| Marriage Law in England has for centuries enshrined the idea that those intending to marry should do so only after notice has been served in their local community. So we find in the Book of Common Prayer of the Church of England the following introduction to the marriage service. |
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| The intention behind the calling of banns is sufficiently similar to the making the marriage declarations at the British Consulate to help us understand the need for making them. It was to establish that the two parties were consenting to the marriage, and were legally free to marry, that is, that they were single and not previously married, or that they had been married but their spouse had died. |