Confarreatio

• Confarreatio was a marriage between Patricians, the aristocratic families of Rome. The ceremony involved both religious and legal ceremonies in front of 10 legal witnesses. A cake made of salt water and a flour known as "far" was shared by the bride and groom to signify a permanent union, and then the cake was offered to the gods by the priest. A sheep was then sacrificed with the interchange of marital vows.
  
  

Usus

• Usus was a type of trial marriage that bears similarities to modern common law marriage. It was practiced by plebeians or free noncitizens of Rome. In usus, a woman would go live with a man for a year with the intention of becoming his wife. There may have been other ceremonies that went alongside usus, however, the couple was essentially considered married except that the woman, so long as she remained apart from her husband for three successive nights a year, remained a part of her father's household and was entitled to whatever inheritance her father allowed. The husband in usus did not control the property of the wife.
  
  

Coemptio

• Coemptio was a more proper form of marriage among plebeians and likely dates back to much older traditions when women were literally purchased from their families. In coemptio, a bride is symbolically purchased from her family. A single coin represented the purchase money. It was placed in a set of scales held by a scale holder in front of five witnesses.
  
  

Sine Manu

• There was one other distinction in marriage, usually related to the confarreatio form because it deals with the property of families. Conventio in manum was the normal state of marriage. The wife became a member of her husband's family and relinquished all claim to inheritance or property of her original family. Under certain circumstances, a woman could marry sine manu. Sine manu means free marriage, and in free marriage, the bride remained a part of her original family and retained claims on title and inheritance and made no claim on the possessions of the new family. A free marriage could be ended by a simple notice by either party that the marriage was over.