Though Roma conform to local laws and customs in the countries in which they marry, the non-Roma religious or civil ceremonies are formalities for them. The mere fact that two people have agreed to live together and share their lives together constitutes marriage, and no formal ritual is required. This does not mean that they do not take marriage seriously. They simply do not believe in the importance of a formal wedding ceremony under the jurisdiction of a church or a state. Ordinary civil and religious marriages are becoming more frequent, if only to round off a traditional ceremony.
T here are traditional but simple wedding ceremonies performed by some groups of Roma.
In some marriages, the bride and groom will join hands in front of the chief of a tribe, or an elder of that tribe, and promise to be true to each other. A few Roma wedding rites are centered on bread. In one rite, the bride and groom each take a piece of bread and place a drop of their blood on the bread. They then exchange and eat each other's bread. In another ritual, the young couple sit down, surrounded by relatives and friends.