Think about getting an engraved set of champagne glasses with the couple’s name on it, or a hand-embroidered decorative pillow. Many craft stores can offer customized products and accessories that can have a stronger meaning. Offering a signature gift with a favorite photo attached is a wonderful way to highlight the special day. In fact it is so serious that if a bride decides not to marry she is put to her own death and if not she will surely know the shame she has put on her family. In a way, don’t we all do this by having the groom ask for the daughter’s hand in marriage? I know my own husband asked for my father’s permission before we got married. The second is to use the same last name. The third is to file joint income tax returns and the fourth is to share in financial obligations (mortgage, lease, car loan, utilities, etc.) Georgia used to grant common law marital status but discontinued this on January 1, 1997. If you met the state requirements prior to that date and have been involved in the same relationship continuously, your relationship is still recognized as a common law marriage. If the agreement is not fair to both parties (or even if one party feels that it is unfair), he or she can take the matter to court and ask a judge to set aside the marriage contract. Who Needs a Marriage Contract? People entering second marriages or those with children are more likely to take the step of having a marriage contract. Perhaps your partner is saying that he doesn’t want to go to the dinner party your great aunt is holding – and your friends will tell you that they always thought he was unsociable, that he’s being unreasonable, that men just don’t get the family thing and so on. Don’t listen to marriage advice like this because the people giving it only know about this dinner party – they don’t know about the other events your family has had that he’s attended, they don’t know that he has a prior engagement for the same night that you agreed to weeks before, or that your great aunt refuses to talk to him on account of the fact she overheard him tell someone years ago that he thought she boiled her vegetables to extinction. Sometimes kids view a second marriage as shameful, and might withdraw or overreact to situations without any direct cause. If they are still in touch with the parent from the first marriage, it’s important to make sure they are developing a healthy relationship and growing positively with either parents or families.