[originaltext] In order to marry in Britain, both tile man and the woman mus

In order to marry in Britain, both tile man and the woman must be over sixteen.  Anyone under eighteen must obtain parental consent. People can get married either in a registry office or in a church. On three Sundays before the wedding a public announcement of the forthcoming marriage has to be made in church, and an announcement has to be put up on a board at the church or the registry office.
    In a registry office ceremony there must be two witnesses. On some occasions, especially when people have married  secretly, two passers-by in the street have suddenly found themselves asked to witness a marriage! Although the number of registry office marriages is increasing, most people still prefer a church wedding. The bride, in white, is attended  by bridesmaids, and led by a proud father up to the church altar, where the bridegroom is waiting, nervously, attended by his best man.
    And it seems sensible to wait. One quarter of all marriages between people under twenty-one end in divorce. In Britain in 1972, there were 124, 248 divorces, "Look before you leap" would be good advice to people thinking of getting married.