The value on a marriage bond usually only becomes a problem if there ends up being a legal reason the bride or the groom cannot marry. It is not a fee to marry. The bondsmen are acknowledging that there’s no legal impediment to the marriage and, if there is, they are liable for the amount of the bond. Usually one bondsmen is vouching for the groom (often the groom himself, but not always) and one is vouching for the bride. In the US marriage bonds are usually local county records.
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3 Responses
How interesting, I have never heard of a marriage fee. Has there always been a marriage fee or only started at a certain time or place?
The marriage bond is not any sort of fee. The bondsmen are signing an agreement to pay the bond “as a penalty” if it turns out there is a reason the couple were not legally able to marry. If the couple marries, no money changes hands.
The bonds were quite common in the early days of settlement. As folks moved into newly opened territory in the USA, someone could have left a family back in another state.