Just as today a woman's wedding was one of the most important days of her life. The major difference to Elizabethan wedding customs to a modern day Western marriage is that the woman had very little, if any, choice in who her husband might be.
During the Elizabethan Era, the legal age for marriage was fourteen for boys and twelve for girls, but most marriages were not held until the couple was in their mid to late twenties (Marriages were Arranged).
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A bride is not expected to wear a white dress. It can be any fashionable or current color and cut. White as a color for brides does not become entrenched until the 19th century.
Like today, in Elizabethan times the groom presented a ring to the bride. The ring was called a gimmal ring and consisted of two rings that could be separated. The ring was usually divided at the betrothal to keep the promise of marriage and joined again at the wedding.