Question Box

● May the Kingdom Hall be used for a “second wedding” ceremony?

In some lands a couple must get married by a representative of the state, such as a judge, at city hall or the courthouse. That applies to Christians, too. But a Christian couple might want to share the happy occasion with their brothers as well as hear a Bible talk on marriage. So they might ask permission to use the Kingdom Hall in order to follow the civil ceremony with a Bible talk. If such does take place at the Kingdom Hall, it is not really the marriage ceremony, for the marriage actually occurred earlier.

But this two-part arrangement is not followed by Jehovah’s Witnesses in the United States. In this country authorized brothers can perform marriages in the Kingdom Hall. So a couple in good standing with the congregation can request permission to get married at the Kingdom Hall if that is what they want. Or they may decide to marry elsewhere, at a home, or a rented facility, or to have a civil ceremony at city hall. If they choose to have their marriage at a home or a rented facility or to have a civil ceremony elsewhere, there is no reason to have something additional at the Kingdom Hall later.

In some churches of Christendom the idea prevails that a couple must have a “religious wedding” in order for their marriage to be acceptable to God. But that is not the case. (Gen. 24:67) So, if two persons who are free to marry get married by a judge or any other authorized marrying agent, then the marriage is valid before God and the Christian congregation. To go through a “religious wedding” months or years later would suggest otherwise. And because once a couple are legally married in the United States their vows are binding, it would not be fitting to use the Kingdom Hall for a “second wedding” to “renew” those vows. In accord with Jesus’ counsel, a married couple can let their “Yes” mean “Yes,” viewing their vows as still in force before God and men.—Matt. 5:37.