EXCLUSIVE – Scots language wedding on film

When they decided to get married, Colin Wilson and Fiona Henderson wanted to have their civil wedding ceremony conducted in Scots, their native language. They asked the registrars in Aberdeen, their home town, to make the necessary arrangements but were shocked when officials rejected their request.

Colin says, “If the Aberdeen registrars had had their way the wedding you’re looking at now would never have happened. When we asked to take our vows in our own language, the city registrars turned us down.”

Colin and Fiona were pleased, however, when registrars in the neighbouring county of Aberdeenshire took another view and sought instead to accommodate the couple’s wishes and give them the wedding they wanted. This film is that wedding, the first of its kind in modern Scotland.

After a great deal of campaigning, Colin and Fiona finally received an apology from the Registrar General. Their wedding has established a precedent - one which any couple in Scotland are now free to follow.

Video provided by Eternal Productions, Cruden Bay www.eternalvideo.co.uk