But a wedding is not a marriage. A wedding is traditionally an exchange of vows of fidelity and love in all circumstances until death. In some circumstances, for some people, a wedding may be a sacrament. But however complicated and costly the preparations, the costumes, the photography and the reception, a wedding is over and done with in a few minutes.

A marriage, by contrast, is the making of marriage, by daily effort to live out the vows until death.

- Wendell Berry, "Caught in the middle: On abortion and homosexuality," The Christian Century, March 20, 2013.