Procedures
The Marriage (Scotland) Act 1977 is the main current legislation regulating marriage. The Marriage (Scotland) Act 2002 extends the availability of civil marriages to "approved places" in addition to Register Offices and any other place used in exceptional circumstances; religious marriages in Scotland have never been restricted by location. Marriages can either be conducted by "authorised celebrants" (usually, but not always, a minister of religion) or by an "authorised Registrar".
Both parties to a marriage are required to independently submit marriage notice forms to the registrar of the district in which the marriage is to take place. In religious marriages a "Marriage Schedule" is completed by the parties involved and submitted to the local Register Office after the marriage so that it can be registered; the Marriage Schedule must be produced to the person performing the marriage otherwise it cannot take place. After the ceremony the Schedule is signed by the couple, their witnesses and the person performing the marriage. In civil marriages the Schedule is kept by the Registrar and signed after the ceremony. Unless specially authorised by the Registrar General, a minimum of 15 days notice must be given for a marriage but procedural requirements increase this for most marriages to 4–6 weeks to ensure that it can be determined that there is no impediment to the marriage. A list of forthcoming local marriages is displayed to the public at each Register Office.
Read more about this topic: Marriage In Scotland
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