Wedding Rituals & Marital Outcomes

Event Center A & B

Couple rituals range from everyday activities to once-in-a lifetime events. Weddings are arguably the most elaborate, complex, and rare couple ritual. The purpose of the present study was to examine how wedding ritual enactment and wedding ritual satisfaction were associated with marital satisfaction and commitment. The wedding rituals examined included the bridal shower, bachelor/bachelorette party, wedding reception, and honeymoon. The participants were recruited from a university participant pool and through social media sites (e.g., Facebook, Twitter). They included 725 married, heterosexual individuals who completed an online survey containing the Investment Model Scale (satisfaction and commitment subscales), wedding ritual questions (written by the researchers), and demographic questions. Students received extra credit to be used toward their university courses and community-based participants were not offered an incentive for their study completion. We found that three of the wedding rituals-- bachelor/bachelorette parties, wedding receptions, and honeymoons—were positively associated with satisfaction and commitment. Satisfaction with each wedding ritual significantly predicted marital outcomes. Wedding ritual conformity was negatively associated with wedding ritual satisfaction. Wedding reception enactment was the most significant contributor to satisfaction whereas bachelor/bachelorette party enactment was the most significant contributor to marital commitment. Study limitations and directions for future research are discussed.