Summary
Passion, drama, and tension are aplenty inGame of Thrones' weddings. The royals inThronesknow that marriages between members of the Great and/or Noble Houses are a surefire way to shore up succession and strengthen claims. Simply put, they enter into marriages for political, social, and economic gains.
Some weddings inGame of Thronesare happy occasions that mark the coming together of two Houses, such as Tommen Baratheon’s to Margaery Tyrell. In contrast, others are sad events executed to avenge the family, such as Sansa Stark’s to Ramsay Bolton. Few affairs are devoid of politicking and scheming.
8Sansa Stark And Tyrion Lannister’s Wedding
Ensured The Lannister Control Of The North
Sansa and Tyrion’s wedding took place when she was the Lannister’s captive at the Red Keep. Lord Tywin Lannister arranged it after Joffrey Baratheon cast Sansa aside to marry Margaery Tyrell. Per Tywin’s orders, Tyrion weds Sansa inGame of Thronesseason 3, episode 8 “Second Sons” in aFaith of the Sevenstyle ceremony, presided over by the High Septon in the Sept of Baelor.
Joffrey was happy that Ned Stark’s eldest daughter, Sansa, was married to the despised imp of House Lannister. He played his games at the ceremony, including escorting Sansa down the aisle and walking away with the groom’s stool. Because of the latter act, Tyrion’s bride had to kneel, so he could cloak her. This wedding was a sham, and it wasn’t consummated. Tywin couldn’t care less about the mockery - he wanted Tyrion to produce an heir, and thus strengthen the control of House Lannister over the North. The Lannister-Stark wedding got off to a bad start, and Sansa left her husband after Joffrey was poisoned.
7Joffrey Baratheon And Margaery Tyrell’s Wedding
The Lannister-Tyrell Alliance Was A Win-Win Partnership
The boy king Joffrey’s wedding to Margaery is colloquially known inGame of Thronesfandom as the Purple Wedding. The pair were wed by the High Septon at the Great Sept of Baelor inGame of Thronesseason 4, episode 2 “The Lion and the Rose.” Afterward, they headed to the feast where the drama began.
The assassination plot was concocted by Olenna Tyrell and Petyr Baelish and executed when the former approached Sansa Stark to express condolences for the Red Wedding. Olenna discreetly removed an amethyst-colored crystal from the necklace that Sansa wore as a gift from Dontos Hollard and put it in Joffrey’s wine glass. This crystal was the Strangler poison, and it had the king gasping for air. This wedding paved the way for Margaery and Tommen’s betrothal, as the latter was easier to control.
6Tommen Baratheon And Margaery Tyrell’s Wedding
Cemented An Alliance Between Two Great Houses
Tommen wed Margaery after a period of mourning in House Lannister. Since the Lannisters needed all the help they could get from the richest House - the Tyrells - Tywin was in favor of the marriage.
The wedding was a simple affair, and it took place inGame of Thronesseason 5, episode 3 “High Sparrow.” The pair were married in the Sept with everyone but Cersei looking happy about the union. Tommen and Margaery, nonetheless, were off to a great start, but when the latter hinted that the Queen Mother be sent away to Casterly Rock, Cersei concocted an elaborate plan. The marriage ended when Cersei had Margaery, Loras, and Mace Tyrell, and a few more enemiesblown to smithereens in the Great Sept of Baelor. Tommen jumped out his window upon witnessing the scene.
5Daenerys Targaryen And Khal Drogo’s Wedding
An Unpleasant Start Of Daenerys' Arc
Daenerys was married off to Khal Drogo inGame of Thronesseason 1, episode 1 “Winter Is Coming,” without having a say in it because her older brother, and the only family she had at that point, Viserys the beggar king, wanted the Iron Throne.
The marriage was arranged by the Magister of Pentos - Illyrio Mopatis, in the hopes that befriending a claimant to the throne would benefit him. Viserys expected the Dothraki warlord and his Khalasar to give him the Seven Kingdoms in exchange for his sister. The wedding was held in a typicalDothraki fashion - murder for funand wanton sex were rampant. But it was at this ceremony that Daenerys received three petrified eggs from Illyrio that she would go on to hatch into three beautiful dragons after Drogo’s death.
4Sansa Stark And Ramsay Bolton’s Wedding
Ensured The Boltons' Hold On The North
Sansa’s wedding to Ramsay boasted a similar pattern to Tyrion’s. The only difference was that Ramsay was a cruel, sadistic monster and Tyrion was gentle and kind. Ramsay’s father, Roose Bolton, who sold the Starks to the Lannisters, and rose as Warden of the North and Lord of Winterfell, wanted Sansa for her name. Unlike the benevolent Starks, he had a hard time governing the North, as his House had caused the downfall ofthe ancient House Starkat the Red Wedding. On top of everything, Roose’s only son at that point, Ramsay Snow (legitimized by King Tommen as Ramsay Bolton) had just skinned Lord Cerwyn’s father alive for his defiance of paying taxes.
Lord Baelish brokered the wedding, convincing Sansa that it was the only way to retake her home from the monstrous Boltons. Sansa and Ramsay were wed inGame of Thronesseason 5, episode 6 “Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken” in the Godswood at Winterfell. Sansa was moved about the board by Baelish and the Boltons, and it was too late before she realized that she was stuck in an abusive marriage. Ramsay wanted a male heir to solidify his claim on the North, but she gathered enough strength to escape and plan a war against the Boltons.
3Robb Stark And Talisa Maegyr’s Wedding
Marred The Relations Between The Starks And The Freys
Robb and Talisa’s wedding rebuffed Walder Frey and led to the Red Wedding. Robb’s mother, Catelyn Stark, had struck a marriage alliance with the Freys of the Twins in exchange for letting their army use the crossing during the War of the Five Kings.
Catelyn’s eldest, Robb, would have been married to a Frey girl of his choosing. She promised to keep her end of the deal, while Lord Walder let the Northmen cross the Twins. Robb broke the pact when he fell in love with and married in secret a foreign healer named Talisa inGame of Thronesseason 2, episode 10 “Valar Morghulis.” Though full of love and admiration, the marriage was a political blunder. It didn’t last long and decimated Robb’s host at the Twins, thanks to Walder Frey and Roose Bolton’s treachery.
2Edmure Tully And Roslin Frey’s Wedding
The Red Wedding Massacre Put An End To Robb’s War
The infamous wedding of all, also known as the Red Wedding, was a sham orchestrated by Lord Walder at the behest of Tywin Lannister, who struck while the iron was hot.
Since the Starks had ungraciously put an end to the marriage alliance, Lord Walder secretly sided with the Lannisters inthe War of the Five Kings. He agreed to marry his daughter to Catelyn Tully’s brother and the heir to House Tully of Riverrun. He opened the gates of the Twins to Starks and Tullys and promised them protection. After vows were exchanged, Lord Walder had the bride and the groom whisked off and signaled the beginning of the massacre. Robb and his host were destroyed in a sealed hall, while the Black Fish (Brynden Tully) managed to escape. At the end of his wedding, the Lannisters regained the North through Roose and effectively ended Robb’s threat.
1Rhaegar Targaryen And Lyanna Stark’s Wedding
Made Jon Snow (Aegon Targaryen) The Rightful Heir To The Throne
Rhaegar wed Lyanna in a secret ceremony and the event made it toGame of Thronesseason 7, episode 7 “The Dragon and the Wolf,” as part of Samwell Tarly’s deduction and Bran Stark’s journey into the past. When Bran shared that Jon (real name Aegon) wasn’t his brother, but was born in wedlock between Aunt Lyanna and Rhaegar Targaryen, Sam instantly remembered something he read at the Citadel:
At the Citadel, I transcribed a High Septon’s diary. He annulled Rhaegar’s marriage to Elia. He wed Rhaegar and Lyanna in a secret ceremony.
Bran witnessed thatRhaegar and Lyanna were in love, and their son, Aegon, was the true heir to the Iron Throne. This revelation changed the very nature of things onGame of Thrones, right from Robert’s Rebellion to Daenerys calling herself “the last Targaryen” and the rightful heir.
