Description of marriage customs in 1500s in: On Tycho's Island by John Robert Christianson.
Courtship and marriage customs were similar in all propertied social classes of late sixteenth-century Denmark, from royalty and artistocracy through the urban middle classes and clergy to prosperous peasants. Differences were mainly in scale. Parents had the responsibility of arranging marriages for their children in aristocratic society. Prospective spouses generally came from the same social background. Troels Frederik Troels-Lund in Dagligt liv in Norden i den sekstende arhundrede. described these customs in great detail:
First came preliminary soundings through informal conversations within networks of friends and relatives. . . If a young man's informal inquiries gave reason for hope, he might take the big step of becoming a suitor. He would normally ask trustworthy friends to bring his proposal to the parents of the prospective bride. . . .Normally the suitor stayed in the background and his spokesman would deliver a long oration, praising the suitor and his distinguished lineage, and concluding with a proposal of marriage. The suitor and his party then took seats and the prospective bride's family stood up while her father or spokesman replied with an equally long speech. A reply might be delayed by the prospective bride's family while they considered the options, but the proposal was binding on the suitor.
Negotiations would follow to determine the amount of the betrothal gifts, dowry, morning gift, and all the wedding arrangements, including who was to pay. A dowry might consist of velvet, silk, and damask gowns for a lifetime of festive occasions: pearl-embroidered caps, a massive golden necklace and jeweled brooch, a gold of silver-gilt belt with knife, spoon, and a place to hang the household keys. These might be packed in carved oaken trunks and cabinets. In addition, there would be hand-woven table linen and bed linen; copper and iron kettles and pans in full array, a four-poster bed with all its hangings, down comforters, and bolsters; bench covers; tapestries, and perhaps even a bridal carriage with two or four horses. The dowry would be ceremoniously delivered to house of the suitor, a day or so before the wedding, and knowing women would inspect it to be certain that nothing was lacking.