Gretna Green marriages weren't nearly as common as they appear to be if you read a lot of Regency romances (though the real-life Earl of Hellgate, who appears in Pleasure for Pleasure fled to Gretna!) In essence, Greta Green was a Regency Las Vegas. Blacksmiths performed the ceremony by asking the couple their names and addresses, then telling them to stand up, and asking if they were single (an essential question!). If told yes, he would ask them if they were there of their own free will, an important question in case the validity of the wedding was later contested. Then he would fill out the certificate and go to the heart of the ceremony, which involved the groom putting a ring on his bride's left hand along with the admonition: "Those whom God has joined together, let no man put asunder."
