Richard, It was called "mariage à la gaumine". Father John's posts about it are still in the Q-R archives. I have used him as a reference several times, including in "The Excommunication of Louis de Gonzague Deshêtres dit Pigeon and Louise Beaulieu" by Loraine M. DiCerbo http://habitantheritage.org/french-canadian_resources/individuals_or_families and also in an excerpt from this article in the files on the French-Canadian Heritage Society of Michigan website. An excerpt from a passage in Loraine DiCerbo’s article “The Excommunication of Louis de Gonzague Deshêtres dit Pigeon and Louise Beaulieu,” Michigan’s Habitant Heritage, Vol. 27, #2 – April 2006 https://www.facebook.com/groups/109717099063919/ Suzanne Message: 8 Date: Sun, 21 Sep 2014 22:01:05 -0700 From: Richard Van Wasshnova <rfvanwasshnova@gmail.com> Subject: [Q-R] Getting married in back of the church To: "QUEBEC-RESEARCH@rootsweb.com" <QUEBEC-RESEARCH@rootsweb.com> Message-ID: <CAEML8Ko+Y7DNjBQhgcxAEhSfkB0YOQOvFzkfT8E6wf1aS-ZgGA@mail.gmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 Hi all, Back when Fr. Owen or Fr. John was online there was a thread about couples saying wedding vows at the back of church during mass. I guess the couple felt they met the requirements of saying wedding vows in the presence of a priest even though the priest wasn't aware of it. This would avoid requirements of a license and permission for minors but there would be no record of it. Was there a name for this type of wedding? Thank you. -- Richard Van Wasshnova