Skyrim: Here’s How To Marry Lydia – Step-by-Step Guide
Lydia is one of the most approachable NPCs in Skyrim. She is also among the first followers that you will acquire as long as you go straight for the main story as soon as you start playing. This makes Lydia a perfect marriage candidate for players looking to settle down and get all the perks of being married without much hassle. No matter how easily you acquire Lydia, there are some steps you need to take in order to marry her. So we’ve decided to put together this guide to make the process easier. Let’s see how to marry Lydia in Skyrim.
Lydia can be found in Whiterun, either in Dragonsreach or Brezeehome
Lydia is appointed as your Housecarl as soon as you complete the quest “Dragon Rising” for Jarl Balgruuf the Greater. The quest is not complicated by itself and involves fighting a dragon with Irileth near the Western Watchtower. As soon as you complete the quest, return to Balgruuf, and he will tell you that he appoints you as his Thane and awards you with Lydia, your own personal Housecarl.
Lydia can either be found in Dragonsreach, wandering the great hall where the main dining table is, or in Breezehome if you’ve decided to purchase the house.
How to marry Lydia?
Since Lydia is one of the first followers you will get in the game, her disposition is high enough from the start that you can marry her immediately. She is usually the default choice for marriage for many players. But even if the option to marry her straight away is on the table, many players are not aware of the prerequisites for this dialogue to show up. This is where we come in, as we will provide you with an in-depth, step-by-step guide on how to marry Lydia.
1. Complete Dragon Rising Quest
Before you start courting Lydia the proper way, she must be your follower. We’ve already mentioned the Dragon Rising quest you must complete to achieve this. The quest is fairly straightforward and includes a simple dragon fight with numerous NPCs as your backup. Dragon Rising quest is necessary to advance through the main storyline, so you will need to do it sooner or later.
2. Recruit Lydia as your follower
As soon as Jarl Balgruuf has given you the title of Thane of Whiterun, you can ask Lydia to follow you. As she is your designated Housecarl, this means that her disposition toward you is high enough for you to ask her to marry you straight away. This will only be possible if you have discussed marriage with Maramal or have an Amulet of Mara equipped.
Nonetheless, the next step is to ask Lydia to follow you, as it makes the process of marrying her easier.
3. Make your way to Maramal in Riften
Maramal is a priest of Mara in Riften’s chapel named after the same goddess. Before you plan on marrying any NPC, it’s required that you discuss the marriage with Maramal before you proceed. Otherwise, the dialogue option will never appear. Once you’ve discussed the marriage with Maramal, you can purchase the Amulet of Mara from him, as it’s needed for our next step.
4. Equip Amulet of Mara and ask Lydia to marry you
Amulet of Mara signals to eligible NPCs that you are available for marriage. When you interact with an NPC eligible for marriage, the NPC will comment on you wearing an Amulet of Mara. As soon as you interact with Lydia while wearing the Amulet, the dialogue option for marriage should appear. You can proceed with asking her to marry you. You can get the Amulet of Mara in the following ways
- You can purchase one from Maramal for 316 (default vanilla game price) septims.
- You can get the Amulet for free when you complete the “The Book of Love quest.”
- The Amulet can be found at stores, being sold by general merchants.
- It can appear as random loot in the chests as you explore the ruins, world, and dungeons.
As soon as you’ve gotten your hands on the Amulet, equip it. Simply having one in your inventory is not enough.
5. Return to Maramal in the Chapel of Mara in Riften
Once Lydia accepts your marriage proposal, you must return to Riften again. Once there, make your way to the Chapel of Mara, and interact with Maramal. Talk to him about getting married, and he will schedule the wedding ceremony in 24 hours. If Maramal is not in the chapel, he can usually be found wandering the streets of Riften near market stalls, preaching to people.
Your best course of action is simply to wait 24 hours in front of the chapel since the wedding ceremony is easily bugged.
6. Marry Lydia
After 24 hours, you can enter the chapel and see it filled with guests. Guests appear once you’ve completed some of the faction quests or simply done random good deeds all across Skyrim that earned you the friendship of certain NPCs.
If Lydia is by your side, you can proceed with the wedding ceremony. Once you tie the knot, you can ask her to move into your chosen house. She will still remain your follower even though additional functionalities will be unlocked.
And that’s about it. As you can see, marrying Lydia is not at all complicated. Even though she is among the best spouses in Skyrim, you might always meet someone more interesting. In that case, check out our guide on getting divorced in Skyrim.
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