The wedding ceremonies vary in particulars, in different nations and districts, but there is a general resemblance between all the Christian forms. The intention of marriage is proclaimed in the church, on three successive public days, in order that any one who has legal objections to the match, may have an opportunity to make them known. When the bride and bridegroom stand before the altar, the priest says to the man, “Wilt thou have this woman to be thy wedded wife, to live together after God’s ordinance in the holy estate of matrimony? Wilt thou love, honor, and comfort her, and keep her in sickness and in health; and forsaking all others, keep thee only unto her, so long as ye both shall live?” The bridegroom answers, “I will.” The same question is then asked of the bride, excepting that she is required to “obey and serve,” as well as “love and honor.” Then her father, or guardian, giveth her to the bridegroom, who takes her by the right hand, saying, “I take thee, ----, to be my wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death us do part, according to God’s holy ordinance; and thereto I plight thee my troth.” The bride then takes him by the right hand and repeats the same form, with the addition of the word “obey.” The bridegroom then puts a golden ring on the fourth finger of her left hand, saying, “With this ring I thee wed, and with all my worldly goods I thee endow; in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Amen.” They then kneel before the altar, while the priest utters a prayer for their temporal and eternal welfare; at the close of which, he joins their hands together, saying, “What God has joined together, let no man put asunder.” Among many of the Protestant sects, weddings are not celebrated in the church, but at the house of the bride’s father, or some near relation. The members of the society of Friends have neither priest nor magistrate to officiate at the ceremony. The bride and bridegroom take each other by the hand, and make the required vows to each other, in presence of the congregation and the elders; a public record of the transaction is made, and attested by witnesses. This society do not allow their members to marry individuals of a different creed. In some parts of Switzerland, a marriage between a Protestant and a Catholic is illegal.