Elizabeth Gilbert: "Marriage is not prayer..."

"Marriage is not prayer. That's why you have to do it in front of others. It's a paradox, but marriage actually reconciles a lot of paradoxes: freedom with commitment, strength with subordination, wisdom with utter nincompoopery, etc. And... you have to hold your wedding guests to their end of the deal. They have to help you with your marriage; they have to support you if you falter."

—Elizabeth Gilbert, Committed

Elizabeth Gilbert: "The vows that we..."

"The vows that we make on our wedding day are a noble effort to belie this fragility, to convince ourselves that - truly - what God Almighty has brought together, no man can tear asunder. But unfortunately God Almighty is not the one who swears those wedding vows; man (unmighty) is, and man can always tear a sworn vow asunder."

—Elizabeth Gilbert, Committed

Elizabeth Gilbert: "In 1215, the church..."

"In 1215, the church took control of matrimony forever, laying down rigid new edicts about what would henceforth constitute legitimate marriage. Before 1215, a spoken vow between two consenting adults had always been considered contract enough in the eyes of the law."

—Elizabeth Gilbert, Committed

Elizabeth Gilbert: "The big romantic white..."

"The big romantic white weddings that we now think of as 'traditional' didn't come into being until the 19th century - not until a teenaged Queen Victoria walked down the aisle in a fluffy white gown, thereby setting a fashion trend that has never gone out of style since."

—Elizabeth Gilbert, Committed