Marriage of members apart from the meeting community
- Members who marry outside the meeting should promptly inform the meeting of their marriage. It is then the task of the meeting to assign members to visit the newly married couple—or, if they live far away, to write to them—and to express the meeting’s continuing interest and care. Non-member marriage partners should be made welcome and invited to attend meetings for worship and business and other meeting activities if they live within reach of the meeting.
- Meetings may offer a place of worship and other assistance at the request of Friends from a distance who wish to be married there but under the care of their home meeting. Communication between meetings assures the proper clearness process and helps in the oversight of the wedding.
Marriage of non-members
There are occasions when non-members request marriage with the help of a meeting, using the Friends marriage ceremony. Since Friends hold marriage to be under divine guidance, the couple should be fully aware and agreeable to the nature and procedures of marriage for Friends. Meetings are encouraged to consider in advance what services they can offer, and to look into the legal aspects of marriage of non-members, so that when such requests are made, they can be considered realistically and in a timely fashion.
