The ideal Roman marriage is defined as such: “a monogamous union of a man and a woman, a total community of life, a partnership according to human and divine laws” (Goran Lind, 32-33). For an ideal Roman marriage to take place, several conditions were necessary. Above all, the bride had to be at least twelve years old while the groom could be “at least fourteen years old” (A). However, they could not be parents (A). Besides age, another condition was consent, which was displayed three times before and during the ceremony. First of all, it was publicly displayed before the wedding celebration. An example of first consent was “holding hands” (A). Another action that confirmed their consent to marriage was the gift of an engagement ring from the groom to his bride (A). Although this action was merely decorum, it was often practiced as long as the man could afford the ring (A). This ring therefore had great significance because it was “worn on the third finger of the left hand, as is the case today, because the ancient Romans believed that a nerve went directly from this finger to the heart” ( HAS). It was not only the symbol of their love, but also of their true friendship (A). Consent was then demonstrated a second time during the marriage ceremony, when the bride and groom “held hands in front of at least ten witnesses and a priest” (A). The third and final symbol of agreement between the groom and his bride was performed on the threshold of the groom's house. Of these three forms of consent, the complexity of the marriage ritual in Rome was evident. Typically, there were wedding preparations, a ceremony and dinner, and the final bridal procession (A). During these parts of a Roman wedding, there we...... middle of paper...... Marriage. Np, and Web. April 23, 2014..E Wilson, Carol. “Wedding Cake: A Slice of History.” Gastronomic. Regents of the University of California, 2001. Web. April 2014. ...F. “History of the wedding cake.” Np, and Web. .G. Hersch, Karen K. The Roman Marriage: Ritual and Meaning in Antiquity. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2010. Print.H. “HISTORY OF THE WEDDING CAKE.” History of the wedding cake. NP, 2003. Web. April 2013. .I. The editors of the Encyclopædia Britannica. “Toga (clothes).” Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, nd Web. July 12 2013. .