I wonder if ever, even in ancient times, it was ever used in the way it was intended. I would think that if there were a legal problem, someone would have notified the proper authorities prior to the ceremony. It probably entered the standard ceremony as the equivalent of boiler plate legalese due diligence.
I always wanted to stand at the back and say, “well, I…never mind.”
Here in Québec it’s never done. Except…
I did once attend a wedding where the bride and groom had convinced the priest to ask it anyway, because they found it cute. One of their friends did speak up, improvising for laughs, and the priest seemed pretty pissed. The ceremony continued after that.
FYI, it’s not part of the Catholic ceremony. The church posts the marriage banns in the bulletins for a few (three?) weeks prior to the wedding so if there is any legal issue it can be raised before the ceremony.
Of course this assumes that everyone attends church and in the same parish as the wedding . . .
I went to the wedding of an ex-girlfriend back in the day, and sat next to another of her ex-boyfriends (hey, it was the 80’s). When they got to that line, we both sort of glanced at each other and shrugged, and the people around us cracked up a bit, but we said nothing.
I have never been to a wedding where that was said. If I had and felt that the couple were making a mistake - I would not speak up, and I am a pretty outspoken person. Does saying something actually stop the wedding? It’s really none of my business. All of us make mistakes and hopefully learn from them, no?
Not in person, but I recall an atheist on another forum complaining about a relative who stood up and denounced him for being an atheist and therefore unworthy of marriage. Probably the same sort of guy who stands up at funerals and announces that the deceased is burning in Hell for being an atheist or gay.
When I married the question was not a part of the ceremony. But after the vows were made, and we were actually married, the minister addressed us and said that if we knew anything which would alienate our union, it was now to be forgotten and left to the mercy of God. He then addressed the congregation and said “If anyone should henceforth try to divide their(our) heart and sould from one another, let them do so at the peril of offending a creation that God has made.”
I have seen it happen a few times, usually in situations where the bride or groom had been lying about something their potential partner would probably consider a deal breaker and someone else spoke up rather than see the marriage go forward (and the resulting trainwreck of a divorce result). In all cases it was a move of last resorts by the speaker who had been trying to get the bride or groom to tell the truth prior to the actual ceremony.
Above, I said I’d expect the priest to ignore the objection. Thinking about it more, I think the couple’s having a marriage license (as they almost certainly would) would create an irrebuttable presumption, as least as far as solemnizing clergy are concerned, as to the marriage’s legality. Thus, not only would the priest ignore it, but he/she would do so on the strength of the civil license.
I got married in a court room, by my favorite judge. Told the baliff that if anybody spoke up, she should shoot them. She nodded solemnly. I has connections in this town.
Good job!
- … If any of you can show just cause why they may not lawfully be
married, speak now; or else for ever hold your peace. … "*
does that mean that, once upon a time, even had it been illegal; it would have been swept under the rug and ignored once the church ceremony is done?
“If anyone besides the mother of the groom objects to this…”
Well, divorce wasn’t necessarily an option once they were married in the eyes of God…
Rabbi: “If anyone besides the mother of the Chatam objects to this already…”
It’s not part of my wedding spiel, but I was asked to include it once. Interestingly, it was one of the few weddings where both the bride and groom were from America.
Nobody spoke up, BTW.
…not including the father of the bride.
I think it’s part of the legal wording for marriages in England and Wales. It has certainly been said at every wedding I have ever been to. And no, no one ever speaks up because the wording is pretty clear that it’s about legal obstructions ‘if anyone knows if any lawful impediment’.
It’s not about that, it’s about things like “by the way, was your divorce finalized? Actually, did you ever get around to serving your previous spouse?”