Prince Harry and Meghan Markle exchanged vows on Saturday morning, but they chose not to immediately seal their marriage with kiss. Instead, they left the church their ceremony was held in before kissing each other on the front steps.
This was odd to many onlookers, but it’s apparently a typical custom for English couples not to kiss until exiting the church. Apparently, some view the act as disrespectful to carry while inside a church.
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“Some view the church as a holy place so they won’t kiss in the church out of respect, but many vicars throughout the church of England will ask the couple if they want to kiss,” Beaumont Etiquette founder Myka Meier told PEOPLE.
That explains why the newly crowned Duke and Duchess of Sussex waited to kiss until they were out in the open on the building steps, moments before beginning their wedding procession.
The couple also kept things mostly traditional when it came to their vows.
“I Harry, take you, Meghan, to be my wife, to have and to hold from this day forward,” Prince Harry said. “For better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death us do part; according to God’s holy law. In the presence of God I make this vow.”
Markle’s vows were very similar, but they featured one glaring change that had been contested in recent days.
The former Suits actress did not want to vow to “obey” her husband, as it is considered oppressive to women.
“I Meghan, take you, Harry, to be my husband, to have and to hold from this day forward,” Markle said. for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death us do part; according to God’s holy law. In the presence of God I make this vow.”
While the “obey” omission was a much-discussed topic, it was not unprecedented. Princesss Diana, Harry’s mother, was the first British royal to omit the line in 1981. Kate Middleton, the wife of Prince William, also chose not to say the line.
In addition to those vows, the couple also exchanged a traditional ring vow: “I give you this ring as a sign of our marriage. With my body, I honor you, all that I am I give to you and all that I have I share with you within the love of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.”
