Exploring strange marriage laws around the world
Couples planning a destination wedding might be well advised to check out marriage laws around the world, some of which are quite strange.
In the United Kingdom, for example, while it is legal to have an outdoor wedding in Scotland, English law requires all marriages to take place under a fixed roof. As a result, some English couples choose to tie the knot under a band stand, or to have a civil ceremony at the registry office before or after their outdoor celebration.
Some countries also have legal requirements about thepublicationof wedding notices. Couples marrying in Greece must publish a notice in the local newspaper. If there is no local newspaper, they can post a notice at City Hall. Monaco law allows the wedding announcement to be written on a piece of paper, which must be displayed on the door of City Hall for a 10-days period which includes two Sundays.
There may also be regulations concerning theceremonyitself. In New Orleans palm readers and fortune tellers are not allowed to marry people, while if either the bride or groom shows up drunk for their wedding in Pennsylvania, it is illegal for a minister to perform the ceremony.
In Kyrgystan, where there is an ongoing problem withbride kidnapping, the groom needs to be certain when his bride says “I do” that she really means it. The President of Kyrgyzstan recently approved anamendmentto the Criminal Code which states that “no marriage shall be registered without benevolent and mutual consent of the parties to the marriage.”
If both partners are willing, however, California, Colorado, Texas and Montana allow marriage byproxy. Under this law, a bride or groom who is a member of the Armed Forces serving overseas can ask someone to take their place in the wedding ceremony. Montana allows double-proxy weddings, so theoretically a marriage can take place there without either a bride or a groom.
Proxy marriagesare also available in Mexico and Paraguay, and a proxy marriage performed at the consulate of Paraguay in Tel Aviv is recognized under Israeli law.
Many jurisdictions in the United States have strange morality laws for couples which have remained on the books from a less-than-tolerant earlier time. For example, in Salem, Massachusetts, married couples are not allowed to sleep naked in a rented room. In Hartford, Connecticut, it is illegal for married couples to kiss in public on Sundays, while in Iowa a mustached man must not kiss a woman in public.
There are also some weird U.S. laws which apply towives. In various states, wives are required to obtain their husband’s permission to buy a hat (Kentucky), cut their hair (Minnesota), and to wear false teeth (Vermont). In Montana, it is illegal for married women to go fishing alone on Sundays, or to open their husband’s mail, while in Florida a wife is legally permitted to break plates, but only three a day.
Husbands should be aware, however, that if they are planning a vacation in Samoa, it is against Samoan law to forget their wife’s birthday.
There are also some bizarre U.S. laws concerning domesticviolence. In Arkansas, husbands are only allowed to beat their wives once a month, while in South Carolina husbands can legally beat their wives on Sundays, but only on the courthouse steps. On the other hand a wife in Hong Kong can kill her husband for adultery as long as she uses her bare hands.
If the dead husband’s lover wishes to marry him after he has been strangled by his wife, she might be able to legally do so in France, where posthumous marriage is permissible, with special presidential approval, under Article 171 of the civil code. In the posthumous marriage ceremony, the woman promises “I did” rather than “I do”.
And if things do not work out, there are some quirky ways to end the marriage.
In Delaware, couples can apply to annul their marriage because it was entered into on a dare.
England does not have a no-fault divorce law. While this may not seem so strange in itself, the results may be, because a common basis for divorce is “unreasonable behavior,” which can lead to some very odd petitions indeed. Cases in point described by the Huffington Post are a woman who complained that her husband wanted her to dress up in a Star Trek costume, and a man who was tired of his wife serving tuna for dinner.
The divorce laws of the African Balanta tribe are much simpler. The law states that if a new wife is not happy she must stay married at least until her wedding dress wears out. However, the law also contains an escape clause which allows her to hasten the demise of her dress by ripping it up.
And if a divorced woman yearns for reconciliation with her ex, she should be careful not go to extremes, especially in Kentucky, where it is illegal to remarry the same man four times.
