Gretna Green

It is still very much a close-knit family run business. It first began with the present owners (the Houstons) great-grandfather, Hugh Mackie who bought the Gretna Estate which included farming land and the tiny hamlet of Gretna Green back in 1885. One of the buildings in the hamlet was the blacksmith's workshop, already renowned for its romantic history as a haven for runaway lovers since the Marriage Act of 1754. Since his great-grandfather's time, three more generations of their family have carried on the tradition of farming and contributing to the growth of the tourism business in the Gretna Green area. Hugh Mackie passed the business on to George Mackie, Alasdair's grandfather and then it passed to his daughter, Alasdair mother, Moira Mackie. Moira married Adair Houston and his parents have now passed the business on to Alasdair and his sister Susan. Over the past four generations, their forebears and the Houstons have done their best to develop the Gretna Green Famous Blacksmiths Shop, as one of Scotland's best-loved landmarks, into one of Scotland's major visitor destinations. Involved in weddings for over 120 years Gretna Green are also the longest-established wedding planners in the area; probably the world! Not just famous for weddings...