Throughout much of the West today, marriage formation requires the execution of a written marriage contract – usually a marriage certificate that is signed by the couple and their witnesses and registered with a government official. These publicly registered marriage contracts can be anticipated by private engagement and prenuptial contracts respecting the parties' property, custodial, and other rights before, during, and after the marriage. Marriage contracts may also be accompanied by public notices and invitations; elaborate liturgies or ceremonies; ritual exchanges of promises, rings, and other property; and lavish parties and lush honeymoons. But none of this is essential to the validity of the marriage today: the properly signed marriage certificate is enough to make a marriage.

In the pre-modern West, both the documentation and the formation of marriage were considerably more complex and variegated. Most so-called marriage contracts in the Middle Ages were, in fact, primarily marriage settlements: they recorded agreements about transfers of marital property, and although they often referred to the mutual consent of the parties to form a marital union, they did so only to situate the settlement in its proper context. Moreover, the relationship between written marriage contracts and the contract of marriage per se varied considerably over time and across cultures. Some of the documents recorded the marriage itself; some did not. Some of them were intended for use at weddings; some were not. Some of the documents included commentary on the legal, ethical, or religious function of marriage; some did not.