Scotland’s wedding industry has witnessed a huge surge this year, with National Records of Scotland revealing there were 9,331 marriages in Scotland between April 1 and June 30.

There were 9,331 marriages – 25.9% higher than the recent average, and the highest number of second quarter marriages since 1993. There were also 340 same-sex marriages, compared with a five-year average of 236 and 22 same-sex civil partnerships, compared with a five-year average of 16.

Duncan McConchie, co-founder of the Scottish Wedding Industry Alliance, said the demand was largely down to postponements caused by the Covid pandemic.

He told The Herald: “The Scottish wedding industry has faced unprecedented demand in 2022, mainly due to wedding postponements caused by our inability to operate as an industry for almost two years.

“However, in 2020 there were less than half the normal number of weddings, and in 2021 there were 3,000 fewer weddings.

“As an industry over the last three years, we’re still way down on the number of weddings we had annually pre-pandemic.

“Are these weddings lost or are they still to come? We don’t know.”