My definition of marriage would be rejected…so why go down that path with you?
Here is A Quaker definition…or a stance…
Quaker marriage
Quakers strongly believe in the sanctity of marriage but also recognise the value of non-marital relationships and the single life.
Their weddings are very informal compared to those from other traditions and there is no priest or minister to lead the couple as they make their vows.
When a Quaker couple decide to marry, they make a commitment to each other in the presence of God, their family and friends.
Quakers believe that** no one but God can join a couple in matrimony**. They see marriage as more than a legal contract - it is a religious commitment.
“The right joining in marriage is the work of the Lord only, and not the priest’s or magistrate’s; for it is God’s ordinance and not man’s…we marry none; it is the Lord’s work, and we are but witnesses.”
George Fox, 1669
The couple promise to be loving companions and take each other as lifelong partners in a spirit of freedom and equality.