The first wedding ceremony appeared in the fourth century. Then people believed that a marriage that did not receive a church blessing was not really considered a marriage, but was a so-called cohabitation, and it was illegal. That is, it turns out that only the wedding in the church gave the marriage a legitimate reality. In order to perform the sacrament of marriage today, marriage must first be registered with state bodies, and only after that you can go to church for God's grace, which will sanctify the family union of the newlyweds (you can read about wedding signs and ceremonies here).
In ancient times, only the priest on the part of the bride or groom had the right to perform the sacrament of wedding. And the wedding was carried out under the witnesses of the newlyweds, who, as now, assured the act of registration of marriage with signatures in a book specially designed for this purpose. This order was established in the Russian churches in 1802.
At present, the wedding in the church takes place in the presence of relatives and relatives, although before the parents of the young people did not have the right to attend this event, as their presence gave rise to the opinion that marriage.
According to the established rules, weddings in the church cannot be carried out during all fasts, on Saturdays and on the eve of holy holidays. You need to know that the church does not allow more than three marriages and does not bless the marriage where one or both marriages consider themselves atheists. Also, the church will not hold a wedding sacrament if the newlyweds came to church only at the request of their parents or other relatives, as well as when one of the newlyweds is not baptized or refuses to be baptized before the wedding ceremony directly in the church or church itself.
