My parents were married in Northern Ireland in 1972.
It was a mixed marriage - Protestant bride and Catholic groom. That didn't go down well with either family or, indeed, most of society at that time. They found a young priest who agreed to marry them and a minister to give a blessing, so both sides were covered. My grandfather, a worker in the very Loyalist shipyard, was issued with a death threat if he entered the chapel. He sat in the car park while my Great Uncle walked my mother down the aisle.

Religion is a good way to put people off religion. They decided to raise me to make up my own mind. And the success of my parents' marriage can be attributed to the fact that, despite the occasional threat, my mother refuses to countenance divorce as staying married after all these years is two fingers up to the naysayers.
( crackhouseceilidhband Fuck off back to Mumsnet, Thu 1 Sep 2011, 16:53, Reply)