Scottish Tradition

Traditional Scottish gold wedding bands date back to the 1500's, and are still popular wedding rings today, as are Celtic knotwork engagement rings. Often, before a Scottish bride is married, her mother holds an open house for a traditional "show of presents." Similar to a bridal shower, invitations are sent to the women among those who gave wedding gifts to the couple. The wedding gifts are unwrapped and set out with the card of the gift giver. The occasion is an opportunity for the bride to get acquainted with the wedding party members and guests before the wedding. After the show of presents, bride-to-be is dressed in long trains made of old curtains or other household materials. She is given a baby doll, a plastic potty with salt in the bottom, and other small items to carry. Her friends and guests escort her through her town, singing and banging pots and pans, heralding the bride's upcoming nuptials. To gather luck, the bride-to-be exchanges kisses for money, which is dropped into the potty.

The groom, meanwhile, is taken out for a stag night. The groom is likewise dressed up and taken around town by male companions, sometimes looking like a pregnant woman. His companions often indulge in a great deal of harmless practical joking, of which the poor groom is the main target. When the wild night winds down, the groom is usually left in the street in front of his home stripped of his clothes and sometimes even tied up. In the Scottish Highlands, an old custom known as creeling the bridgegroom was popular. A large basket (creel) is filled with stones and is tied to the groom's back. The groom was required to carry the weight throughout the town searching for his bride. If his bride would come out and kiss him, he would be relieved of his burden.

Is is old Scottish custom to begin a marriage celebration on the eve of the ceremony. Festive singing, dancing and drinking precedes a ceremonial foot washing of the bride-to-be. A wedding ring from a married woman is placed in the tub of water, and whichever lucky maiden snatched it during the foot washing it would be the next to marry. A Scottish bride's wedding gown is typically Victorian. She might wear a horseshoe on her arm for good luck, or a pageboy might deliver one to her as she arrives at the chapel. The Scottish groom wears a kilt in the colors of his clan's plaid, and he wraps a sash of this same plaid over his bride's shoulders, symbolizing that she is now part of his family. It is also customery for the groom to present his bride with an engraved 'wedding spune'.

On the wedding day, the entire wedding party starts out for the church. The first person to be met by the bride on her way to the wedding site is given a coin and a drink of whisky. That person, called the first foot, joins the procession and walks for about a mile before continuing on his or her business. Just outside the church doors, the couple is joined in marriage by a priest. After the joining, the priest leads the bride and groom and all the witnesses into the church for a lengthy nuptial mass conducted in Latin. The mass ends with the blessing of the food and drink brought by the guests. Wedding flowers, petals, or pretty paper confetti are thrown at the departing bride.

Traditional wedding reception festivities can easily last all night. The newly-wedded couple leads off the dancing with a traditional reel, and the bride's second dance is reserved for the person of the highest rank among the guests. The Sword Dance is usually performed at a traditional wedding in Scotland, which is similar to an Irish jig or a Highland fling. Guests gather in a circle before leaving the reception site and sing "Auld Lang Syne". The entire entourage escorts the young couple to their new home. Before the bride enters her new home, an oatcake or bannock (biscuit made of barley and oat flour) is broken above her head and a piece of the cake is passed around to everyone. Then the bride is carried over the threshold. The priest's blessing over the newlyweds, their home, and their marriage bed culminates the ceremony.

source: World Wedding Traditions