Gretna Green in Scotland is the only place, i know of where you can get married at 16 years old without consent of parents. It has been performing shotgun weddings and forbidden weddings for 300+ years. Gretna lies a little way over the Scottish border and it has been as popular with the English as it is with the Scottish.
You give them three weeks notice. They print wedding details in their local paper inviting anyone who knows of any lawful impediment why the couple cannot marry to come forward. It is not asked at the ceremony. The newspaper is not widely available, it is just a very small village paper. Therefore, unlikely to alert forbidding parents of the bride and grooms intentions. The wedding ceremony is performed at the old Blacksmiths and couples with no witnesses are still welcome and it is common to ask passers by to act as a witness.
Actually there are other places in Scotland to get wed at 16 lawfully, but finding someone to do this is virtually impossible, except for Gretna Green.
Lurch's daughter is planning a trip to Scotland at the end of Februalry when she turns 16. The recent events in her life have really cemented her firmly to her boyfriend. She ran away from the centre to be with him. They have been working in a bar and living in the flat above for about 8 weeks now. Her POV is such that 'Andre' is the only worthy relationship she has in Spain. Her mothers abandonment, and then being sent to a juvenile centre has meant that this Andre has really been the only person to stand by her. He has. He has given up everything to be with her and go out of Andalusia. In Spain they have a local police called the Guadia Civil and the national police called Policia Nacional. It is the Guadia in Andalusia that are looking for her! She has not committed any crime but they look for her because she is a minor that has escaped from a childrens home. She has no worries with the Guardia in the place where she is, nor the Policia and they often come into the bar where she works.
If Lurch could have gone to Spain eight weeks ago to bring her back to England then he might have been able to prize her away from this 'Andre'. The two things that prevented that a) her mother holds her passport b) the authorities removed parental responsibility from the mother due to abandonment and Lurch also just because he was absent. As it stands, some things cannot be undone. She will not leave Spain without him. Whatever the circumstances when she leaves Spain Andre will be in hot persuit!
To further complicate matters, the age of consent in Spain is unbelievably 13 years old. It is ironic that they have done nothing wrong in Spanish law, but the minute they arrive here in England their union is unlawful until she is 16 years old, which is February.
I have had to secure a temporary place for Andre to stay at, nearby. I have done this and explained to Andre the situation and that we will endeavour to accept him, and assist him to find work on one condition. He must encourage her to attend the college I have spoken to. She is a clever girl, speaks both English and Spanish fluently. She was doing well at school but has not attended for several months and there was no room for her in school at the centre in Spain.
Her plans are, or were, to come to England with Andre in tow and wait until her sixteenth birthday. She could marry in England with Lurch's consent. Failing that she could cross the Scottish border and marry in Gretna without. Then, they plan to return to Spain as a married couple which would mean the juvenile centre would no longer require her presence. They could return to his family and live and work without fear of the Guadia.
Lurch is aware of all this but is struggling to accept the biggest issue which is his daughter is no longer a little girl in pigtails. I understand all of this. His POV and her POV and am trying to secure a good outcome, acceptable to all. Realising Andre is a big key in all of this I have secured his word on the following: he comes to England but stays at a different address until she is 16, he encourages her to attend a course at the college which is a special course they run for 16-18 year olds who have had a disrupted education for 6 months and I have said that if they feel the same at the end of the 6 months Lurch will give them permission to marry and they can return to Spain as and when they wish.
I have done this to give her the opportunity to be a 15/16 year old again. I realise the events in her life cannot be undone but want to see how she feels given the opportunity to meet and study with kids her own age. Futile, perhaps but worth a try. I know that if i had married the person i was dating at 16 then it would have been a mistake, but i also know that if i had wanted that, then i would not be told otherwise. I remember being a 15 year old and much older in my head than my folks wanted.
The possibility of outcomes to all of this is endless. I realise also this a crossroads for me too. I could really take a back seat, remain as i have been and just say "well, she is YOUR daughter" However, not really sure how all this means for me I know there is nothing in me that wants to do this. I want this girl to be happy! She has really had some injustices bestowed on her! The Spanish authorities have treated her terribly. I have identified several of her human rights they have violated. Her mum not only abandoned her but chose her new boyfriend over her when he hit her, then tried to say she was a nutter, that she needs locking up until 18. Truth is they were unable to dx her with anything. I have not detected any mental impairment but i have observed her anxiety (understandably) and she is in panic mode when any suggestion of seperating her from Andre is made. She is insecure. She has asked me about any young ladies living around here and she is worried in case they try to chat up Andre! She has low self esteem, when i asked her what job she really wanted to do she replied "cleaning or bar work" not that anything is wrong with that i have done bar work myself but she could aim so much higher. No, there is nothing in me that wants to walk away from this girl.
