In years gone by match-making was more common than now. A very old lady here told me many interesting stories of match-making that took place in her young days. No boy or girl ever got married without the match-maker's approval, very often this took place in markets and fairs.
Often one farmer would go into another farmer's house and there would be a bargain made between them that the son of the first would marry the daughter of second. Then they would take a bottle of whiskey and they would drink it between them. After the marriage they would go off for a race on horse back to see who would be home first. Often one of them or one of horses would be killed.