This Mahalo page gives complete instructions on how to get married in The Sims, The Sims 2, and The Sims 3. Other Mahalo pages that are related to this topic are titled How to Unlock the Romantic Options in The Sims 3 and How to Play a Different Household in the Same Neighborhood in The Sims 3.

Players ask more questions about how to get married in the Sims games than about any other topic.http://forum.thesims3.com/jforum/forums/show/14.page This is because getting married is one of the core objectives in the Sims games. These games are fairly free form and open ended, but they simulate life. Getting married is one of the key events in life, too, and one that most female players dream about until they do it, and remember fondly after they have done it. Roughly 84% of Sims players are female.http://www.allacademic.com//meta/p_mla_apa_research_citation/1/7/1/0/2/pages171021/p171021-2.php

The Sims, The Sims 2, and The Sims 3 are simulation games published by Electronic Arts.http://www.thesims3.com/ The tips on this page are written for the PC versions of these games. These tips will also help with The Sims 3 for iPhone, The Sims on Xbox Live, The Sims 2 for PlayStation 2 and other miscellaneous versions of The Sims to an extent.

The first section of this page explains how to get married in The Sims, The second section covers marriage in The Sims 2, and the third applies to The Sims 3. Check out the featured video for an illustration of the instructions in the steps. The tips to the right of this introduction outline the most important instructions.

In The Sims it is only possible to marry two sims who live in different households. If there are no other adults in the other household, then any children will come along to the new household, and so will all the household funds. It is not possible to marry a sim who has a baby in their household until after the baby becomes a child.

Play both sims' households until they have 100 relationship points for each other. Have each sim invite the other sim over and talk, flirt, hug, kiss until they have 100 relationship points with the other sim. The biggest challenge with getting sims married in The Sims is that in this first version of the game relationships deteriorate quickly.http://forums.electronicarts.co.uk/sims/446648-marrying.html

Whichever house you are playing during The Marriage Proposal Scenario will be the house the two sims will live in and the name they will both have.

The Marriage Proposal Scenario below is advice on the easiest way to get married in The Sims. The only elements absolutely necessary to get married in The Sims are:

• Both sims must have 100 relationship points for each other.
• Both sims must be in good moods.
• The house must be big enough to accomodate whoever will move in upon marriage.

The Marriage Proposal Scenario

After you have followed all the Get Married Tips Common to All Sims Games listed at the top of this Mahalo page:

Have your sim watch TV (or use the hot tub if they can afford it). Click on the other sim and select "join" so that they have fun, too. Wait until the other sim gets up, which means their fun meter is full. Kiss the other sim over and over until they do the make-out kiss, and then propose marriage.

In The Sims 2:

• Marriage binds the two sims unless and until they get divorced.
• Married sims cannot marry anyone else, so make sure your sim's intended is single.
• Sims can marry non-player characters (npcs).
• Sims have to get engaged before they can get married.
• The sim you are playing when you click on the get married option on the other sim or on the wedding arch will determine the last name of the couple.
• Two sims who live in the same house can get married.
• Marrying a sim from another house moves them into your house and they bring money and sometimes inventory items with them, even if they don't live alone.
• If they live with other sims, then you will get to choose who moves in with them, after the wedding.
• Same sex couples can have a wedding ceremony and form what is called a joined union.

In The Sims 2 it is possible to marry non-player characters like townies, university students, and service sims like the maid and gardener. For this reason it is not always possible to play both sims until you are sure their relationships are 100 for each other. Before you propose engagement, just make sure your sim is in love with the other sim, and watch for the little heart to appear over the other sim's head and indicate they are in love with your sim. Once this happens, use The Marriage Proposal Scenario described in Step 1 on this Mahalo page, and get your sims engaged. Instead of just kissing over and over though, you will have to do a different romantic interaction each time. For example: kiss, hug, flirt, kiss, hug, flirt until they will make out.

Once your sims are engaged it is easy to get them married in The Sims 2. You can do this at any time by controlling the sim whose name you want the couple to have and clicking on the other sim and selecting the get married option.

Some players find it more fun to click on the phone and choose the throw wedding party option. Unlike most parties, everyone you invite will come to a wedding party.http://sims.wikia.com/wiki/Marriage It is not necessary to have the wedding arch, wedding cake, or champagne there, but you will see some special options come up if you have these and click on them during a wedding party. Most notably, if you click on the wedding arch and choose the get married option then all the guests will come watch your two sims exchange their vows!

Before trying to get sims married in The Sims 3, read:

• How To Unlock the Romantic Options in The Sims 3
• and at the top of this page,
• Marriage Tips Common to All Sims Games.

Once the romantic options are unlocked, Sims 3 sims have to go through all the romantic stages before they can get married. Use the romantic options to make them romantic interests, then have them go steady.http://sims.wikia.com/wiki/Marriage Now your sims are ready for The Marriage Proposal Scenario as described in Step 1 on this Mahalo page. At the end of it though, instead of kissing over and over you will have to use three different romantic options over and over until the two sims will make out. After they make out, the propose engagement option will work.

Once your two sims are engaged, they can get married anywhere and anytime as in the get married scenario described in Step 2 on this Mahalo page. When sims get married in The Sims 3:

A menu comes up that allows the player to choose which household will be the active household, and which sims will live in each household. Before using this menu, make yourself aware of what will get erased in the household you choose not to play by reading:

• How To Play a Different Household in the Same Neighborhood in The Sims 3.

Sims 3 sims can marry same sex partners, ghosts and mummies.http://sims.wikia.com/wiki/Marriage

The player can either choose the option have a private wedding at any time, or throw a wedding party as in Step 2 on this Mahalo page.