Scottish Wedding Traditions

Wedding customs have changed quite dramatically over the years, but many still continue such as the good old "Scramble".... more about that later!!

Here's a few customs taken from the Scottish Wedding Traditions

On Barra, it was traditional to sprinkle water on the marriage bed and bless it. In Mull, it was customary that the young couple sleep in a barn for their first night and in Lewis they lived for a week with the bride's parents before going to their own home.

Celtic practices were part of ceremonies for many hundreds of years and had roots in pagan rituals. Tying the knot originated from the bride and groom ripping their wedding plaids (clan tartans) and tying the two strips together as a symbol of the unity of the two families.

According to Gaelic tradition it is unlucky to marry in the month of May or during a waning moon.

Tradition says sew a hair onto the hem of a wedding dress for luck, or let a drop of blood fall onto an inner seam. The bride must never try on a completed dress in advance of her wedding day. To facilitate this tradition a small section of the hem is left unsewn by the dressmaker until the last moment.

The bride, when she leaves home for the last time as a single girl, should step out of the house with her right foot for luck