History Main / MetaphoricalMarriage

* In the 1840s and 1850s, slaves were not allowed to marry legally, so couples would announce their commitment to each other by jumping over a broomstick together in front of witnesses. "Jump the broomstick" became slang for marrying in the South as a result.

* ''Series/InterviewWithTheVampire2022'': Near the end of the series premiere, Lestat de Lioncourt turns Louis de Pointe du Lac into a vampire, so now they're forever linked together through a vampire bond. Their RelationshipUpgrade scene plays out like a macabre wedding. They're on the altar steps of a church with two (dead) priests present (including Father Matthias, who officiated Grace's wedding). Lestat proposes to Louis with "Be my companion, Louis. Be all the beautiful things you are, and be them without apology. For all eternity." Louis accepts and kisses Lestat. They then exchange blood in lieu of vows and rings. As much as two men can be in 1910, Lestat and Louis consider themselves to be married. They later go to Lestat's townhouse (which is now also Louis' home) to consummate their union.

* ''Series/SixFeetUnder'':
** Father Jack is under threat of being dismissed from his position because he has performed a symbolic wedding ceremony for a lesbian couple in his church.
** David and Keith attend a metaphorical wedding held by David's gay friends Terry and Paul. They registered for gifts, have a grand outside ceremony, and enjoy partying with friends.
** Before David and Keith go to Terry and Paul's thing, they discuss whether they should symbolically get married too. David thinks it would be great to have some kind of ceremony, but Keith insists it's not needed because they are practically married already, being in each other's will, etc. Shortly after this, David starts referring to Keith as his husband. (In the finale it's revealed that David and Keith get legally married in 2009.)
--->'''David:''' Maybe we should get married.
--->'''Keith:''' So we can have people going on vase-buying errands for us?
--->'''David:''' No. So we can say all those "forevers" and "no-matter-whats".
--->'''Keith:''' You're in my will, I'm in yours. We basically are married, even if the law refuses to recognize it. But then again, I refuse to recognize most of the Bush Administration. I guess it all evens out.
--->'''David:''' I still think some sort of ceremony in front of all our family and friends would make it more real.

* ''Series/AllyMcBeal'': Cindy [=McCauliff=] (played by Lisa Edelstein) is a transgender woman. She is still legally a man (much is made of her having a penis) and later symbolically marries another guy. Lawyer Richard Fish officiates. Interesting choice, because in Cindy's story arch, Richard was established as particularly homophobic and misogynistic.
* ''Series/{{Roseanne}}'': Scott and Leon are getting married (symbolically) and Roseanne volunteers to plan their wedding. Leon is shocked by Roseanne's taste as there are drag queens, male strippers, and pink decor everywhere. He attempts to run away (he already left Scott at the altar once 5 years ago) and even claims he isn't really gay as he hates shopping, he's insensitive, he hates Barbra Streisand and he votes for Republicans. He tries to kiss Roseanne but that only confirms that he's gay and goes through with the wedding. With the tacky decor toned down, Leon and Scott exchange their vows.
* ''Series/TheHandmaidsTale'': Kit and Fiona are two women sent to work themselves to death to colonies and they are in a relationship. Kit is very weak, on the brink of death, and Janine organizes a wedding for them. The ceremony is presided over by another prisoner, Sally, a female rabbi. It is their last moment of happiness before Kit dies. The next morning Kit’s body is buried in the graveyard. Gilead ruled all same-sex marriages void and the authorities certainly don't recognize such unions as legal, but the wedding ceremony was very meaningful to all prisoners who witnessed it.

* ''Series/GuidingLight''. Held prisoner by local psycho Brent, SuperCouple Lucy and Alan-Michael recite wedding vows, believing that it's only a matter of time before he kills them.
* ''Series/AllMyChildren''. Resident psychopath Billy Clyde Tuggle kidnaps Dixie Cooney after becoming obsessed with her and forces her to recite wedding vows. Mercifully, she's able to fend him off when he wants to consummate the "marriage".

* ''Series/BattlestarGalactica2003'': During the fourth season Laura Roslin experiences a series of visions that end with Bill Adama slipping the wedding ring from his first marriage onto her hand as she lies dying of cancer. In the GrandFinale he does it for real [[spoiler:after she succumbs to the disease and passes away]].

* In UminekoWhenTheyCry, George and especially Shannon seem to consider Shannon accepting George's proposal (which was done privately in a gazebo on the Ushiromiyas' main estate) as good as an actual wedding. In George's case, it seems he mostly sees the wedding as just a formality of the underlying promise to each other. Shannon's reason [[spoiler:is far darker. She is terrified of admitting to George that because of an injury she suffered as a baby, she is at a minimum infertile and was likely born the opposite gender she identifies as. She also, in dealing with past heartbreaks, is either dating or in love with two of George's cousins, though not necessarily in the same guise. She ultimately wants someone to accept her as she is so she can devote herself to them, but fearing that no one will, she considers the proposal with George to be the wedding because she can't bear to have the actual wedding take place and let destiny fall where it will. Largely for this reason, after the proposal, she tries to conduct a MurderSuicide on the entire Ushiromiya family.]]
--> ''Shannon'': George-san and I swore our love to each other. As proof, I accepted the ring... With that, our eternal vows were completed! No matter how you torture us with your wicked magic and your malice, you cannot disgrace that for all eternity!

* Given the whole scope of human history, this actually accounts for the majority of marriages. Marriage certificates, or marriages being registered through the government, is a relatively recent thing.

* Roman legionaries couldn't be legally married, but some of them "married" local women anyway. When they were demobilized, such unions were recognized by law.
* In places where same-sex marriage isn't legal but queer culture is still prevalent, such couples might hold "commitment ceremonies" where they exchange vows and rings in front of their friends and families. These ceremonies are generally not called weddings because they have no legal backing, but they can be every bit as extravagant as their hetero counterparts. "Domestic partnerships" or "civil unions", are a kind of "official" metaphorical marriage in places that want to show a commitment to LGBT rights--including limited legal protections--but aren't quite prepared to offer equal marriage.
* Some opposite-sex couples who aren't legally married for whatever reason, including consciously declining to be, will still consider themselves life partners and refer to themselves as such. In some jurisdictions, this might count as common-law marriage.

* ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsIII'': Before the confrontation at Keyblade Graveyard, Sora and Kairi share a paopu fruit and vow to keep each other safe. This might not mean much, but in the culture of Destiny Islands (the world where they come from), sharing a paopu fruit with someone means that you tie the knot with them.

* ''Series/TheHauntingOfBlyManor'':After she and [[spoiler:Jamie]] have lived together for some time, [[spoiler:Dani]] gives her a ring and says that although they can't formally get married (as same-sex marriage isn't yet legal during [[TheEighties the time period]]), she still wants to spend the rest of her life with her. They later enter into a civil union and [[spoiler:Jamie]] still wears the ring years after [[spoiler:Dani]]'s death.

* In ''Film/TheNormalHeart'': Given that [[spoiler: Felix]] was dying of AIDS and he requests that [[spoiler: Ned]] be the executor of his will, he decides to marry [[spoiler: Ned]] with Ben and Emma as their witnesses with the latter also officiating their commitment ceremony although gay marriage wasn't legal or a possible option in the 1980s, where the movie and play are both set.

* ''Series/AllMyChildren''. Resident psychopath Billy Clyde Tuggle kidnaps local MarySue Dixie Cooney after becoming obsessed with her and forces her to recite wedding vows. Mercifully, she's able to fend him off when he wants to consummate the "marriage".

* In places where same-sex marriage isn't legal but queer culture is still prevalent, such couples might hold "commitment ceremonies" where they exchange vows and rings in front of their friends and families. These ceremonies are generally not called weddings because they have no legal backing, but they can be every bit as extravagant as their hetero counterparts. "Domestic partnerships" or "civil unions", are a kind of "official" metaphorical marriage in places that want to show a commitment to LGBT rights, but aren't quite prepared to offer equal marriage.

* ''Series/BattlestarGalactica2003'': During the fourth season Laura Roslin experiences a series of visions that end with Bill Adama slipping the wedding ring from his first marriage onto her hand as she lies dying of cancer. In the GrandFinal he does it for real [[spoiler:after she succumbs to the disease and passes away]].

* Perhaps they both face certain death and hope to be re-united in the afterlife, or at least they think if they have a wedding-like moment, they'll be TogetherInDeath.

* ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime:'' Aes Sedai (the female wizards of the setting) often magically bond a warder -- a big strong swordsman to watch their back. ''Officially'', the relationship is supposed to stay professional, but in practice, the empathic link created by the bond tends to lead to emotional intimacy, and they are expected to stay together until death do they part. Becoming sexually intimate or flat-out marrying for real is officially frowned upon, but not exactly uncommon. It's not a real marriage, but many end up acting like husband and wife, and young Aes Sendai have lots of romantic notions about it. Some of them ''do'' get legally married, although they tend to keep it on the down-low since strictly-speaking it's against the White Tower's rules.

** Before David and Keith go to Terry and Paul's thing, they discuss whether they should symbolically get married too. David thinks it would be great to have some kind of ceremony, but Kieth insists it's not needed because they are practically married already, being in each other's will, etc. Shortly after this, David starts referring to Keith as his husband. (In the finale it's revealed that David and Keith get legally married in 2009.)

--->'''Kieth:''' So we can have people going on vase-buying errands for us?

--->'''Kieth:''' You're in my will, I'm in yours. We basically are married, even if the law refuses to recognize it. But then again, I refuse to recognize most of the Bush Administration. I guess it all evens out.

* ''Series/{{Friends}}'', "The One with the Lesbian Wedding": Ross's ex-wife Carol and her lesbian life partner Susan are getting married. Considering the setting (1990s in New York), the wedding is merely symbolic, but no one addresses the point and everybody acts like it's a real wedding. Briefly before the ceremony, Carol and Susan have a big argument and almost break up because Carol's parents refuse to come.

* ''Literature/NakedCameTheStranger'': Despite sharing a last name, Arthur and Raina are not legally married. Their marriage was sanctified by a nineteen-year-old Zen reader during a League for Sexual Freedom meeting.

* In the 1840s and 1850s, slaves were not allowed to marry legally, so couples would announce their commitment to each other by jumping over a broomstick together in front of witnesses. "Jump the broomstick" became slang for marrying because of this in the South as a result.

* In places where same-sex marriage isn't legal but queer culture is still prevalent, such couples might hold "commitment ceremonies" where they exchange vows and rings in front of their friends and families. These ceremonies are generally not called weddings because they have no legal backing, but they can be every bit as extravagant as their hetero counterparts. On a related note, "domestic partnerships" or "civil unions", are a kind of "official" metaphorical marriage in places that want to show a commitment to LGBT rights, but aren't quite prepared to offer equal marriage.

* In ''WebVideo/TheAutobiographyOfJaneEyre'', Ed Rochester wants to be with Jane forever and persuades her to have a symbolic wedding, with white dress and reception and all that stuff. Jane is thrown off balance a bit that he didn't ask her to marry for real, but she agrees to go through with it. Just before the ceremony, Jane finds out he's already married. [[spoiler: His wife has serious mental issues and he doesn't want to (or can't) get divorced. Jane decides to leave him although it breaks her heart. She is able to empathise with him to a degree though.]]

* In the past or currently when same-sex marriage isn't legal, it can still be done informally between couples.
* Some opposite-sex couples who aren't legally married for whatever reason, including consciously declining to be, will still consider themselves husband and wife and refer to themselves as such, and/or participate in a commitment ceremony. In some jurisdictions, this might count as common-law marriage.
* "Civil partnerships" or "civil unions", are a kind of "official" metaphorical marriage, in places that want to show a commitment to gay rights, but aren't quite prepared to offer equal marriage.

* In ''Literature/TheHungerGames'', Peeta describes to the citizens of the Capitol how he and Katniss have already tied the knot, opting for a simple home ceremony of 'toasting'. During the toasting, the couple make their first fire together and share toast over it as they don't want to wait for the big Capitol wedding. He openly states it wasn't an official ceremony as there was no paperwork, but Katniss notes the ceremony's symbolic value, as "no one really feels married in District 12 until after the toasting". [[spoiler: Peeta's lying though, because they never had any ceremony.]]

* ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime:'' Aes Sedai (the female wizards of the setting) often magically bond a warder -- a big strong swordsman to watch their back. ''Officially'', the relationship is supposed to stay professional, but in practice, the empathic link created by the bond tends to lead to emotional intimacy, and they are expected to stay together until death do they part. Becoming sexually intimate or flat-out marrying for real is officially frowned upon, but not exactly uncommon. It's not a real marriage, but many end up acting like husband and wife, and young Aes Sendai have lots of romantic notions about it. Some of them ''do'' get legally married, although they tend to keep it on the down low since strictly-speaking it's against the White Tower's rules.

* ''Series/DrQuinnMedicineWoman'': Ingrid and Matthew plan their wedding that's supposed to happen in a month. However, Ingrid gets bitten by a rabid dog. When she's dying, she regains some lucidity and Matthew comes to her to say goodbye. Tearful Matthew holds her hand and says they are married now before God.

** David and Keith attend a metaphorical wedding held by David's gay friends Terry and Paul. They registered for gifts, have a grand outside ceremony and enjoy partying with friends.
** Before David and Keith go to Terry and Paul's thing, they discuss whether they should symbolically get married too. David thinks it would be great to have some kind of ceremony, but Kieth insists it's not needed because they are practically married already, being in each other's will etc. Shortly after this, David starts referring to Keith as his husband. (In the finale it's revealed that David and Keith get legally married in 2009.)

* ''Series/{{Roseanne}}'': Scott and Leon are getting married (symbolically) and Roseanne volunteers to plan their wedding. Leon is shocked by Roseanne's taste as there are drag queens, male strippers and pink decor everywhere. He attempts to run away (he already left Scott at the altar once 5 years ago) and even claims he isn't really gay as he hates shopping, he's insensitive, he hates Barbra Streisand and he votes for Republicans. He tries to kiss Roseanne but that only confirms that he's gay and goes through with the wedding. With the tacky decor toned down, Leon and Scott exchange their vows.

* ''Series/TheGoodPlace'', "Chidi's Choice": Jason and Janet decide to get married. Janet is a walking talking user interface for the celestial mainframe and Jason is a guy who died. Eleanor and Tahani attend the wedding and voice both their concerns and objections, as well as appreciation of their unusual romance. The two exchange marriage promises, and Janet declares them married. In a later episode, Janet says it was not a legal ceremony, but they consider themselves married.

* ''Series/GreysAnatomy'': In season 5, Derek and Meredith are married this way. Initially they had planned a big wedding, but then decided to give it to Izzy and Alex, since Izzy had cancer and Meredith didn't want a wedding anyways. Their plan was to go to the court house for a [[MyOwnPrivateIDo quick and legal]] wedding, but they end up being too busy for even that. They quickly write their vows onto Post-It notes, and from there consider themselves married, referring to each other as husband and wife going forward. In season 7 they finally have a court house wedding, but only because they are trying to adopt a child and being legally married would help with the adoption process.

* In ''WebVideo/TheAutobiographyOfJaneEyre'', Ed Rochester wants to be with Jane forever, and persuades her to have a symbolic wedding, with white dress and reception and all that stuff. Jane is thrown off balance a bit that he didn't ask her to marry for real, but she agrees to go through with it. Just before the ceremony, Jane finds out he's already married. [[spoiler: His wife has serious mental issues and he doesn't want to (or can't) get divorced. Jane decides to leave him although it breaks her heart. She is able to empathise with him to a degree though.]]

* Some opposite sex couples who aren't legally married for whatever reason, including consciously declining to be, will still consider themselves husband and wife and refer to themselves as such, and/or participate in a commitment ceremony. In some jurisdictions this might count as common-law marriage.

It's worth noting that in RealLife in some countries, the couple might be considered ''de facto'' married in ''some'' of these cases. It's usually referred to as common-law marriage.[[note]] Also known as informal marriage, marriage by habit and repute or marriage in fact. A couple is legally considered married without them having formally registered their relation if the following requirements are met: they live together, both partners could freely consent to marriage, they must be of legal age or have parental consent, and neither can be currently married.[[/note]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'': In "[[Recap/StevenUniverseS5E23Reunited Reunited]]", [[spoiler:Ruby and Sapphire]] get married, and the grand ceremony, with everything from vows to exchanged rings, is attended by Beach City residents and officiated by Steven. Because the couple are Gems, aliens from another galaxy, and the Crystal Gems have ignored human-made processes such as getting a driver's license, they can't legally be married. But the event is meaningful to them and their friends.
[[/folder]]

* ''Series/GreysAnatomy'': In season 5, Derek and Meredith are married this way. Initially they had planned a big wedding, but then decided to give it to Izzy and Alex, since Izzy had cancer and Meredith didn't want a wedding anyways. Their plan Bwas to go to the court house for a [[MyOwnPrivateIDo quick and legal]] wedding, but they end up being too busy for even that. They quickly write their vows onto Post-It notes, and from there consider themselves married, referring to each other as husband and wife going forward. In season 7 they finally have a court house wedding, but only because they are trying to adopt a child and being legally married would help with the adoption process.