Valentine’s Day Weddings In Gretna

Several years ago, a unique wedding tradition was begun at the Gretna Historical Society’s museum complex located at 209 Lafayette Street in Gretna. Justice of the Peace Vernon J. Wilty, III, who has served the First Justice Court since 1984, began conducting weddings at the GHS’s blacksmith shop on Valentine’s Day, a very popular day for couples to be married. “The blacksmith shop is a quaint setting,” said Wilty. “The tradition promotes the heritage of Gretna and helps to make the day very special for the couple. As well, the society’s members enjoy hosting the event and making the weddings more memorable.”

Society members help to make the day special with a toast to the couple, ceremonial blacksmiths, and a musician playing the bagpipe. The event’s background stems from legends surrounding local history. Gretna, it is believed, is named for Gretna Green, Scotland, which is just across the border with England. There, Gretna Green was a haven for people who used to “run away” to that town from England to get married in a quickie ceremony.

Until the 1940s, Scottish marriage requirements were less restrictive than those in England, and couples fled to Gretna Green where laws allowed them to marry merely by declaring themselves husband and wife in the presence of the local blacksmith and other witnesses. Thus, the blacksmith shop, one of several buildings that comprise the GHS museum complex, was deemed a fitting location for a day of weddings in the city. The event also is somewhat of a fundraiser for the GHS since Wilty donates much of his fee for performing the ceremonies to the society.

Wilty has married as many as three dozen couples at the complex on Valentine’s Day. The weddings will take place between 9:00 a.m. and Noon and 1:30 p.m. to 4:00p.m. on Tuesday, February 14. If you would like to be married at the GHS complex, contact Wilty at 364-2760. You will need to obtain your marriage license from the Jefferson Parish Clerk of Court’s Office’s Marriage License Department, General Government Building, 200 Derbigny St., Ste. 2300, Gretna, ahead of the wedding day.