(190)  First civil wedding outside a register office – in Gretna

Joanne Shine and Nick Drummond from Cheshire, both 27, who had eloped to Gretna to get married, found themselves in the newspapers as apparently the first couple to take advantage of the Marriage (Scotland) Act 2002, which enables civil marriages to take place in approved locations other than register offices.  They were married on 6 August 2002 at the Mill Hotel, Kirkpatrick Fleming (near Gretna), the ceremony being performed by Noeline Bourne-May.  Dumfries and Galloway Council is the only local authority to have approved venues under the Act so far.