text: The sacrament of matrimony was actually devised by the Roman Catholics at the Council of Nicea, along with the rest of the sacraments.  Prior to that, there was no defined marriage or matrimony, and no official "ceremony," as there is today.  People can get married in a church, if they like (or not), and that church may define what it considers to be a marriage, but it cannot dictate the civil contract of marriage that is required in our country in order for people to be legally married.  Throughout history, people and societies have redefined what they consider to be a "marriage."  Today, if anyone wants to get married, he or she needs no one's approval or assent.