All bugs › The Bonds of Matrimony
Wedding at the Temple of Mara won't start or fails
What happens
The ceremony never begins, or fails and your fiance storms off. UESP lists several causes: you weren't in the temple at the scheduled time; anyone in Riften is hostile to you that day (for example after attacking a citizen); a dead follower's body turns up in the temple; or the game sets 'Attend your wedding ceremony' within a few hours of booking it instead of the next day.
PS5-safe fix
After booking with Maramal, wait 24 hours, leave the temple and wait for 'Attend your wedding ceremony' to appear, then go back in. Stay in Riften until it's done. If the date glitched to the same day, reload the last save from before you booked the wedding. If the wedding failed, wait a couple of hours, apologize to Maramal, then talk to your fiance at their usual spot and pick 'It was a mistake. Can we start over?'; the wedding can be booked again. If a follower's corpse is in the temple, drag it (or Unrelenting Force it) away from the door before the retry.
Prevention
Don't pick fights in Riften before the wedding, check the in-game time often, and don't wander off until the ceremony is finished.
Always make a hard save before trying a fix.
Tried the fix and it's still broken? Tell us so we can update this page.
Still broken on my PS5