With Christmas ranking as the most popular time to get engaged*, the national tourism organisation has revealed insights into Scotland’s credentials as wedding destination.
Visitors from across the world flock to our shores, castles and mountaintops, to tie the knot with over 950 couples from abroad getting married in Scotland last year.
On average 20 per cent of weddings held in Scotland every year are between non-residents. Over 130,000 couples living outside the UK have chosen Scotland for their wedding over the last 20 years and wedding venues across the country are reporting an increase in enquiries from far flung places.
VisitScotland’s new Wedding Tourism research paper encourages the Scottish tourism industry to capitalise on the country’s wedding sector. Those businesses already conducting weddings revealed that the benefits of international couples is their tendency to book out of season and during mid-week, a longer stay meaning a wider tourism opportunity and a higher spend per guest.
The paper also details wedding trends such as “retromony – to absent friends” which sees couples coming to Scotland to marry as a nod to their Scottish ancestry. Venues stated that American and Australian couples prefer traditional Scottish themes and touches like thistles, tartan, whisky and ceilidhs. Some grooms with no Scottish roots still choose to don a kilt when getting married here.
Venues such as Dundas Castle near South Queensferry now offer themed weddings based on shows such as Outlander, embrace cultural requirements such as Chinese and Asian ceremonies and use a virtual 3D tour of the venue to tap into the international market.
Scotland’s history as a place for young couples to elope still resonates with visitors with Gretna Green in Dumfries and Galloway remaining a popular spot to tie the knot. Unlike the national picture, the vast majority of weddings conducted at Gretna Green are between two people who live outside of Scotland.
Chris Greenwood, VisitScotland Senior Tourism Insight Manager, said: “Over the years there has been a steady flow of couples from abroad choosing to get married in Scotland.
“Scotland provides the option of getting married anywhere you please, be that a mountaintop, a beach, a castle, or a zoo, and this is proving appealing to people both home and overseas.
“This research paper highlights Scotland’s potential as a wedding destination for couples across the world and showcases why businesses should be paying attention of this lucrative market.”
Sandrine Contier-Lawrie, from The National Trust for Scotland, said: “Most people dream that the most important day of their lives will be matched by the most marvellous and memorable setting possible: in Scotland we can make that dream come true.
“Because Scottish law allows for ceremonies to take place just about anywhere, we at the National Trust for Scotland care for venues that will surpass your wildest dreams. Be it an elegant regency house, an ancient castle, an historic hunting lodge or amidst awesome mountain scenery or a glorious scented garden, we can offer a place to say ‘I do’ that will live with you forever.
“That’s why we see so many people from the rest of the UK and overseas coming to places like Culzean Castle, the Georgian House or the Mar Lodge Estate, I don’t think there’s any other place in the world that can offer such a combination of history and ambiance. Newly married couples will often spend their honeymoon in Scotland and it can be the beginning of another love affair, this time with our country as we see them coming back here time after time.”
Louise Andrew, General Manager at Dundas Castle, said: “In the last few years Dundas Castle has welcomed increasing numbers of destination weddings. As a family home, our venue is particularly attractive to overseas visitors as we understand well how to embrace different cultures and needs, making every guest feel welcome.
“We love hosting wedding guests from overseas and take pleasure in ensuring that couples get an authentic Scottish celebration. A recent addition has been our 3D tour of Dundas Castle.
“While virtually roaming through the Castle is fun, it is also a valuable tool for those planning a wedding from afar, as visitors can get a real feel of our historic venue. It allows guests to plan a trip to Scotland and see the bedrooms they will be staying in and the location for the wedding itself, without the need for travel.”
Case Studies
Kirsty Sievwright, 28, a PhD student and Gery Brownholtz, 29, who works in finance, from Washington D.C., were married at Dundas Castle near South Queensferry on August 2 this year.
Kirsty was born in Aberdeen but moved to America as a baby. After a road trip to Scotland the couple were inspired to get married in Kirsty’s home country.
She said: “Scotland has always been very near and dear to my heart. Every school vacation and opportunity I got, I would be in Scotland visiting my grandparents and extended family. It was the first trip that Gery and I took together as a couple and we have been back several times since over our six years together.
“We went on a road trip around Scotland the summer before we got engaged. We knew that we wanted to get married and during this trip (somewhere between Edinburgh and Loch Lomond) we started to jest about getting married in Scotland. By the end of the trip (after driving up the West Coast and looping back home to Aberdeen) our jests were becoming serious discussion.
“It didn’t hurt that as we continued with our preparations we realized that it was significantly more economical to get married in a castle in Scotland than in a nice venue in the US.”
Gery has no connection to Scotland himself, but has greatly enjoyed the many trips to Scotland over the years. He has been five times in the past six years and is a now “a major fan of all things Tunnocks”.
During their wedding, Kirsty and Gery embraced lots of Scottish traditions, with Gery donning a kilt and they held a ceilidh.
Kirsty said: “I was so pleased that a good number of guests took it upon themselves to hire a kilt of their own accord and they really enjoyed doing so.
“We also taught our guests how to do several Scottish folk dances at the Welcome Picnic the day before and held a ceilidh during the reception. It was so much fun, and we had a full dance floor the entire night. Our friends from the States concluded that they needed to make more Scottish friends so they could go to another Scottish wedding!
“And of course we had a piper. This is when many of our guests learned that the Skye Boat Song was not simply the theme from Outlander.”
The couple’s favourite part of getting married in Scotland was sharing a place special to them and inspiring their guests to take trips around Scotland following the wedding.
Kirsty said: “It was also extra special to be able to so seamlessly incorporate Scottish traditions in the day. Namely, being able to do the ceilidh and to have the final songs on the dance floor be Loch Lomond and then Auld Lang Syne. Dancing with Gery while looking around the room at all of our family and friends from near and far singing and swaying to this music was really special. That is one of mental images I am trying so hard to hold on to.
“I would recommend getting married in Scotland to other international couples in a heartbeat. Even if you are not from Scotland, it is very easy to do.
“We had one trip where we did all of our tasting and in-person decisions and otherwise, everything else was easily accomplished over email and video chat. Our venue was a dream to work with. They provided us with a list of reliable, high quality vendors so we ultimately didn’t have to do too much research.”
Kirsty and Gery’s guests made sure to turn the wedding into a holiday with many extending their stay and visiting other areas of Scotland.
Kirsty said: “We deliberately timed a wedding for August 2nd the first night of the Fringe Festival so that our guests would have the opportunity to stay and enjoy the festival should they choose. One of our favorite things was the unlikely combination of family and friends who ended up coordinating to go to shows together.”
And it seems Scotland left a lasting impression on the wedding party.
Kirsty added: “Most of our guests who had never been to Scotland before our wedding are eager to go back again. Our friends and family have put in strong requests for us to hold a “reunion/anniversary party” back at Dundas Castle—which we may just have to oblige for our first milestone anniversary.
“My mother- and sister-in-laws are planning a West Coast Scotland road trip for 2021 and a number of our wedding party and other family members (who had already done extensive travel in Scotland during this trip) have booked or are trying to book another trip for this coming summer.”
Wedding Case Study #2
Heather Case Miller 39, a logistics account executive, from Waldwick, New Jersey and Paul Krizan, 39, a photographer, from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, tied the knot at Dundas Castle in September this year.
The couple have some ancestral ties to Scotland but chose it as the destination for their wedding because Paul always dreamed of getting married in a castle.
Heather said: “We started flirting with the idea the moment we got engaged. We asked our friends and family if they would be able to make it [to Scotland] and every single person was beyond excited.
“A friend’s friend got married at the Dundas about 10 years ago and suggested that one to be on our search. When we viewed the website and Instagram account we immediately fell in love with the castle. Neither of us had ever been to Scotland before but I am about 55 per cent Scottish and Paul has some in his blood. I have memories of my grandfather putting on a kilt and playing bagpipe music when I was little. Also, in second grade I had to pick a country to research and display some history about it and I choose Scotland.”
The newlyweds didn’t shy away from Scottish traditions with Paul dressing in a kilt and the groomsmen sporting splashes of tartan
Heather said: “We loved everything about getting married in Scotland. It was all so special. Having the castle for two days with our friends and family was so special. We had our beautiful eight month old daughter there which was beyond incredibly special. Exchanging our vows in the Auld Keep was a super intimate moment. We would encourage other couples from abroad to get married in Scotland. It was one of the best moments of our lives.”
Heather and Paul stretched their time in Scotland to two weeks and travelled to Perth, Inverness and Oban before sailing to the Isle of Mull ahead of the wedding with 15 friends and family in tow.
Heather added: “We want to come back for a visit as soon as possible. We will definitely be back.”
