Don't Forget to Open the Door When You Get Married

"If the door wasn't open, my marriage is invalid; if the door was open, my marriage is valid—what kind of logic is that?!"

A female client from abroad asked me with utter bewilderment. I solemnly explained to her that Taiwan's legal requirements for the formation of a marriage stipulate a public ceremony and two or more witnesses. Whether the door was open or not is crucial in determining whether a public ceremony was met at the time of the wedding.

After hearing this, she still looked in disbelief at the four-year-old marriage certificate scattered across the table, the household registration transcript showing the completed marriage registration, and the legal brief filed by her husband asking the court to confirm the non-existence of their marriage.

In traditional Taiwanese weddings, the groom's side drives cars adorned with ribbons to the bride's home to fetch the bride. As they approach the bride's home, firecrackers are set off, and the bride is escorted into the wedding car under a Bagua sieve or a black umbrella. The bride throws a fan from the wedding car, the bride's family splashes water in front of the door, sugarcane is tied to the car, and firecrackers are set off again upon departure. Upon returning to the groom's home, they pay respects to ancestors and enter the bridal chamber, thus completing the ceremony.

Throughout these processes, whether the front door is closed or not doesn't matter, because the firecrackers along the way and the process of getting into the wedding car in a wedding dress take place outside the door. Unspecified persons can see or hear that the newlyweds are getting married, which fulfills the requirement for a public ceremony.

However, if you omit the outdoor ceremony mentioned earlier and only hold a banquet at home, whether that door is open or closed becomes very important. This is because a public ceremony must be limited to unspecified members of the general public who are able to see and hear the wedding, and does not include specified groups of people. Therefore, when you close that door, your home is no longer a public place; it is not a place anyone can enter, and naturally it fails to meet the legal requirements for marriage.

Due to the "Year of the Lone Orchid" (blind year), many people are rushing to get married, omitting some parts of the wedding banquet process. However, please remember to open that door. "What kind of logic is that? Open the door and my marriage is considered valid; then what does the government agency's marriage registration count for? What do our four years of supporting each other count for?"

The female client said indignantly. Although I also felt a sense of injustice on her behalf, the law dictates that marriage registration only has a presumptive effect. As long as someone who attended the wedding testifies that there was no public ceremony at the time, the marriage remains invalid.

Therefore, although marriage at first glance seems unrelated to the law, once a marriage sours, the law becomes very important. In any case, please remember to open that door, lest it become an alternative pretext for repudiating a wife or husband! If you're worried no one will remember that door, just go to the court for a civil wedding registration instead!

※ Published in: United Daily News / Page E6 / Binfen