Marriage

The Christian tradition has been involved in the conduct and blessing of marriage for centuries. Where do you start in planning a wedding in the Diocese of Edinburgh?

The first person to contact is the rector (priest) of the church in which you would like to be married. You need not necessarily be a member to be married in an Episcopal Church.

The rector will outline the process for that particular church. This is likely to involve meeting with the rector for conversations and marriage preparation. Some churches run a more formal marriage preparation course where you will be able to join with others who are also preparing for marriage.

The rector will talk with you about the practicalities and why you wish to have a Christian service in a church. He or she will need to seek the permission of the bishop if either of you have been married before, or if you wish to have a Christian service in a building other than the church. The rector will be able to advise you on this.

If you wish to enter into a same-sex marriage, the rector of your desire church must be licensed to do so. Please speak to them directly, and they can advise if (a) they are already licensed, or (b) they are willing to approach their Vestry and Bishop to be nominated.

The rules for getting married in Scotland are governed by the Registrar General for Scotland, and you must go through the registration office in the district where you are going to be married. They will issue you with a Marriage Schedule: it is illegal for the marriage to proceed without this document. There are strict timescales for this process to unfold, so make sure you research early and take note of the various timelines involved. Full information on the process can be found on the National Records for Scotland website.

The Marriage Liturgy for the Scottish Episcopal Church is available here

Some notes on Human Sexuality can be found here.

You can find contact details for our churches via our Directory.