Editing Civil marriage (section)

{{Short description|Marriage performed, recorded, and recognized by a government official}}
{{More citations needed|date=January 2010}}
[[File:Edmund Blair Leighton - The Wedding Register.jpg|thumb|[[Edmund Leighton]], ''The Wedding Register''.]]
A '''civil marriage''' is a [[marriage]] performed, recorded, and recognized by a government official.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://marriage.about.com/od/marriagelaws/g/civilmarriage.htm |title=Civil Marriage Definition |publisher=Marriage.about.com |date=2012-04-10 |access-date=2013-03-24 |archive-date=2023-02-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230227020555/https://www.brides.com/story/civil-ceremony-wedding-etiquette-question |url-status=dead }}</ref> Such a marriage may be performed by a [[religion|religious]] body and recognized by the state, or it may be entirely [[secular]].