To get married in Skyrim, talk to Maramal at the Temple of Mara in Riften about marriage, buy or find an Amulet of Mara, wear it, and speak to an eligible character who likes you enough, usually because you finished a favor or quest for them. Once they agree, go back to Maramal to book the ceremony, then show up at the temple the next day and say your vows.
Below are the steps and buttons, the timing trap that ruins weddings, who you can marry, and what a spouse does for you. This guide covers Skyrim Special Edition and Anniversary Edition on PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch and Switch 2. Marriage is part of the base game; the Hearthfire and Dragonborn add-ons, both bundled with Special and Anniversary Edition, add a few extra candidates.
How Marriage Works in Skyrim
Marriage runs through one quest, The Bonds of Matrimony, and only the Temple of Mara in Riften can host it. Per the community wiki, your race and gender do not matter, and you get one spouse.
Three things have to be true before anyone will say yes:
- You have spoken to Maramal about marriage. This is required even if you already own an amulet. He starts out preaching in the Bee and Barb inn in Riften and later moves to the Temple of Mara.
- You are wearing an Amulet of Mara. Maramal sells one for 200 gold. They also turn up in loot and at some general stores. As a bonus, the amulet makes Restoration spells cost 10 percent less Magicka.
- The candidate likes you enough. Every candidate has an unlock condition, usually a favor or quest.
Step-by-Step: How to Get Married
- Talk to Maramal in Riften. Activate him with E on PC, A on Xbox, Cross on PlayStation or A on Switch, ask about marriage, and buy the amulet if you need one.
- Equip the amulet. Open the menu with Tab on PC, B on Xbox, Circle on PlayStation or B on Switch, go to Items, then Apparel, and equip the Amulet of Mara.
- Finish your chosen partner’s favor or quest (see the list below).
- Speak to them while wearing the amulet. They will notice it and ask if you are interested. Say yes, and they agree to marry you.
- Return to Maramal and tell him you want the ceremony at the temple. He schedules it for the next day, “from dawn until dusk.”
- Pass the time. Step outside the temple and use Wait: T on PC, the View button on Xbox, the touchpad on PlayStation, or the minus (-) button on Switch. Once the objective “Attend your wedding ceremony” appears, walk back in.
- Say your vows. Choose “I do. Now and forever.”
- Talk to your spouse before they leave the temple and decide where the two of you will live. You can change this later.
The Wedding Timing Trap
The ceremony will not wait for you. Miss the window and the quest fails, with your partner and every guest as upset as if you had walked out. Stay in Riften, skip other quests, and make a hard save before you book the date (our guide to saving in Skyrim covers the difference between quicksaves and full saves).
A few more gotchas the community wiki documents:
- Maramal says “dawn until dusk,” but the ceremony can actually trigger any time after midnight once a whole number of hours has passed since you booked it.
- If the “Attend your wedding” objective appears within a few hours instead of the next day, reload the save from before you booked.
- If Riften’s citizens are hostile to you on the day, for example because you recently attacked one, the wedding fails.
- If you do back out, find your former partner and choose “It was a mistake. Can we start over?” to get another chance. Choosing “I never loved you anyway” ends it with that person for good.
Who You Can Marry
The most popular candidates, with unlock conditions from the community wiki:
- Lydia (Whiterun housecarl): finish Dragon Rising and buy Breezehome.
- Aela the Huntress, Farkas, Vilkas, Njada Stonearm, Ria, Athis and Torvar: complete the Companions questline.
- Ysolda (Whiterun): bring her a Mammoth Tusk.
- Camilla Valerius (Riverwood): finish The Golden Claw.
- Mjoll the Lioness (Riften): complete Grimsever’s Return.
- Uthgerd the Unbroken, Benor and Cosnach: beat them in a brawl.
- Marcurio, Jenassa, Vorstag, Stenvar and Belrand: hire them as a follower at least once.
Hearthfire makes the housecarls Gregor and Valdimar eligible once you are thane of the Pale or Hjaalmarch, and Dragonborn adds Hilund, Morwen and Halbarn Iron-Fur on Solstheim. Serana is never eligible in the unmodded game, and because one favor can block another’s radiant quest, keep a backup candidate in mind.
What a Spouse Does for You
Per the community wiki, your spouse:
- Cooks one Homecooked Meal a day, which boosts Health, Stamina and Magicka regeneration by 25 percent for 600 seconds.
- Opens a small store and hands you roughly 100 gold a day in profits when you ask.
- Grants Lover’s Comfort when you sleep near them, so skills improve 15 percent faster for eight hours.
- Keeps working as a follower if they were one before, and becomes a merchant if they move into your house.
Your spouse can only move into a home you actually bought (or, with Hearthfire, a house you built with a bed for them), not a free, quest-reward or faction home. If you do not own one yet, you can move into theirs. Where you settle matters more in Skyrim than it did in Oblivion, because a whole family can end up living there; our Oblivion house guide shows how differently homes worked in Cyrodiil.
There is no divorce in Skyrim. If your spouse dies, the unmodded game will not let you remarry; the community wiki credits the Unofficial Skyrim Patch, one of the essentials in our best Skyrim mods list, with restoring remarriage. For every other Skyrim and Oblivion walkthrough, see our Elder Scrolls guides hub.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you need a house to get married in Skyrim? No. If you do not own a house, you can move into your spouse’s home after the wedding, then move them somewhere else later.
Can you marry Serana? Not in the unmodded game. She is not in the pool of marriageable characters, so the amulet dialogue never appears with her.
Can you get divorced or have more than one spouse? No. Skyrim allows one spouse, with no divorce option, and the unmodded game does not let you remarry if your spouse dies.
Can you marry someone of the same sex? Yes. Eligibility does not depend on your character’s race or gender, only on the candidate’s unlock condition.
Does marriage work the same on Switch, PlayStation and Xbox? Yes. The quest, candidates and rewards are identical on every platform; only the button prompts differ.