Professional witness?

[Maiden Stone]

One of my ancestors witnessed 3 weddings on the same day in 1818. He was a stonemason and it's possible that he was working at the church or in the churchyard.

I checked what day of the week it was - Monday. My ancestor married at the same church 7 years earlier, also on a Monday. There was another wedding that day, same 2 witnesses for both. One witness was probably a relative of the other groom. Second witness was the regular who was at the 3 weddings in 1818.   

[coombs]

Or if the witnesses were relatives, and you cannot find any info on one of the spouses prior to their marriage, it will be typical that the witnesses were from the traceable spouses side and not the elusive spouses side.

[andrewalston]

One o the people in my tree was Parish Clerk, and uncle of the bride who links him into my tree. Yes, he is a witness to the marriage.

Because I have other lines going back to the same village, he is also a witness to about 50 other marriages in my tree.

Parish Clerks would have to be present in order to open the Parish Chest for access to the marriage register, so would be an obvious choice as a witness. They also had the advantage of being literate, which some might see as adding status to the event.