Elope in United Kingdom

It's easier to get married in Scotland than England - fewer legal hoops to jump through. Traditionally Gretna Green was where people eloped to as its the first town over the border. My best friend got married there and it was lovely! I think you'll also find that the USA will recognize a U.K. marriage - I know New Zealand does.

Hi! I am actually an American getting married in London (to a British citizen made more complicated because we live in Switzerland).

First, a UK marriage (or any European marriage) will be legally recognized by the US so don't worry about that.

Second, figure out who your local registrar office is and give them a call to talk about all the requirements. They should be able to answer all your questions and explain all the legalities to you. For example, non-UK/EU citizens need a marriage visa in most cases, but your student visa may give you the right to get married without the marriage visa. If you do need a marriage visa, you also won't be able to use just any registrar.

They will explain the notice requirements (which is when you go to the registrar or church and register your intention to marry, well before the actual wedding date).

Basically, it won't be quite so easy as just deciding to get married and doing it the next day. Traditionally, Scotland was easier, but as non-UK/EU citizens, I am 99% sure that the same rules apply in Scotland as in England.

If you are open to anywhere in Europe, Denmark is supposed to be the easiest and there is a whole elopement industry in Ærø. The downside is that you will likely have to pay to have your wedding certificate officially translated into English for the US, but in the end, that may be cheaper than the UK hoops.

Sorry for the long message! I spent a lot of time when I got engaged in July figuring this out.

TL;DR - Talk to the local UK registrar to figure out the UK marriage requirements

Good info, SwissMs, thanks! I was interested in that info too.

Hi Jaelyn! We're also from the US and eloped in Scotland last month. We ended up getting legally married at the courthouse here in Denver (it only took about 15 minutes) before heading to Scotland because it made things a lot easier. When we landed in Glasgow and went through customs, we were told by the officer that in order to get legally married in Scotland, we would have needed a special visa (which you might already have from your study abroad program).

You can make your elopement as simple or as formal as you'd like. We rented a house in Isle of Skye through AirBnb and then drove into the mountains to have our ceremony. Since we were already legally married, we just said our vows to each other and then spent the rest of the day exploring with our photographer. It was surprisingly affordable!

I would start by doing some research into whether or not your visa will allow you to get married in the UK. And if not, look into what it will take to get a marriage visa.

@Lisa - I love how you planned yours!

I love Ccotland, and saying vows in Skye would be like a dream

@Lisa -then you didn't actually elope in Scotland if you legally married in the States. There are very specific residency requirements to get married in the UK, and you cannot just get married anywhere. I would consult with someone who is from the UK and knows all about it before travelling somewhere and finding out you don't meet the residency requirements to make it legal.

I agree with JessieJV - if you get married in the States, you're not eloping overseas. You don't have restrictions and hoops to go through.