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Roman society was a patriarchal society which meant that all the family decisions rested with the main male member of the household. A woman was subordinate and did not have much say in any area of responsibility and by the age of 14 her marriage was arranged to a man chosen by her father. Both sexes were allowed to consent on the choice of marriage partner but marriage between relatives was not allowed. Any property that the girl possessed or any dowry given to her by her family belonged to her husband after marriage.

As Roman marriages were monogamous, care was taken to choose a partner who would be most suitable as a life partner. Divorce was rare unless the wife was suspected of adultery in which case the husband could divorce her but the same rule did not apply to the wife. If consent to marriage was given, an engagement would result with a ring being exchanged. This would customarily be worn on the third finger which was believed to have a nerve that led straight to the heart. Marriages were usually planned for June which was considered an auspicious month for getting married.

Before the marriage, the bride had to let go of her childhood and this would be symbolised by giving away her childhood toys. The mother of the bride would dress the bride in a long one piece white dress with a flame coloured veil. The wedding dress had a belt around her waist tied in the "knot of Hercules" which only the husband was allowed to untie. The wedding would take place at the house of the father of the bride and had to be witnessed by at least 10 people.

There was no marriage licence required in Roman marriage but the holding of hands by the man and woman in front of a priest and witnesses was the sign of agreeing to the marriage. There were also words of consent exchanged between the couple and then facing an alter cake would be eaten to complete the marriage ceremony and the guests present would congratulate the couple and exchange gifts.

The bride would then be taken to the groom's house with guests accompanying the procession with a lit torch in front of the procession. The bride would be carried over the threshold and doors would then close on the guests. The torch would then be extinguished and thrown amongst the guests who would run to try and get hold of it.

After marriage the woman was under the authority of her husband and he would be responsible for looking after all their affairs apart from the household in which the woman had control. If she was married to a man of good social standing she would have slaves to help her run the household. When Rome became a Republic these rules changed with women exercising more rights in decisions outside of the home.

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