Weird marriage laws from around the world

Interestingly, Saudi Arabia has banned its male citizens from marrying women from four countries — Pakistan, Bangladesh, Chad and Myanmar. It has been reported that the announcement was made in a bid to prevent the men of the country from marrying expatriates.

The US has a host of bizarre laws surrounding marriage — for instance, women in Vermont must ask their husband's permission before they wear false teeth. However, in California, Colorado, Texas and Montana, there is a legal provision for proxy marriages if you're in the armed forces. This means that it is enough if only either the bride or the groom is present at the wedding ceremony; the absent party is represented by a proxy. In Montana, neither the bride nor groom has to be present at the wedding (called a double proxy marriage).

France enacted the first law for posthumous marriages, by which one of the spouses is deceased. The practice started in World War I, when women were married by proxy to soldiers that had died weeks earlier. However, it came into civilian use in the 1950s, when a woman, whose fiance was one among killed 400 people killed after a dam broke, was allowed to marry him posthumously.

Japan is known for its culture of deference to elders, and this probably explains a Japanese law that states that an elder brother can formally ask for this younger brother's girlfriend's hand in marriage — and they must both agree to it!

There is a law that states that couples must be married in a 'fixed structure' with a roof. This rules out outdoor weddings, which are very popular in several parts of the world. The law came about because the practice of solemnizing marriages in the UK (Wales and England in particular) is based on buildings — either places of worship or venues such as a hotels or stately homes — being registered for weddings.

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