Scottish Wedding Kilt Etiquette

So, you’re planning a wedding in Scotland (or attending one), and you plan to wear a kilt? Good choice! The wedding kilt is a staple of Scottish wedding tradition and a great way of showing your proud Scottish heritage. But there are some things to know about wearing a kilt to a wedding, and what to wear with it.

Not to worry, though! Here’s what you need to know about your wedding kilt attire before the big day!

What to wear with your wedding kilt

Formalwear

For a more formal wedding, we recommend the traditional evening attire with a Prince Charlie jacket. This highland dinner jacket comes with short tails at the back and three buttons down either side.

Along with this jacket, and your kilt, it is best to wear a three-button waistcoat, a plain shirt (normally white), and a plain bowtie (either black or matching the colour of the jacket).

Finally, to complete the formal wedding look, the Prince Charlie jacket requires a full dress sporran, the pocket that hangs outside of the kilt.

Semi-formalwear

For a semi-formal daytime wedding, you may instead opt for an Argyll jacket instead of a Prince Charlie. This would fit better with a five-button waistcoat and a wedding tie in silver-grey or matching your tartan.

To complete the semi-formal wedding look, a semi-dress sporran will do, which comes with a fur covering on the front.

Either way

Whether formal or semi-formal, you should also try to make sure the colour of your hose (socks) compliments the rest of the outfit. And remember – avoid white! Your hose should be cream, coloured or black. Whatever the colour, we recommend wearing these with traditional black ghillie brogues.

Accessories

You should also consider a few extra accessories to finish off your wedding look:

• Kilt flashes: Strips of tartan (matching your kilt) to hold up the hose and add extra decoration.
• Kilt pin: Traditionally pinned at the bottom of your kilt, in the open-fringed corner, this pin is an important part of the kilt. Some Scottish men will show off their clan heritage by wearing a pin with their clan crest.
• Sgian Dubh: A small, single-edged knife with a protective case, sheathed in your sock on the outer side of the leg (the same as your dominant hand).

There you are – time to go shopping! Whatever you decide to wear, whether it’s for your wedding or someone else’s, we hope you feel comfortable and enjoy the day!

To find out more about creating the traditional Scottish wedding, have a read through our favourite Scottish wedding traditions.

If you’d like to have the perfect Scottish castle wedding at Barcaldine Castle, visit our Weddings page.