The banns of marriage, commonly known simply as "the banns", (from an Old English word meaning "to summon") are the public announcement in a Christian parish church that a marriage's going to take place between two specified persons. It's most commonly associated with the Roman Catholic Church and with other denominations whose traditions closely match that of the Roman Catholic Church. The purpose of banns's to enable anyone to raise any legal impediment to it, so as to prevent marriages that'… (More on Banns)