Any reason why marriage certificate wouldn't be on SP?

[danieloks2ndaccount]

Hi all, having trouble finding a marriage record.
The people in question are living so I wont state any names but they were married in 1959. I have checked surrounding years within a 10 year radius, checked all sorts of name variants and I feel like I have exhausted every option apart from asking them "Are you married?" which is a bit of an awkward question.

Any reasons why it might not be on SP?

[Jebber]

Have you looked to see if they married south of the border? Otherwise it’s possible they  never actually married.

[danieloks2ndaccount]

After making this post I decided best check that, and I couldn't find anything. I would say it's possible they married further abroad, and that might be the only viable explanation but I heavily doubt this.

[CaroleW]

Have you checked English marriages?

[Forfarian]

Did they have a child in Scotland? If so, the child's birth certificate will tell you the date and place of their marriage.

[danieloks2ndaccount]

Their children's birth certificate is where I'm getting 1959 from.

Carolw - yes, I have. That's what was discussed before.

[Forfarian]

A Scottish birth certificate should always tell you the place of marriage as well as the date, unless the parents weren't married, of course. And it's never just the year - it's supposed to be the exact date, but occasionally just the month.

If you have a date and place of marriage from a birth certificate and you can't find it on SP, it usually means that the parents were lying.

[eilthireach]

Interestingly, a cousin of mine (2nd cousin) married in April 1972 in Inverness (a church marriage), but someone did not carry out the final part of the process. The completed marriage schedule is supposed to be taken to the local registrar within 3 days of the ceremony so that the registrar can record it in the register of marriages. There is now no record of the marriage in the statutory records! (Yes, their childrens' birth records show the parents' date and place of marriage)

The parents of an aunt of mine by marriage married in Edinburgh on 26 June 1912 (The childrens'  birth records show the date of their parents' marriage) but there is no record of this in the statutory records. Either it was an irregular marriage or maybe as happened in my cousin's case, someone forgot to take the marriage schedule to the local registrar!

https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/files//registration/Marriage%20in%20Scotland%20Information%20Leaflet%20RM1%20January%202024.pdf

[oldfashionedgirl]

Were you looking at the Scotlands people centre in Edinburgh?
As otherwise there is a 75 year closure on marriages.

As said by others it would say it on the child’s birth certificate.

This would be accurate as I remember having to take mine with me to the registry office when registering my children.