Strange folk, those elves. I heard there was a wedding not too long ago. The Queen's advisor got married to one of my Rohan kinsmen? Neither of them are elves as far as I have heard, but the ceremony apparently resembled one.

Have you ever attended an elven wedding? Don't worry, me neither, but I have heard a thing or two about them which I will share with you in this edition of Sig's Silmarils.

Betrothal
This is what all marriages start with. Plenty of elves find their spouse while they are still young. Around 70 to 100, from what I have heard. There are exceptions, but marrying late for an elf is often connected to ill fate. Often their promise of betrothal to one another is already enough, but they will exchange silver rings once the promise is made (and yes, the material is very important). At least one year passes between the betrothal and marriage, during this time the couple can still decide they do not want to go through with the wedding. If that is the case, and trust me, this is extremely rare because elves don't joke about love and marriage, the rings will be melted so no one can ever wear them again.

Marriage
A wedding is always a big feast. With their hands joined the elven couple will make sure they can be seen by everyone before the actual ceremony starts. The mother of the bride and the father of the bridegroom come forward and bless the marriage. These blessings are never heard by the ears of mortals, so I can not tell you what they are about, although I heard something about Iluvatar's name being mentioned. The silver rings are returned (but kept as a treasure) and replaced by golden ones. Afterwards the feast will continue- and well, afterwards the marriage will officially be consumated. That, amongst elves, is seen as the true wedding. A sacred act that can only be done with one person in their life (and death). Like animals they mate for life, or so to say, and can not do it with anyone other than their spouse. Quite a loyal bunch, I'd say. Kudos.

Other Facts
Elves marry for life and death, so not even death can separate them. This also means they only marry once. It is extremely rare for an elf to marry twice, it might have happened only once or twice in our rich history, which is quite a long story perhaps best for another time.
Arranged marriages are highly unlikely because it goes against their customs. True love is really the elven way. Elven marriages can only be done out of free will, and yes that means that forced marriage will kill an elf.