations across Europe. Savannah said she was inspired after seeing a castle wedding online, and the couple wanted a setting that would feel like an adventure for their family and friends.
The report says the couple had never visited Scotland before their wedding, but were drawn to the country’s scenery and sense of history. They chose a castle near Edinburgh, and said the country’s wedding industry made planning from abroad straightforward.
Scotland’s wedding appeal is also tied to the long history of Gretna Green as a marriage destination. The BBC report says that tradition dates back to 1754, when changes to marriage laws in England led young couples to cross the border into Scotland to marry without parental consent.
More than 250 years later, Gretna Green remains one of the best-known wedding venues in the world, and the BBC says it continues to draw couples from outside Scotland in large numbers.