Considering there are hundreds of NPCs to interact with throughout Skyrim, it's understandable that some players manage to get attached to at least a couple of them throughout their adventures and try to marry them. Skyrim has dozens of potential marriage options of many genders and races. The Dragonborn can even move in and adopt children with most of them. That said, not all spouses in Skyrim are worth the Dragonborn's time, and shouldn't be considered marriage material.
Most NPCs don't become marriable until the Dragonborn completes certain Skyrim quests for them, though a few others can become spouses right off the bat. The Dragonborn's housecarls are one such example of this. Other characters can serve as both spouses and companions, joining players on their adventures across Skyrim's map when they aren't staying at home. Spouses in Skyrim provide additional benefits such as the Lover's Comfort resting bonus or the ability to sell and purchase items from the Dragonborn's partner. Even players who aren't particularly attached to any of the characters in Skyrim may find marriage a worthwhile avenue to pursue.
The process is relatively straightforward, too. Players need only acquire an Amulet of Mara to get married in Skyrim. These amulets can be found scattered around much of Skyrim but can also be purchased from the temple in Riften if all else fails. Assuming that players have completed the required quests in advance, an NPC available as a marriage candidate will comment on the amulet once the Dragonborn has equipped it. From there, they must attend a wedding ceremony at the Temple of Mara. The married character will then ask to move into the Dragonborn's house. Some spouses, however, are better off left behind at the altar.
Worst Skyrim Characters To Marry - Orla Can't Live With Players
Orla has one of the more unique occupations out of all the marriage options in Skyrim, serving as a priestess at the Temple of Dibella in Skyrim's city of Markarth. Players may recognize the location from Sanguine's Daedric quest. As a priestess, she has strict morals; if she catches the Dragonborn stealing an item, she'll send bounty hunters after the player to attempt to kill them. She also clearly prioritizes her devotion to Dibella over her spouse. If players marry Orla, she'll refuse to move in with the Dragonborn and will instead opt to stay in the temple. Players will have to relocate to the notoriously dangerous city of Markarth just to be close to her. She's also incapable of becoming a follower.
Cosnach In Markarth Is A Bad Marriage Candidate In Skyrim
There are plenty of unsavory characters in various cities in Skyrim, but Cosnach is one of the most miserable of them all. He works as a porter for the Arnleif and Sons Trading Company, where his cousin Imedhnain works as an assistant to the shop owner Lisbet. However, while Imedhnain finds success and even lodging due to his job with the company, Cosnach isn't so lucky. The trading situation in Markarth is risky at best, thanks to Skyrim's Forsworn uprising, leaving Cosnach with little work. Instead of finding another job or even a productive hobby, he spends his days at the Silver-Blood Inn.
Cosnach also lives in the Warrens, a unique Skyrim location within Markarth surrounded by disease and violence. His conversations with the Dragonborn primarily entail complaining about his lack of work, though he'll become more amicable towards the player if they buy him a drink or agree to brawl with him. After either of those have been accomplished, Cosnach will become a viable marriage candidate. Although he can potentially serve as a traveling companion and even be recruited to the Blades later in Skyrim's main questline, he's perhaps better left behind at the bar where the Dragonborn found him.
Angrenor Once-Honored Hates Skyrim's Dark Elves
Although Skyrim has many cities, each of them is uniquely memorable. Many players remember Skyrim's iconic Stormcloak-held city of Windhelm largely thanks to the unpleasant welcome they receive when they first arrive. The scripted encounter shows two Nords, Angrenor Once-Honored and Rolff Stone-Fist, harassing a Dunmer woman of being a spy simply based on her race. According to her, the two will wander the Grey Quarter at night, hurling insults at the Dunmer residents. When Angrenor isn't busy insulting the elves, he can be found begging for coins near Windhelm's inn. Supposedly, he served as a soldier during the Great War and lost everything as soon as it ended. Later in his life, an injury pulled him away from serving as a Stormcloak in Skyrim's Civil War.
If the Dragonborn gives him just one gold coin, he becomes a marriage option. All of his unique dialogue, though, revolves around his hatred for the Imperials and his history in combat, including how proud he is of the fact that he once killed six men singlehandedly. For all his boasting, though, he isn't even available to join the Dragonborn on their quests across Skyrim. He can't join the Blades, either. All in all, he's a poor marriage choice for any Skyrim player who isn't sided with the Stormcloaks, and an even worse option for an elven Dragonborn, given his racist view of Skyrim's diverse society.
Temba Wide-Arm Has The Worst Attitude In Skyrim
Temba's personality leaves much to be desired. Players will need to kill 10 bears, a notoriously tricky enemy even at higher levels, to marry - or even befriend - her. Once Temba has been given her pelts, she will open up to the Dragonborn. Her personality is abrasive at best, and right off the bat, she has a lot to say about her current residence. In fact, she'll have a lot to say about any home she moves into, and nothing of it really positive. Temba will complain about any of the three pieces of land the Dragonborn can purchase as part of Skyrim's Hearthfire DLC and will even let the player know how much she dislikes more traditional houses like Breezehome if they move there.
Her attitude is unsavory in other regards, too. Whenever she's at work at her mill, she can be heard yelling at her apprentice Gwilin. If players ask her to make a homecooked meal, she'll retort that they ought to be cooking for her instead and warn them not to ask for another before tomorrow. She expresses little interest in any topic the Dragonborn tries to speak to her about and will dismiss them rudely even after befriending them. Overall, Temba's sour disposition makes her one of Skyrim's most difficult marriage options to work with. If players pass through Ivarstead on their way to High Hrothgar, it's best to keep moving rather than striking up a conversation.
Solitude's Octieve San Isn't Much Fun To Marry In Skyrim
Solitude's Octieve San can often be found either inside or just out of the Winking Skeever, the city's main tavern, gambling away his little money and racking up a hefty debt due to ordering drinks day in and day out. Luckily, he still has a place to live. His daughter Evette San looks after him, and he stubbornly refuses to help clean up the house or provide any income although she struggles to make ends meet. If the Dragonborn chooses to marry him in Skyrim, it's likely he carries his same bad habits over to their house, too, neglecting to help his new spouse in any way. Skyrim players will likely find their gameplay experience much more tolerable without him.