Why marriage is heading towards extinction in Scotland – and how to save it
Scotland now ranks among the slowest and most bureaucratic places in Europe to get married. It’s time for a ‘Marriage Tsar’ to shake things up
If love is like a red, red rose – as Burns wrote – then the stem of marriage that supports it is beginning to wilt. Burdened by cost, delay and outdated bureaucracy, one of our oldest institutions is quietly becoming one of our least accessible.
It’s a curious fact of modern life: in Scotland and the rest of the UK, it’s now easier to get divorced online than it is to get married. No digital portal. No fast-track route. Just paperwork, a pen and the patience to deal with a 19th-century system.
Many feel the institution of marriage is simply a victim of the times, with four-in-five Scottish adults believing changing social attitudes are behind the decline. But the truth is simpler and more frustrating. The system is making it harder to commit. And unless that changes, marriage could be all-but extinct within a generation.
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Stable families matter
Today, couples must wait a minimum of 28 days to be legally married – double the wait time of a decade ago. Scotland now ranks among the slowest and most bureaucratic places in Europe to marry. There is no online application, no flexibility for personal circumstances, and no meaningful effort to modernise. For too many people, the process feels not just outdated but obstructive.
The costs of weddings have also become prohibitive. The average Scottish couple now pays £18,617 for their big day, a price that many are unable, or unwilling, to pay.
That should concern all of us. While marriage is a personal decision, it carries clear public value. It is consistently associated with stronger family stability, improved long-term health and greater economic resilience. Children born to married parents are likely to achieve higher academic and economic success. These outcomes may begin in private, but they benefit society as a whole.
In a country facing rising loneliness, a declining birth rate and an ageing population, we should be making it easier – not harder – for people to build lasting relationships.
Next year’s Holyrood elections are set to be dominated by competing views on how to tackle the challenges Scotland faces around social cohesion and economic prosperity. Modernising our marriage system may not be a headline policy, but it’s a quietly powerful one. It speaks to who we are, how we live, and what kind of society we want to become.
Fast-track weddings
It’s time to take marriage seriously again. Currently, the process is managed by National Records of Scotland, a sprawling organisation responsible for everything from census data to life expectancy figures. It’s perhaps no wonder that marriage applications are treated more like statistics than significant life events.
That’s why Gretna Green is calling for the appointment of a Marriage Tsar: an independent figure with a mandate to review the current system and recommend reforms. Their brief should be practical and focused – cut costs, reduce bureaucracy, and bring the process into the 21st century. That could include digitising applications, revisiting the 28-day rule, and creating a fast-track route for compassionate or urgent cases.
We don’t need to erase tradition to embrace modernity. But we do need a system that reflects how people live and love today. If love is like a red, red rose, the stem that supports it must be strengthened. Because love shouldn’t wait – and neither should reform.
John Holliday is executive chair of weddings, retail and hotels business Gretna Green
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