Alexander Carnaby and Janet Downie

[Rosezi]

I have searched for several years for a marriage certificate for Lt Alexander Carnaby and Janet Downie  They were living in Stirling, Stirlingshire for their first child Mary born 1777 and by 1780 were living in Thurso.  Alexander was classed as a gentleman,salmon merchant and  freemason in Stirling and Thurso (he was the original founder in Thurso)He also spent some time in the Caithness  fencible regiment. I  have found many records for him and his children but they hold no leads. It's possible he and Janet just never got married, but considering his position i should imagine this would have caused too much scandal. This is the only Scottish marriage I cannot find out of thousands on my tree. Any help or direction would be appreciated.

[Forfarian]

If you have exhausted the records at www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk it is very likely that the record of the marriage does not exist, or at least does not exist in Scotland.

If they opted for an irregular marriage, i.e. they didn't get the banns called in the kirk and/or get the minister to perform the ceremny, there might be some record in the Kirk Session minutes at Scotland's People of them being taken to task and punished.

There's a small possibility that it might be in an Episcopal register, because if he was English he may have been an adherent of the Church of England, and the Episcopal Church is the corresponding denomination in Scotland. Similarly it's just possible that he was married by a dissenting minister whose registers are lurking somewhere. You need to find out which archive deals with the areas where they might have got married.
Caithness https://www.highlifehighland.com/archives-service/
Stirlingshire https://www.falkirkleisureandculture.org/learning/archives/ or https://www.stirling.gov.uk/community-life-and-leisure/libraries-and-archives/archives/ depending which part of the historic county they might have been in.

I assume that you've tried searching newspapers for a marriage announcement?

If they were people of substance there could be something like a marriage contract. These are common enough but not always easy to find. Start with the indexes to the Registers of Deeds in the National Records of Scotland - for this you would either need to go to Edinburgh, or hire a professional searcher to go on your behalf. See https://www.asgra.co.uk/

[Rosezi]

Wow, success, thank you, your help was invaluable! I found them in the
Kirk records for Sterling, they did indeed have an irregular marriage a few months before their first child was born in 1777. Now I need to find out why they had an irregular marriage. I'm also wondering if indeed he was English and not of the Scottish faith would he still be brought before the church elders and fined?
Not only did I find Alexander and Janet in the Kirk records but their son John (my 3x great grandfather) accused of fathering another child! Searching the Kirk records is not easy on the eyes but well worth the trouble! Many thanks again

[Forfarian]

The kirk, generally speaking, could only discipline its own members, so if they were both summoned to deal with their irregular marriage, the inference is that both were members of the congregation.

As for why they opted for an irregular marriage, it isn't going to be easy to find a reason. Maybe there was parental opposition, or maybe they just didn't like the minister. Or maybe they just fancied the idea of getting married without all the fuss.