Watch CBC Wild Docs online: Episode 22 Why Do We Marry?

n an age when it's neither socially or legally necessary, why do Canadians choose to marry? While it's true that more couples than ever decide to just live together, the majority still want to say "I do". Why Do We Marry? looks at a convention that is not only persistent but thriving. The documentary begins with a young couple whose piercings and tattoos would lead you to believe they are not the marrying kind, and anything but traditional. However, while their drive- through wedding is a little out of the ordinary, Kathleen McEvoy and Andrew Sherratt have decided to marry for reasons that are as old fashioned as the institution itself. It's the moral thing to do, they say. People marry to make a commitment. They marry for religious reasons, to please family, and because they think children should have married parents. Tradition is still important. But affirmation and validation are also important, even among the unconventional. Larry Kleinman and Nira Friedman in Montreal are in their sixties and they were a couple for nearly two decades, although they never lived together. They decided to get married to cement their relationship and "close the circle", but they continue to live separately. Valda Leighteizer is a grandmother who has married before, and is now marrying her long time partner Kate Krug. As they prepare for their wedding they tell us why it's important to have their union publicly recognized. Sheila Patel and Fabrice Jesten marry to win the acceptance of her family. Kirsten Dane marries Aadil Mamuji for religious reasons after she converts Islam. But there are couples who marry, just to have the party. They are lured by the romance of the event and the idea of being prince and princess for day. They get lots of encouragement from a huge wedding industry that promotes the sensational wedding. And if it's not the couple who wants a marriage, in order to have a wedding, it might very be their parents who insist on the nuptials in order to have a public celebration.

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