Getting married in somebody's house?

[gaffy]

A transcript of the marriage record held by the church is available in the 'rootsireland' website.

[M_ONeill]

Ah, that's a shame, I stopped using them once they forced subscriptions rather than a pay-per-record model. Another subscription was just too much for me.

As for Arthur and Catherine being 3rd cousins it doesn't surprise me, it seems most of the marriages in this neck of the woods are between some kind of cousins! On Bernard Hughes death record in 1895, Catherine is the informant and she's listed as 'niece'.

I started looking up this particular line out of curiosity, as Arthur Crilly (the eldest son of Catherine) was a benefactor in the will of one of the local O'Neills in the 1950s and I was wondering if there was a connection. Haven't found any direct connection with the O'Neills, but have found some interesting local history!

[Elwyn Soutter]

Presbyterians in Ireland occasionally married in a private house, often the bride’s home though I have also seen the Manse used. To do that they needed a special licence from the Moderator of the church (the most senior official in the Presbyterian church).

The Roman Catholic church and the Church of Ireland both normally require the ceremony to be held in church. But I have heard of seriously ill people marrying in hospital. Probably permission would be required from the bishop.  This link suggests it can be done in the Catholic church  (in some jurisdictions anyway), but only in exceptional cases.

https://www.foryourmarriage.org/why-does-a-catholic-wedding-have-to-take-place-in-a-church/

The parochial office might be able to tell you what the current rules are.

[majm]

Australia...

The British penal colony early February 1788... the Male convicts from the First Fleet were landed in late January 1788 under supervision of the Royal Marines.  There were no Church Buildings,  and the Female convicts were still on board vessels moored in the harbour.  The British planners had not even funded a clergyman ..... However a C of E chap was sent and in mid February 1788 in the open air he conducted several marriage ceremonies according to CofE rites.   Even today you do not need a building of any kind to hold a wedding ceremony in NSW.  Some  wedding ceremonies can be at the couple's home with their children cheering them along;  some can be in the local park, or on a ferry, or hot air balloon, or in a school hall, or .... even in a traditional church  building.  But the ceremony must be conducted in accordance with the statute laws of Australia.

JM.

[Erato]

"due to the much greater distances involved between places?"

Sometimes but not always.   In 1904, my great aunt was married at the family home which was about a two-minute walk from the church.  Maybe she was more of a free thinker than some others in the family but, at any rate, the local minister did the honors.

[Maiden Stone]

There was a custom that mothers remained at home for 6 weeks after birth to prevent being kidnapped by the little people who might have wanted her to nurse one of their own babies. Human babies were also at risk of being taken and replaced with a changeling.
More mundane, she might still have been recovering from the birth.
Wedding ceremonies for mixed marriages or marriages to regularise a relationship sometimes used to be in the presbytery or sacristy instead of before the altar in church.

[shanreagh]

There was a custom that mothers remained at home for 6 weeks after birth to prevent being kidnapped by the little people who might have wanted her to nurse one of their own babies. Human babies were also at risk of being taken and replaced with a changeling.
More mundane, she might still have been recovering from the birth.
Wedding ceremonies for mixed marriages or marriages to regularise a relationship sometimes used to be in the presbytery or sacristy instead of before the altar in church.

Yes I have heard of all of those.  As well in the Anglican (Church of Ireland) church there is a ceremony called churching 'the administration or reception of a rite of the church specifically : a ceremony in some churches by which women after childbirth are received in the church with prayers, blessings, and thanksgiving'. This took place 40 days after giving birth. 

It was felt, even up until quite recently, 1950s in church-going Anglicans here in NZ that at woman was best to stay home until this had taken place.  I think this might also be a reason for getting married in a house rather than the church. 

I think it is ironic how these customs have a foundation in good health even now.  In NZ the first vaccinations on the schedule begin at 6 weeks and babies & their mothers  are recommended to stay close to home until then.  Also mother need time to recover and be with their babies. 

[majm]

Churchings would likely have been part of the Church of England rites and forms that the New South Wales chaplains including Rev Samuel Marsden, brought to New Zealand when NZ was still administered by the NSW Governors.   


JM.

[Wexflyer]

While a marriage in a private house may have been unusual by the 1880s, it was the most common location for Catholic marriages until sometime around the 1830s - after Catholic Emancipation, in any case. You need to remember that the Catholic Church was an "illegal organization" until 1828.
Older registers (1700s) often specify which house was used.