Pinning the Tartan - what is involved?

An old Scottish wedding custom, the Pinning of the Tartan traditionally took place following the announcement that the couple were now married.  Each family would customise this, depending on whether the Bride was being welcomed into the Groom’s clan, or vice versa.

For instance, to welcome the Bride into the Groom’s clan, any member of the Groom’s family can present the Bride with a piece of Clan tartan – eg, a rosette or a sash. It is fastened with the clan badge or any other type of brooch or pin, to the Bride’s dress, symbolically accepting her into the Groom’s clan. The Groom himself can do the pinning, or another member of his family.

If the Groom is being accepted into the Bride’s family, the roles are reversed, and if both Bride and Groom have Scottish connections, each can pin their tartan to the other.

This is a lovely Scottish wedding tradition that is easy to incorporate into your own wedding plans; it can take place during the reception or as part of the actual marriage ceremony if you prefer.

Example wording - incorporate your own thoughts, feelings and words to personalise the message:

"The ancient Scottish tradition of Pinning the Tartan will now be performed by [name of person to do the pinning] to welcome [Bride’s name] or [Groom’s name] into the [clan name] Clan.”

Check the range of tartan products Scots in Spirit offers:

• Shawls, Wraps & Stoles
• Sashes & Scarves
• Tartan Ribbon
• Tartan Fabric

We can custom make smaller buttonhole-size tartan items to pin on the groom.

For the pinning itself, check the lovely brooches in our three jewellery ranges:

• Heathergems
• Art Pewter Jewellery
• H&Y Jewellery

Or, try a Clan badge or pin from our Clan Accessories collection.

Here are a few images to spark your ideas; Scots in Spirit will help bring them to life.