Ancient Roman Weddings

When did they get married? Both parties had to be adults, and they could not marry more than one person at a time. For the first 500 years in Rome, divorce was unknown. So, a great deal of care was taken selecting a marriage partner. Probably the groom had to be at least 14 years old, and the bride had to be at least 12 years old. The bride and groom could not be closed related. In general, marriage was forbidden between relatives four times removed, and between anyone connected by marriage. Thus, in ancient Rome, if you happened to fall in love with your fourth cousin, or your sister's husband's brother, too bad!