Reading the Regency

Marriages - part 1

"And the marriage was solemnized with much pomp and magnificence, and every demonstration of joy."
[Chapter 14, Vivian by Maria Edgeworth]

Unless you were a Jew or a Quaker, most weddings took place in a "consecrated building" used regularly for worship, (typically the local parish church or chapel) according to the rites and ceremonies of the Church of England.

Marriage in Catholic churches or Non-Conformist chapels was not valid before 1st July 1837, when civil weddings were introduced. Prior to this, Catholic couples were allowed to have a ceremony in their own church, but they were supposed to have an Anglican wedding first, as a Catholic wedding alone would not be legally recognised.

No person could be forced to marry against their will. Under church law, the bride and groom both had to be willing participants in the marriage. In particular, to marry an heiress by force was a capital offence.

Of course, that doesn't mean that every bride and groom married the person of their choice. Parents could still apply pressure on their children, by threat, bullying or bribery, to marry someone they preferred, or alternatively not marry someone they thought was unsuitable. It really depended on the personality of the son or daughter concerned whether they accepted their parent's demand or chose to fight against it.

"Now, what would you think of the Duke of L—-?" asked the Earl in a voice of half-smothered exultation and delight.
"The Duke of L——-!" repeated Lady Juliana, with a scream of horror and surprise; "surely, papa, you cannot be serious? Why, he's red-haired and squints, and he's as old as you."
"If he were as old as the devil, and as ugly too," interrupted the enraged Earl, "he should be your husband: and may I perish if you shall have any other!" The youthful beauty burst into tears, while her father traversed the apartment with an inflamed and wrathful visage."
[Chapter 1, Marriage by Susan Ferrier]

In the above example, published in 1818, Juliana initially bows to her father's demand to marry the old duke before eloping with Henry, the penniless son of a Scottish Laird.

Between 1753 and 1823 there was no minimum age for marriage, although in practice anyone under seven years old was considered too young to wed. Although this sounds horrific to us today, child marriages were not meant to be consummated at such a young age. When a married girl reached 12, or a boy reached 14, they could choose to reject the marriage, or stay with it. Fortunately, by the late 18th century these child marriages had fallen out of fashion and only rarely would girls as young as 12 get married.

In England and Wales, marriages did not have to be consummated to be legal. As long as there was the opportunity to consummate the marriage, that would be enough for the marriage to be valid.

"Mr. and Mrs. Morland's surprise on being applied to by Mr. Tilney for their consent to his marrying their daughter was, for a few minutes, considerable, it having never entered their heads to suspect an attachment on either side; but as nothing, after all, could be more natural than Catherine's being beloved, they soon learnt to consider it with only the happy agitation of
gratified pride."
[Chapter 31, Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen]

Anyone below the age of 21 (the age of majority) would need Parental Consent to wed.

Parental consent meant that the father or legal guardian had to give their permission for the wedding to go ahead. Even mothers could not give permission for a minor to wed against the wishes of their father or any legal guardian. Where both bride and groom were under 21 then the father/legal guardian on both sides would have to give their consent. However, some couples found ways to circumvent this.