What were the wedding customs in England during Shakespeare's time?

Shakespeare wrote his plays in England during the Elizabethan period. Elizabethan wedding customs were very different than western wedding customs today.  

Elizabethan women did not have careers and were subservient to men. Women during Elizabethan times relied on the men in their families to support them: first their fathers, then their husbands. Most weddings were arranged; a girl's family would try to find a suitable husband for her, preferably someone who had a nice house, an aristocratic family, and enough money to support her and the children she would bear. Some Elizabethans were betrothed when they were still babies or toddlers. Often marriages took place between two families who were close friends.

When an Elizabethan girl married, her family had to supply a dowry. A dowry was money, goods, and/or property that the woman brought to the marriage. Basically, it was a gift from the bride's father to her fiancé. The dowry and the woman became property of the husband at the marriage.

It was legally permitted for boys to marry at age fourteen, and girls to marry at age twelve. Juliet is thirteen when her father betroths her to Paris, so she was within the legal age limit for marriage. However, it was not common for children to marry at this young age, and they had to have their parents' consent. The age of consent was 21, meaning that both Romeo and Juliet should have had permission from their fathers to marry. Since they married without permission, their marriage was illegal.

Weddings were always religious ceremonies conducted at the local church. Weddings had to be announced beforehand to give time for any objections to be raised. According to Elizabethan marriage laws, since Romeo and Juliet's marriage was conducted in secret, it was not legal.

Elizabethans didn't need to send out wedding invitations. The families and local townsfolk would attend the wedding, and rarely bring gifts. Brides did not generally wear white wedding dresses; colour schemes varied. The bridal procession would travel from the bride's house to the church accompanied by musicians, and then a solemn ceremony would take place in the church. After the ceremony, a carefully planned feast would take place to celebrate the union. Lord Capulet begins preparations for the wedding feast as he plans for the wedding between Juliet and Paris in Act IV scene II, which you can . He further discusses the feast with Lady Capulet and their servants in Act IV scene IV, .