Traditional / Cultural Wedding
Family + Culture + CelebrationA commonly used description for the family and cultural process surrounding a marriage.
A Wed By Jaco & Team educational resource
Traditional Wedding, Customary Marriage or Civil Marriage?
They may sound like different names for the same thing — but legally they can mean very different things.
Customary Marriage
Customary Law + Legal RecognitionA legally recognised marriage concluded according to customary law and governed principally by the Recognition of Customary Marriages Act 120 of 1998.
Civil Marriage
Marriage Officer + Marriage ActA marriage solemnised by an authorised Marriage Officer under the Marriage Act 25 of 1961.
01 · Family and culture
What Is a Traditional Wedding?
“Traditional wedding” is an everyday expression commonly used to describe a cultural or family marriage celebration or process.
Depending on the relevant culture and family traditions, this may include:
- Family meetings
- Introductions between families
- Negotiations
- Lobola negotiations or agreements
- Traditional ceremonies
- Handing-over or welcoming processes
- Cultural practices
- Celebration with family and community
There is no separate South African “Traditional Wedding Act”.
What actually happened during the traditional or customary process can nevertheless be legally important. A traditional celebration may simply be a cultural celebration. In other circumstances, what took place may form part of the process through which a valid customary marriage came into existence.
TRADITIONAL WEDDING does not automatically tell us the couple’s legal marital status.
02 · Customary law
What Is a Customary Marriage?
A customary marriage is a legally recognised marriage concluded according to customary law. The principal legislation is the Recognition of Customary Marriages Act 120 of 1998.
For a customary marriage entered into after the Act came into operation, the core statutory requirements are:
- The prospective spouses must both be over 18 years of age.
- Both must consent to be married to each other under customary law.
- The marriage must be negotiated and entered into or celebrated in accordance with customary law.
Customary law must not be oversimplified.
Customary practices may differ, and the facts of the particular marriage matter. No single ceremony can be presented as universally required, and full payment of lobola is not a universal requirement for validity.
A very important distinction
A Customary Marriage and the Registration of That Marriage Are Not the Same Event.
A valid customary marriage may already have come into existence according to customary law before it is registered at Home Affairs. The spouses have a duty to ensure that the marriage is registered, and registration creates important documentary evidence of the marriage.
Section 4(9) of the Recognition of Customary Marriages Act 120 of 1998 provides that failure to register a customary marriage does not affect the validity of that marriage.
NO HOME AFFAIRS CERTIFICATE DOES NOT AUTOMATICALLY MEAN NO MARRIAGE.If the legal requirements for a customary marriage were already met, the couple may already be legally married even though the marriage was never registered.
03 · Marriage Act solemnisation
What Is a Civil Marriage?
A civil marriage is solemnised under the Marriage Act 25 of 1961 by an authorised Marriage Officer. The Marriage Officer performs the legal solemnisation in accordance with the applicable requirements.
PLEASE NOTE
On this page, “civil marriage” means a marriage solemnised under the Marriage Act 25 of 1961. Wed By Jaco & Team’s Marriage Officers are designated under that Act. They are not designated under the Civil Union Act 17 of 2006 and do not solemnise civil unions under that Act.
- The parties must be legally free and eligible to marry.
- The parties personally participate in the solemnisation.
- The required witnesses are present.
- The legally required marriage declaration or formula is completed.
- The marriage documentation is completed and signed.
- The relevant documentation is submitted through the applicable Department of Home Affairs process.
Who handles the Home Affairs system?
The Marriage Officer submits the required documentation. Home Affairs performs its administrative registration or capture process. Wed By Jaco & Team does not directly capture marriages electronically on the Home Affairs system.
04 · How the processes connect
Traditional Wedding + Customary Marriage
A couple may participate in a traditional family process and, depending on what actually occurred and the applicable customary law, that process may result in a legally recognised customary marriage.
The cultural or family process and the later Home Affairs registration must not be confused.
Traditional / customary process
Legal requirements for customary marriage met?
Customary marriage may already exist
Register the marriage with Home Affairs
Registration records the marriage. It does not necessarily create the marriage for the first time.
05 · Two separate occasions
Traditional Wedding + Civil Marriage
Some couples wish to honour their cultural and family traditions but intend their legal marriage to be solemnised under the Marriage Act 25 of 1961.
Family occasionTraditional / Cultural Family Celebration
and separatelyLegal occasionCivil Marriage Solemnisation by an Authorised Marriage Officer
Before arranging the civil marriage
If the couple has already completed significant traditional or customary marriage processes, they should first establish whether a valid customary marriage may already exist. Someone who may already be married should not simply attempt to enter another marriage.
06 · Existing customary spouses
Can Customary Spouses Later Marry Each Other Civilly?
The Recognition of Customary Marriages Act 120 of 1998 makes provision for spouses who are already married to each other under customary law to enter into a marriage with each other under the Marriage Act 25 of 1961 in circumstances permitted by law.
This should not be described as an automatic or simple administrative “conversion”. A spouse in an existing customary marriage cannot simply enter into an incompatible civil marriage with another person while the customary marriage continues.
Obtain professional guidance where there is any uncertainty.
Civil marriage only
Just Want to Be Legally Married?
A couple does not need to have a traditional wedding in order to enter into a civil marriage. Eligible couples may choose to marry directly under the Marriage Act 25 of 1961 through an authorised Marriage Officer.
- A full wedding ceremony
- A small intimate ceremony
- A legal-only ceremony
- An office wedding
07 · At a glance
Compare the Three Terms
On a larger screen, compare the three columns side by side. On a phone, each complete column becomes its own readable card.
Traditional / Cultural Wedding
What is it?
Family/cultural process or celebration.
Main legislation?
There is no separate “Traditional Wedding Act”.
Marriage Officer required?
Not simply for the cultural celebration.
Home Affairs registration?
A celebration itself is not a Home Affairs registration.
Important
What happened during the process may be relevant to whether a customary marriage arose.
Customary Marriage
What is it?
A legally recognised marriage concluded according to customary law.
Main legislation?
Recognition of Customary Marriages Act 120 of 1998.
Marriage Officer required?
It is not created through the ordinary Marriage Act Marriage Officer solemnisation process.
Home Affairs registration?
The spouses have a duty to register the marriage.
Important
Failure to register does not by itself invalidate an otherwise valid customary marriage.
Civil Marriage
What is it?
A marriage solemnised under the Marriage Act 25 of 1961.
Main legislation?
Marriage Act 25 of 1961.
Marriage Officer required?
Yes.
Home Affairs registration?
Required marriage documentation is submitted through the applicable Home Affairs process.
Important
Formal Marriage Act solemnisation and documentation process.
08 · Practical legal differences
CUSTOMARY MARRIAGE OR CIVIL MARRIAGE — WHAT ARE THE PRACTICAL DIFFERENCES?
Neither marriage type is automatically better. Both can create legally recognised marriages, but they arise under different legal frameworks. A couple should understand the practical and legal consequences before deciding how to proceed.
Customary Marriage
Legal framework
A customary marriage is governed principally by the Recognition of Customary Marriages Act 120 of 1998 and applicable customary law.
How the marriage comes into existence
It is not created through the ordinary Marriage Act solemnisation by a Marriage Officer. The legal requirements for a customary marriage must be met, including consent to marry under customary law and the marriage being negotiated and entered into or celebrated in accordance with customary law.
Registration
The spouses have a duty to register the customary marriage with the Department of Home Affairs. Registration provides important documentary proof. However, failure to register does not by itself invalidate an otherwise valid customary marriage.
Property
For a customary marriage entered into after the Act took effect, where neither spouse is a partner in another existing customary marriage, section 7(2) of the Recognition of Customary Marriages Act 120 of 1998 provides that the marriage is in community of property and of profit and loss unless those consequences are specifically excluded by an antenuptial contract regulating the matrimonial-property system. In ordinary language, the applicable matrimonial-property system can significantly affect assets, debts, property and estates. This is general information and not personalised legal advice.
More than one customary marriage
South African customary-marriage law can recognise more than one customary marriage in circumstances permitted by law. This is not simply a matter of having another traditional wedding. A husband who wishes to enter into a further customary marriage after the commencement of the Recognition of Customary Marriages Act 120 of 1998 is subject to additional legal and matrimonial-property requirements, including the court process contemplated in section 7 of that Act. These requirements must not be oversimplified, and professional legal guidance may be necessary.
Divorce
A customary marriage is not ended merely by separation or by the families deciding that the relationship has ended. A legally recognised customary marriage is dissolved by a court through a decree of divorce and may only be dissolved in that way in accordance with the applicable law.
Estates and inheritance
A valid customary marriage can have important consequences for deceased estates and inheritance. Registration is therefore extremely valuable as documentary proof of the marriage. This is general information and not personalised inheritance advice.
At a glance
- Based on customary law
- Governed principally by the Recognition of Customary Marriages Act 120 of 1998
- No ordinary Marriage Act solemnisation by a Marriage Officer
- Must be registered at Home Affairs
- Failure to register does not automatically invalidate an otherwise valid marriage
- Matrimonial-property consequences apply
- Further customary marriages are possible only within the applicable legal framework and requirements
- Divorce requires the applicable court process
- Estate and inheritance consequences apply
Civil Marriage
Legal framework
A civil marriage is solemnised under the Marriage Act 25 of 1961 by an authorised Marriage Officer.
How the marriage comes into existence
The couple personally participates in the formal Marriage Act solemnisation. The required witnesses are present, and the applicable marriage declaration or formula and documentation are completed. The Marriage Officer submits the required documentation through the applicable Department of Home Affairs process.
Matrimonial property
A civil marriage can have significant matrimonial-property consequences. Couples should decide before marriage whether their intended matrimonial-property system requires an antenuptial contract. Where an antenuptial contract is required, it must be dealt with before the marriage is solemnised. This is general information and not personalised notarial or legal advice.
Monogamous framework
A Marriage Act civil marriage is monogamous. A person cannot simply enter another civil marriage while an existing marriage prevents that person from legally doing so.
Divorce
A civil marriage continues until it is legally dissolved, normally by a decree of divorce, or otherwise ends according to law. Separation alone does not amount to a divorce.
Estates and inheritance
A civil marriage also creates important legal consequences relating to estates, inheritance, assets, debts and financial affairs. This is general information and not personalised inheritance advice.
At a glance
- Based on the Marriage Act 25 of 1961
- Solemnised by an authorised Marriage Officer
- Formal Marriage Act solemnisation and documentation
- Documentation submitted through the applicable Home Affairs process
- Monogamous marriage framework
- Matrimonial-property consequences apply
- Antenuptial contract must be dealt with before marriage where required
- Divorce requires the applicable court process
- Estate and inheritance consequences apply
ALREADY MARRIED TO EACH OTHER UNDER CUSTOMARY LAW?
The Recognition of Customary Marriages Act 120 of 1998 makes provision for spouses who are already married to each other under customary law to enter into a marriage with each other under the Marriage Act 25 of 1961 where the legal requirements permit this. This is not an automatic “conversion”. The couple’s existing marriage circumstances must first be established. A spouse in an existing customary marriage cannot simply enter into an incompatible civil marriage with another person.
Beyond the ceremony
Your Marriage and Your Property
Marriage is not only about the ceremony. Matrimonial-property consequences differ according to the circumstances and marriage framework.
This page does not give personalised legal advice. Appropriate legal or notarial advice may be needed.
- Ownership of assets
- Debts
- Property
- Estates
- Inheritance
- Financial obligations
- Divorce
Important self-check
Have You Already Had a Traditional Wedding?
Before arranging another marriage, ask:
- Was lobola negotiated or agreed?
- Did both of you intend to marry each other under customary law?
- Did both families participate in a customary marriage process?
- Was there a handing-over, welcoming or another culturally significant step?
- Was the marriage negotiated, entered into or celebrated according to the applicable customary law?
- Was anything ever registered at Home Affairs?
- Have either of you been married before?
If you are uncertain, establish your legal marital status before attempting to enter into another marriage.
Wed By Jaco & Team
Planning a Civil Marriage?
Wed By Jaco & Team does not register customary marriages.
We do assist eligible couples with civil marriages under the Marriage Act 25 of 1961, subject to the applicable legal and Department of Home Affairs requirements.
- South African couples
- South African + foreign-national couples
- Legal-only / office marriages
- Full wedding ceremonies
- Christian Wedding Ceremonies
- Non-Religious Wedding Ceremonies
- Guidance regarding marriage documentation
- Submission of marriage documentation through the applicable Home Affairs process
Already had a traditional wedding?
Please tell us when making your enquiry. We may need to establish whether a customary marriage could already exist before proceeding with arrangements for a civil marriage.
Clear guidance starts with the right facts
Not Sure What Applies to You?
Contact Wed By Jaco & Team and tell us whether any traditional or customary process has already taken place.
Authoritative references