It goes without saying that some things are just meant to go together. Movies and popcorn; rain and umbrellas, and last but not least – weddings and tears. Which brings us to our topic of discussion: why do people cry at weddings?

There’s really a simple answer as to why weddings bring out our most intimate emotions but before we pull the curtain back on the reason behind this common occurrence, let’s take a look at the results of an insightful study recently conducted by a team of researchers.

It’s no surprise that both men and women cry but according to a study headed by Professor Ad Vingerhoets, a clinical psychologist at Tilburg University and author of the book, Why Only Humans Weep: Unravelling the Mysteries of Tears, women cry between 30 and 64 times a year, while men well up between six and 17 times per year.

According to Vingerhoets, it’s possible that the differences between men and women could be explained to a large extent by the fact that women more often watch tearjerkers and read emotional literature. However, it’s not just women who cry during movies nor weddings for that matter, which brings us back to our original question – why do weddings make us cry.

Tears are a sign of fullness. Whenever you’re full of pain, you cry. Whenever you’re full of laughter, you cry. And whenever you’re full of love and happiness, tears occur as a result of that state of fullness. Crying is what we do when words are not enough to express how we feel at the moment – and as history has proven, time and time again, weddings bring out these moments for men and women, young and old.

Check out this collection of tear-jerking wedding photos.