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Quaker weddings are the traditional ceremony of marriage within the Religious Society of Friends.
[edit] Quaker marriage in historyAs Friends began to grow in the early 1650s, the issue of how to conduct weddings among Friends became prominent. Early Quakers rejected practices such as using priests of the established church, posting banns, and even registering the marriage with the state. Some time after Parliament legalized civil marriages in 1653, George Fox issued an epistle or advisory letter to his followers regarding Quaker marriage. He advised meetings to examine prospective spouses concerning their intentions to marry, and to determine that there were no familial obstacles or other potential problems. After the local meeting had approved the couple's intention, an announcement would be made and posted in the market on market day. After this the wedding could take place. Outsiders sometimes criticized Quaker couples for living in adultery because they married each other without priests or ministers. Fox and Margaret Fell married using a modification of this procedure in 1669.[citation needed] Two years later, when Fox was in Barbados, he sent out another epistle. In this epistle, Fox advocated giving women's meetings the initial responsibility to pass on a couple's intentions when the couple had expressed a desire to be wed. This advice became quite controversial among those who did not want to see women's roles expanded.[citation needed] [edit] Quaker marriage todayWhen a couple decide to get married they declare their intentions to marry to the meeting (either in writing or in person). The meeting then appoints a clearness committee to talk with the couple and make sure that they have properly prepared themselves for marriage. If the committee is clear that this couple is ready, they recommend that the monthly meeting should take this wedding “under their care” and appoint a committee to ensure the couple makes all the needed arrangements for the wedding ceremony. These duties vary but may include helping schedule the date, finding premarital counseling, making the Quaker marriage certificate, making sure the couple knows how to acquire and file any legal documents. Some couples choose to marry within the meeting without registering their marriage with the government, a tradition dating back to Quakerism's earliest days. Same-sex couples can also be married with or without government documents in some meetings (see Homosexuality and Quakerism). If a couple later needs to prove that they are married, the Quaker wedding certificate signed by witnesses at the ceremony is sufficient in many states of the United States. [edit] The marriage procedureA traditional wedding ceremony in a Friends meeting is similar to any other Meeting for Worship, and therefore often very different from the experience expected by non-Friends. The attendees gather for silent worship, often with the couple sitting in front of the meeting (this may depend on the layout of the particular Friends meeting house). Out of the silence (for a really long time) the couple will exchange what the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting describes as "promises" [1], and Britain Yearly Meeting describes as "declarations" with each other. The promises are short, simple, and egalitarian, and can vary between different regions and meetings. Traditionally, Quakers do not swear or make oaths, because they intend to tell the truth at all times, not only when swearing. Since traditionally Friends have no clergy, there is no one person to “marry” them. Instead they believe that they are married by God, and declare their intentions before God and those gathered. They believe that the marriage is merely "witnessed" by those present. George Fox, a man important in the establishment of the Religious Society of Friends wrote in 1669:
The administrative tasks associated with the marriage are completed by a Registering Officer, who is a person specially appointed by the Monthly Meeting in which the couple are to be married. However, this person is purely responsible for the administration of matters such as the certificate, and does not "marry" the couple. Usually, there are no bridesmaids or other special roles in the wedding other than that of bride and groom. The couple then signs the Quaker wedding certificate. All those present are invited to give ministry with the gathered meeting as they feel led (as in any other Meeting for Worship, see main article on the Society of Friends). At the close of worship all those present at the meeting are asked to sign the wedding certificate as witnesses. Often the certificate is hung prominently in the home of the couple as a reminder of the declarations they made, and of the people with whom they shared that moment of their lives. [edit] United Kingdom[edit] DeclarationsThe declarations made by the couple in meetings for worship for the solemnisation of marriage in Britain Yearly Meeting are as follows (words in italics are optional):
The declarations may also be made in the Welsh language. [edit] LawQuaker marriage has been subject of special law in England and Wales from the 18th century to the present day. The Marriage Act 1753 gave exemption to Quakers and Jews from the compulsion for all other weddings in England and Wales to take place in an Anglican church building, under the ordinance of an Anglican priest. Thus, Quakers' marriages were legally recognised at a time when marriages within other non-conformist traditions were not legally recognised. This special exemption for Quakers has continued in subsequent Marriage Acts in England and Wales up to and including the Marriage Act 1949 which allows "marriage in according to the usages of the Society of Friends, commonly called Quakers". Quakers and Jews were exempt from the restrictions within the Marriage Act 1949 from the requirements to marry in certain approved locations or at certain times, so were the only groups who were (theoretically) allowed to, for example, marry outside or in the middle of the night (although in practice Quaker marriages take place in a place where there is a regular Meeting for Worship held, so would not usually take place outside). The law with regard to Quaker weddings in England and Wales is based around Section 47 of the Marriage Act 1949 Marriages according to usages of the Society of Friends [2] Quaker marriages in England and Wales have two marriage certificates:
[edit] United States[edit] LawA governmental marriage license is not usually part of the ceremony, and can be signed at a separate time if desired. In many areas, the license must be signed by an "officiant," but in the state of Pennsylvania, self-uniting marriage licenses are available which require only the signatures of the bride and groom and witnesses. California, too, allows for the signing of a license by three witnesses. These licenses are available to any couple who wishes to be married without an officiant, regardless of religion. [edit] See also[edit] External links
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