Changes

In the colonial period, marriage was understood more in a religious and practical sense. In Virginia, which had a landed gentry and a wealthy aristocracy, love was less important to marriage, since marriage brought together two families and their properties. For some families, sensible relationships were a way to uplift families, or to move up the social hierarchy. While love was not a requirement for marriage, it was assumed that love would follow since marriage brought together men, women, and families in a way that was natural, patriarchal, and hierarchical. Furthermore, since men outnumbered women in the Chesapeake, those men who were able to marry, usually were men of higher status who were more desirable marriage partners. Depending on the colony in question--some being more religious than others--the marriage was an unbreakable union.

Throughout much of Colonial America, marriage was a contract. In 1653, the Civil Marriage Act required that anyone who wanted to marry had to publicly announce an intent to marrypublicly. Since marriage was not something that the government actively kept track of, listing or posting of the banns became a way to formalize marriage union as a civil ceremony. Posting The assignment of the banns gave allowed the community the opportunity to be able to bring forth any reasons why the couple shouldn't marry. For example, if someone knew one of the soon-to-be spouses was married in another town, or if someone knew they were too closely related. Once the banns had been posted for a certain amount of time, the couple could legally wed by a justice of the peace.

In Puritan society, young couples were expected to get parental permission before marrying and could sometimes be fined if they did not. Additionally, Puritan customs and practices like "bundling" and the "courting stick" were designed to give young couples privacy and a chance to get to know one another and ensure consent at marriage, while at the same time ensuring guaranteeing strict supervision by the parents or elders. Though marriage was importantnecessary, and there were rules related to it, it was still a relatively informal practice until the late 19th and even early 20th century.