MORE than 250 same-sex couples in ­Scotland will be able to bring in the new year in wedded bliss - after a rush to convert existing civil partnerships into marriages.

In total, some 17 gay marriages are scheduled for this Wednesday, Hogmanay, the first date on which same-sex wedding ceremonies can take place in Scotland.

But figures obtained by the Sunday Herald show there have also been 246 civil partnership conversions since the same-sex marriage legislation came into force earlier this month.

The delay in wedding ceremonies taking place is because, in line with the usual requirements, there is a minimum notice period for marriage of 14 days.

Among the first to be hitched on Hogmanay will be Malcolm Brown and Joe Schofield, from Tullibody, Clackmannanshire, who will be legally pronounced husband and husband in a humanist ceremony shortly after midnight on December 31. The marriage will be attended by Local Government and Community Empowerment Minister Marco Biagi.

Gerrie and Susan Douglas- Scott, from Glasgow, will also be married around the same time, in a humanist ceremony that will be attended by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.

Tom French, policy and public affairs co-ordinator at the Equality Network, said that as well as the Humanist Society Scotland, other religious organisations including the Unitarians, Quakers and Metropolitan Community Church would be holding gay marriage ceremonies in 2015.

He said: "It is hugely important that 35 years after homosexuality was decriminalised in Scotland, we are now making this final step towards equal rights under the law for same-sex couples.

"And it is quite symbolic that it is happening as we herald in the new year. We will begin this new year, 2015, as a more equal country as a result of this change in the law."

He added: "But it also important to recognise it is not just about rights, it is not just about equality - it is also about couples and their families and their friends getting together to celebrate their love in the same way as everyone else and to have a big day of ­celebration with the people they care most about."

Couples in an existing ­ Scottish civil partnership have been able to change their ­relationship to a marriage through an administrative procedure since December 16, 2014. The Scottish Government figures show 246 civil partnership conversions have taken place.

A total of 111 marriages is expected to take place on ­ December 31 in Scotland - 17 same-sex and 94 opposite-sex. In the first week of the new year, 250 marriages are scheduled to take place, including 20 same-sex and 230 opposite-sex.

One of Scotland's most famous wedding destinations is expected to host its first gay wedding ceremonies later next year.

The first such bookings have already been confirmed for summer at the Famous Blacksmiths Shop in Gretna Green, the town where young lovers from England traditionally fled to be married in secret.

The venue's Lynda Denton said she expected it would prove to be a popular venue for gay marriages.

She said: "The all-inclusiveness and rebellion of this place, of always going against the authoritarians, is very much in the spirit of Gretna Green.

"There is the history of young couples running away because it was what they wanted, they were in love and it could provide that for them."

Last week, a specially ­decorated anvil was unveiled at the Famous Blacksmiths Shop to mark the ­introduction of the same-sex marriage legislation.

It was designed by Glasgow School of Art undergraduate Erin Colquhoun, who said she wanted it to send out a "message of confidence and hope" to anyone struggling with their sexuality.

MSP Biagi said: "With 2014 ­drawing to a close, we are about to embark on a new and exciting chapter for Scotland and a landmark day for same-sex couples.

"I am incredibly proud that from December 31, same-sex couples can show their love and commitment to each other through having a marriage ceremony in the same way as any other couple.

"It positions us as a progressive country that truly values ­equality and it ensures Scotland will begin 2015 as a fairer and more equal society."