Marriage in Emerstari

The Wedding Dinner of Erik X Gustaf and Nathalie Leijonhuvud in 1926 by Frederik Villem Elgsholm.

Marriage in Emerstari is divided into two forms, a religious form and a civil form. The religious form, known as a gifte in Emerstarian, is what is can be identified as more of a traditional marriage; gifter are unions between a man and a woman officiated by a nationally recognized religious group, most notably by the Church of Emerstari, which is the state church and officiates almost three-fourths of Emerstarian marriages. As the state church, the Church of Emerstari recognizes its own marriages as well as the marriages of other Christian sects and Abrahamic religions to be valid. The civil form, known as a lagsbund in Emerstarian, is a union between a man and a woman who wish to be jointly legally represented as one group but do wish to become, as Christian theology describes it, "one flesh." Lagsbunder compose a significantly smaller amount of Emerstarian marriages than gifter do, and they are primarily utilized by atheists or agnostics. The Church of Emerstari sees any sex preformed within lagsbunder as extramarital as it holds marriage to be a godly insitution and gift to man.

To divorce under Emerstarian law, Emerstarian courts require proof of adultery or abuse. Remarriage is typically frowned upon, and in many cases, the Church of Emerstari holds it as adultery. Polygamy and bigamy as well as same-sex marriage is illegal in Emerstari.

Eligibility

The marriageable age in Emerstari is sixteen, the Emerstarian age of majority. Marriage must be between two unmarried individuals.

You may not marry the following individuals under Emerstarian law:

• Your (adoptive) ancestor or (adoptive) descendant
• Your (adoptive) sibling
• Your (adoptive) aunt/uncle or (adoptive) nephew/niece

Cousin marriage is culturally frowned upon in Emerstari, but it is not biblically-restricted, so it has not yet been made illegal in Emerstari.

Traditions

The 1992 wedding commemoration stamp of Erik XII Georg and Elsa Marie Ljundmark.

In Emerstari, it is seen as the responsibility of the man to first seek the blessing of his girlfriend's father prior to proposing to her. Historically, it would be in this meeting that a man and his future father-in-law would settle upon the dower and dowry. Also historically, it was a tradition that two engaged people should see each other as little as possible before their wedding. Nowadays, many pastors still support some form of this; though, some are beginning to suggest that instead, fiancés and fiancées should seek some form of premarital counseling in their local church, partly due to a campaign by the Emerstarian royal family to combat divorce. Bachelor and bachelorette parties are typically celebrated two weeks to one week before the wedding and are traditionally solemn dinners.

Emerstarian weddings are typically held at local churches, on private property, or occasionally in public venues. Close family and friends of both the betrothed will be invited, with numerous individuals serving as the bridesmaids and groomsmen. The day of a wedding will often begin early in the day, with the bride and her bridesmaids and the groom and his groomsmen praying with a pastor. Afterwards, they will begin to prepare for the actual ceremony. In Emerstarian culture, once everyone invited is seated and arranged, the groom will enter and walk to where his parents are seated. In a reference to Genesis 2:24, he will kneel down and kiss the left hand of his father then his mother, proceeding thereafter to stand to the left of the officient of the wedding. Next, the bride will be walked to the right of the officient by her father. Her father will take off her veil and proceed to sit down; this signifies the responsibility of her welfare and safety being transferred from her father to her husband as well as her father allowing her husband to now see her with clarity. The officient will quote various lines of scripture while another cleric of some sort carries the wedding rings up to him. While some cultures have younger children carry the rings, in Emerstari it is done by a cleric because they have been dipped in holy oil. The officient will have the man place the ring on the woman's hand, then the woman will place the ring on the man's hand. The wedding rings, usually gold or silver, will be placed above the engagement rings, which are often simply woven material and not metal (some couples add a third ring of some sort to mark the birth of the firstborn). Thereafter, the officient will announce the couple to be husband and wife in the eyes of God, and the couple may or may not kiss, as kissing was not traditionally part of the Emerstarian wedding, but it has recently been adopted due to foreign influence.

Now that the husband and wife are married, there will be a wedding dinner and reception. With dower and dowry having become less prevalent, at least among the common class, it has become common for the guests to give some sort of wedding gift to the couple. It is common for their to be singing and toasts at the wedding dinners. Skål, which is Emerstarian for cheers, is often announced by the guests, who take a shot afterwards, once the husband and wife have taken a shot. The ceremony will usually end towards nighttime, and the newly weds will set off on their honeymoon. Historically, honeymoons have not been far from where the couple is actually from due to the time required to travel long distances, so the marriage was typically consummated on the night of.

Dress

A wedding is a highly familial event in Emerstari, so the participants usually wear their clan and family colors. Men, including the groom, will wear black dress shoes, black socks, plaid trousers that have their clan pattern on them, a white shirt, a vest, and a high-cut jacket. Around their shoulders, men will wear their clan's pattern on a blanket-like piece of cloth. Some men choose to wear a bonnet, plain or with clan patterns, as well. As for women, the custom of white dresses has not yet spread into Emerstari too much. Some brides may choose to adorn a white dress; however, many still opt for the more Emerstarian tradition of wearing dresses with their clan colors and shawls with their clan patterns. Shoes will be picked depending on the color scheme of the rest of the outfit. A veil is also worn by the bride until it's taken off by her father.

Legal consequences

Spouses are considered to have a duty of care towards one another within Emerstarian law. Oftentimes upon the death of one's spouse, an individual will continue to receieve a portion of the pension of the deceased. Non-Emerstarian spouses of Emerstarian citizens may obtain permits for residence upon marriage, so long as the couple was wed and resides primarily in Emerstari.