Bickering Couple-to-be

From the parish register of Bedlington, Northumberland...

Jan 31, 1672    [marriage of] John Watson [&] Jan Hunter, both in Bedlington, was several times published in ye church but John and ye bride had a great contest so they did discharge ye minister for calling them any more so, within 14 days after ye said John came to ye minister and did desire him to call them 3 times in ye church, with much ado ye minister did cause them to be called out of ye church so of ye Thursday after John and a great company of young men rode abroad ye parish and several other parishes and invited all his friends and neighbours to ye wedding against that day since to accompanying him to ye church and to come and dine with him which wedding day should have been on Thursday ye 21st day of November, 1671 but by misfortune the bridegroom lay back and would not be married and doth call ye bride both whore and jade and broken faced queen, but small that she is so kind that she will sit down upon his knee and both kiss him and clap him and call him both honey and heart, so ye wedding never went any further as yet but ye bride did invite a few good neighbours to come and eat a fat goose and a piece of good roast beef that same day and to be sure that they should provide good store of moneys along with them, but ye said John came in at night and called all that was at ye dinner both knaves and rascals and bid them begone and told ye bride before them all that he had occupied her both in ye bed and among ye meadow and in ye bier which she could not deny, so ye wedding was ended with much shame but ye bride did nothing but laugh, so fair.....

But now it happened upon ye 30th day of January that ye said John Watson came to ye clerk Ralph Mitford and did desire him to speak to ye parson that he would be pleased to marry ye said John and Jan Hunter but ye said Janes children came to ye churchgarth and made a sore outcry that ye whole town did make an uproar so ye said John went his way and met ye bride coming to ye church to be married so they both returned and then ye bride went to her friends house and John together, but some cross words began between them that ye bride did run away almost a mile out of ye town which many neighbours did follow and ye bridegroom did borrow a roaning mare of a young man in ye town and did bring ye bride back and so it happened upon ye Friday being ye 31st January that as it pleased God that both ye parties came to ye minister and clerk and were lawfully married upon ye 31st of Jan.1672.