There are thousands if not millions of cultures in the Andromeda galaxy, and many of these cultures have their own traditions regarding different aspects of life. Marriage in CSS-based worlds can be between any group of people; a concession to some influential cultures which feature polygamy in the galaxy. There is typically a ceremonial wedding that follows whatever traditions the participants use, and then a simple, beauocratic registration process to make it official.
The most common marriage tradition in the CSS, one that almost all spacers and most “melting pot” worlds use, is the Token Giving tradition.
A token is a personal item of significance to the giver, that is given to that person's love interest as part of a wedding proposal. If the love interest accepts the token, that token is essentially the engagement ring. What happens next varies from culture to culture, but typically the person receiving the token will give a token in response. This return token may be given right away, or as part of the wedding ceremony.
Tokens can be anything, but as a general rule they should be tangible, non-perishible objects with a significance to either the giver or both the giver and receiver. Ideally, the token is something that can be worn; a few examples of worn tokens include:
Some tokens cannot be worn, but they still count:
There is a wedding ceremony after the exchange of tokens. Details vary from culture to culture, but it is usually a simple exchange of vows in the presence of loved ones. Then a party is common afterwards. Honeymoons are also fairly common.
The Space Boomer ocelots have their own tradition with regard to tokens. One person gives the other person a token as an engagement present, but instead of a return token, they Tie the Knot. Literally!
The engineering team harvest a section of essential transmission-line wire from the power systems of the ocelot's home ship. A particularly 'honored' wedding will feature wire from a very difficult to access part of the ship; the more effort put into finding and extracting the wire, the more 'blessed' the union is. The wire must come from an active ship's system. It is then twisted into an infinity figure '8' shape and highly polished so the copper metal shines.
During the marriage ceremony, the chief engineer of the ship will present the knot, and the captain of the ship will put the knot on the wrists of the married couple to signify the bond. After the ceremony, the knot is given to the couple to act as the second token; this token is usually displayed in the home, on the wall, with a mounting plaque that lists exactly what part of the ship the wire came from.
This tradition isn't well known to outsiders, but is mentioned here as an item of interest.
The Confederated Star Systems is, of course, a confederation of star systems; there's hundreds of worlds representing thousands if not millions of cultures. Each culture will have its own ideas about marriage, based in tradition, religion, or local cultural attitudes.
As such, the CSS views the ability to get married as a basic right and something that should be honored across all its member worlds. However, it does not impose any restrictions upon what a marriage can be, allowing individual worlds to make up their minds about the details.
In the CSS, a marriage is like a corporation; it has members, each with a percentage 'share' of the marriage. This percentage comes into play when determining inheritence. For most marriages, all partners are equal; however, some cultures may have husbands or wives in some sort of tier system, and this enables each marriage party to define their own allocations.
There are only a few fundamental rules about a marriage:
Any number of people can be in a marriage; there is no limit. A person can even be in a marriage with just themselves, legally speaking, but there is no particular benefit to doing such a thing. There is no implied sexual connection from being married, and in some cultures it is common to use the CSS' marriage framework to support the creation of families joined together of unrelated persons. These people want the benefits of being married but may not have seuxal relationships with each-other.
Each world must respect any CSS marriage and treat all parties in the marriage as a married group. That said, individual worlds may have local laws which prevent their local citizens from engaging in certain forms of marriage (such as prohibitions against polyamorous marriages). Those worlds must accept polyamorous visitors, but should those visitors which to stay on a world with such restrictions as pemanent residents, they may face a variety of consequences.
That said, the prohibition laws are rare and usually found in more “backwater” places.
Finally, getting married (or divorced) in the CSS is fairly simple. One must submit paperwork, and then have the marriage confirmed by a magistrate. Almost all colonies, all established worlds, and many space stations have a magistrate or potentially many magistrates, making it very easy to get done.
In the case of marriage, the magistrate can object or deny a marriage based on certain factors; for instance, if it is thought one of the partners is being exploited in some fashion. In such cases, there is always a route for appeals which usually involves meeting with social workers and having whatever concerns are brought up addressed. This, however, is incredibly rare; most marriages are quickly rubber stamped.
In the case of divorce, the magistrate will determine the division of property and what will happen with the children as the case may be. This can be very complex and, as with real life, will often involve lawyers unless the parties getting divorced come to the magistrate with a pre-agreed and amical plan.