secret marriage
Clandestine wedding ceremony
A secret marriage is a legal union kept hidden from family, friends, or the public.
Couples may marry secretly to avoid disapproval, protect privacy, or circumvent legal obstacles: They had a secret marriage for two years before telling anyone.
The term sometimes describes historical arrangements where witnesses were few and records minimal.
- handfastingCeremonial binding of couples
- elopementSecret departure to wed
- shotgun weddingMarriage compelled by pregnancy
- runaway brideOne who bolts before marriage
- estrangementEmotional separation between people
guilt · royal intrigue · forbidden love · clandestine affair · societal stigma · annulment · bigamy · inheritance disputes · social ostracism · family conflict · anxiety · double life · political alliances · family honor · divorce proceedings · trust issues · public scandal · personal autonomy
- marriagebride, groom, wedding, husband, wife
- wedding tropeselopement, runaway bride, shotgun wedding, wedding crasher, Vegas wedding
- forbidden loveforbidden love, forbidden romance, illicit love, forbidden fruit, star-crossed
- Secret Marriageselopement, private vows, Gretna Green
- Sensation FictionThe Moonstone, hidden identity, serialized fiction
- tragic romanceRomeo and Juliet, Tristan and Isolde, Wuthering Heights, doomed lovers, star-crossed
secret marriagecelebrity wedding
Famous person's nuptials
royal wedding · church wedding · wedding announcement · formal announcement · engagement announcement
secret marriagedestination wedding
Marriage at travel-required venue
wedding reception · white wedding · church wedding · royal wedding · wedding party
secret, secrete, secretive, secretively, secretiveness, secretly, secrets, secretion, secretary