The history of English marriages

The term marriage, in the English context, was first was first seen in 1250-1300 CE but the idea of marriages predates this date with every culture having their version of the proverbial passage of life. The main goal of marriage, earlier on, was to act as an alliance between families.
Throughout history, and even today, families arranged marriages for couples. Most couples didn’t marry because they were in love, but for economic liaisons. The people involved didn’t have much to say about the decision then.
In our modern world, some marriages are by proxy, some involve a dowry (the bride’s family giving money or presents to the groom or his family,) and some require a bride price (the groom or his family giving money or a present to the bride’s family). Few may have any courtship or dating, but most have deep-rooted traditions.
Different periods of time and various cultures have very dissimilar histories when it comes to women. Ancient Egypt, in theory, gave women equal rights, but it wasn’t always practiced. Medieval women, on the other hand, faced dual responsibilities to religion and marriage.
One nearly universal marriage tradition is that of the engagement ring. This custom can be dated back to the ancient Romans. It is believed that the roundness of the ring represents eternity. Thus, the wearing of wedding rings symbolizes a union that is to last forever. In fact, it was once thought that a vein or nerve ran directly from the “ring” finger of the left hand to the heart.
During the Victorian era romantic love became viewed as the primary requirement for marriage and the rituals of courting became even more formal. An interested gentleman could not simply walk up to a young lady and begin a conversation. He had to be formally introduced and only after some time was considered appropriate for a man to speak to a lady or for a couple to be seen together.
Once formally introduced, if a gentleman wished to escort a lady home from a social function he would present his card to her and at the end of the evening the lady would review her options and chose who would be her escort! She would then notify the lucky gentleman by giving him her own card requesting that he escort her home.
Almost all courting took place in the girl’s home, always under the eye of watchful parents. If the courting progressed, the couple might advance to the front porch. It was also rare for couples to see each other without the presence of a chaperone, and marriage proposals were frequently written.
As early as the 12th Century, Roman Catholic theologians and writers referred to marriage as a sacrament, a sacred ceremony tied to experiencing God’s presence. However, it wasn’t until the Council of Trent in 1563 that marriage was officially deemed one of the seven sacraments, says Elizabeth Davies, of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales.
Marriage vows, as couples recite them today, date back to Thomas Cranmer, the architect of English Protestantism. Cranmer laid out the purpose for marriage and scripted modern wedding vows nearly 500 years ago in his Book of Common Prayer.
Wedding cakes were initially thought of as a luxury item, as the refined sugars needed to make pure white frosting were very expensive. In fact, the term “royal icing” came about thanks to Queen Victoria and her extravagant, multitiered white-frosted wedding cake.
Today, weddings are very extravagant and the concept of marriage has evolved into something beyond the imagination. Traditional roles have been reversed with women being breadwinners in some cases and men being stay at home dads.