Wedding arch

The Wedding Arch was introduced in The Sims 2. While Sims can get married or enter a Joined Union without using the arch, it allows a player to add a bit of formality, as Sims who get married or joined under the arch will change into their formal clothes. If the relationship between the two Sims is too low, one may call off the wedding. While this can happen whether or not the arch is used, it's more dramatic if the arch is involved. Players who have The Sims 2: Celebration Stuff will be able to choose from two different arches.

If the special event camera is enabled, using the wedding arch to marry two Sims will begin a cinematic. If successful, the Sims will exchange vows and rings, then flower petals will fall, and the Sims will kiss. If unsuccessful, the Sim who did not initiate the interaction will watch the other Sim begin to put on the ring, then after a few tense moments jerk back his or her hand and run away from the wedding arch. The camera focuses on the rejected Sim as you hear running, a car door slamming, and tires screeching as the other Sim escapes. (An unsuccessful marriage will definitely ruin a wedding party.) Also, after being left at the alter, the proposer and proposed will lose their crush, fall out of love, and lose each other as their friend and best friend.

The Wedding Arch is one of few objects from The Sims 2 base game which has yet to appear in the expanded The Sims 3. See Comparison between The Sims 2 and The Sims 3.