Christian Teaching about Marriage.

him you can’t get married cause only he has the power to marry you. Another important feature are the vows said by the groom and bride. The priest will ask you to repeat after him and each one has their separate vows to say for one another. The vows are special promises committing themselves to one another. There are eight vows that the groom and bride have to accept. There are also three questions of the lawfulness of the marriage. The first one is ‘are you ready and freely and without reservation to give yourselves to each other in marriage’. The second one is ‘are you ready to love and honour each other as man and wife for the rest of your lives’. And the third and last is ‘are you ready to accept children lovingly from God and bring them up accordingly to the law of Christ and his church’. Another feature are the rings, which the bride and groom buy for one another as a symbol for each other’s love for one another. It is a common practice these days for them to exchange rings during the ceremony. The introduction is fairly important, as it is a tradition for the bride to be escorted down the aisle with her father side by side with the wedding march theme song played. It is also important that the groom is at the front of the aisle with the best man waiting for the bride’s arrival. Also present with the bride is the maiden of honour, bridesmaids and a pageboy. If a big wedding then it will be holded in a big church with loads of people. There is also another way of getting married and that is a registry marriage. This is when the bride and groom to be want a small marriage for some reason and do it by marriage certificate. This is not as long as a church wedding and only two witnesses are needed present to witness it. The couple would sign the register of marriage and the priest would also sign as consent for the marriage. The bidding prayers and blessings are important features and are done by the priest. The bidding prayers are asking God to help and bless the couple in the many aspects and roles of marriage. The blessings are a reminder that nobody should break the bond of the married couple, which has been made before God.  AO1 (16 marks)