As it's Valentione's Day, I ask do we even need in-game marriage; period!

[Duelle]

Just... I think SE should trash their in-game marriage ideas and leave it to the RP communities to carry out their own marriages as they see fit. If anything, SE should get their writers to think up some fun lore on how marriages in Eorzea are conducted (including details on specific variants of marriages based on nationality, race and tribal affiliations, etc.)

Considering tribes and race are less of an issue in Hydaelin than in Vana'diel, the core of marriage IMO should be determined by city state.

Like say Gridanians have the chapel/sanctuary of the twelve, but traditionalists prefer to have the ceremony held in the forest itself (probably somewhere around Bentbranch), presided over by a conjurer and traditional gifts are foodstuffs since the celebration banquet held afterwards is a communal effort of those invited to honor the newly married couple.

In contrast, Ul'dahn weddings are presided over by a thaumaturge (or two, one following Nald and one following Thal) and are generally themed around "paving the road" and wishing good fortune to the happy couple (if I recall, the post I wrote for this on the beta forums had the couple get a small gift in money and get showered in flower petals - flowers being incredibly valuable in Thanalan given its arid conditions).

Lominsan weddings would be presided over by a representative of Maelvaan's Gate. Instead of being entirely faith-oriented like Ul'dahn and Gridanian ceremonies, arcanists act as a representative of the government to oversee the ceremony and make it official (kind of like the mayor of a town presiding over a wedding or a representative of the state/region's governor). Llymlaen is still evoked in a way, as the ceremony would make the point that just like the Navigator guides the denizens of the sea, so must the couple lead each other into a brighter future, together.

This is stuff off the top of my head and trying to recall the post I made about it on the beta forums. Wish I could remember more. =/

[Felis]

Lominsan weddings would be presided over by a representative of Maelvaan's Gate. Instead of being entirely faith-oriented like Ul'dahn and Gridanian ceremonies, arcanists act as a representative of the government to oversee the ceremony and make it official (kind of like the mayor of a town presiding over a wedding or a representative of the state/region's governor). Llymlaen is still evoked in a way, as the ceremony would make the point that just like the Navigator guides the denizens of the sea, so must the couple lead each other into a brighter future, together.

Why arcanist?
With the marine tradition a Musketeer would fit better (maybe the Admiral herself if one of the two have a high GC rank). Arcanists are only customs officials.

I'll state my viewpoints flat-out. There does not need to be an in-game marriage system. At all. There's literally no point as, in its most ideal state, it would be purely an aesthetic thing that is absolutely arbitrary and will do little but spark controversy from either side of the same-sex marriage debate. If not-inclusive, the LGBT community will cry foul. If inclusive, the other side will cry foul. Seems like too much of a headache.

The same you can say about the vanity system (but with crafters versus anti-crafters instead of LGBT)

[Duelle]

Why arcanist?
With the marine tradition a Musketeer would fit better (maybe the Admiral herself if one of the two have a high GC rank). Arcanists are only customs officials.

The assessors of Maelvaan's Gate seem to have a good amount of authority behind them. At least the ACN quesline has given me that impression.

Musketeers would most likely be rank and file military, and I highly doubt their quesline would involve a rise through the ranks to where they wield any real sort of authority. The admiral wouldn't be an option since I push for non-involvement.