Short answer
The main sunnahs are to choose a spouse for religion and character, see each other before agreeing, keep the mahr and wedding simple, begin the nikah with the khutbah of need, announce it publicly, make dua for the couple and hold a walimah. Holding it in a mosque on a Friday is recommended. The four schools agree.
Announcing the nikah, the khutbah, and holding it in a mosque on a Friday are mustahabb, and so is a modest mahr. The walimah is sunnah. None of these are conditions of validity: the nikah is valid with offer, acceptance and two witnesses.
The four schools agree on this.
Explanation
A nikah needs only a few things to be valid, explained in conditions of a valid nikah. Around those essentials the sunnah adds practices that bring blessing.
- Choose for religion. People marry for wealth, family, beauty and religion, and the Prophet ﷺ said to win the one with religion.
- See each other. He told a Companion to look at the woman he was proposing to, since it makes lasting love more likely. Pray istikharah too.
- Keep it simple. "The best nikah is the easiest." See mahr.
- The khutbah. The nikah begins with the khutbah of need (khutbat al-hajah): praise of Allah, seeking His help and forgiveness, the testimony of faith, and the ayahs on taqwa including 4:1.
- Announce it. The daff and the voice separate a lawful marriage from a secret relationship.
- Mosque and Friday. Hanafi scholars recommend both. The narration "hold it in the mosques" is weak in its chain, but its aim of publicity and blessing is accepted. See marrying in a mosque.
- Dua for the couple. "Barakallahu laka" and the rest of the dua for newlyweds.
- Walimah. A meal after the wedding. See walimah.
Some customs have no basis in the sunnah and often make marriage harder: demands for dowry from the bride's family, days of costly events, and wasteful spending. See dowry. The step by step process is in our nikah guide.
The evidence
Quran, Surah An-Nisaa 4:1
بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلنَّاسُ ٱتَّقُوا۟ رَبَّكُمُ ٱلَّذِى خَلَقَكُم مِّن نَّفْسٍۢ وَٰحِدَةٍۢ وَخَلَقَ مِنْهَا زَوْجَهَا وَبَثَّ مِنْهُمَا رِجَالًۭا كَثِيرًۭا وَنِسَآءًۭ ۚ وَٱتَّقُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ ٱلَّذِى تَسَآءَلُونَ بِهِۦ وَٱلْأَرْحَامَ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ كَانَ عَلَيْكُمْ رَقِيبًۭا ﴿١﴾
O mankind, fear your Lord, who created you from one soul and created from it its mate and dispersed from both of them many men and women. And fear Allah, through whom you ask one another, and the wombs. Indeed Allah is ever, over you, an Observer.
One of the ayahs recited in the nikah khutbah.
Quran, Surah An-Noor 24:32
وَأَنكِحُوا۟ ٱلْأَيَٰمَىٰ مِنكُمْ وَٱلصَّٰلِحِينَ مِنْ عِبَادِكُمْ وَإِمَآئِكُمْ ۚ إِن يَكُونُوا۟ فُقَرَآءَ يُغْنِهِمُ ٱللَّهُ مِن فَضْلِهِۦ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ وَٰسِعٌ عَلِيمٌۭ ﴿٣٢﴾
And marry the unmarried among you and the righteous among your male slaves and female slaves. If they should be poor, Allah will enrich them from His bounty, and Allah is all-Encompassing and Knowing.
Helping people to marry is itself encouraged.
Sunan Abi Dawud 2118
Grading to be checked... إن الحمد لله نستعينه ونستغفره ...
"All praise is for Allah; we seek His help and His forgiveness."
The opening of the khutbah of need taught for nikah.
Sunan Abi Dawud 2117
Grading to be checked... خير النكاح أيسره ...
"The best nikah is the easiest."
Simplicity in mahr and wedding is sunnah.
Jami' at-Tirmidhi 1087
Graded sahih... انظر إليها فإنه أحرى أن يؤدم بينكما ...
"Look at her, for that is more likely to create lasting love between you."
Seeing each other before agreeing is sunnah.
Sunan Abi Dawud 2130
Grading to be checked... بارك الله لك وبارك عليك وجمع بينكما في خير ...
"May Allah bless you, send blessing upon you, and bring you together in goodness."
The sunnah dua for a newly married couple.
Where the ruling is recorded
- al-Durr al-Mukhtar with Radd al-Muhtar, Kitab al-Nikah, opening discussion. Announcing the nikah, the khutbah, Friday and the mosque are recommended.
- al-Fatawa al-Hindiyya, Kitab al-Nikah, opening chapter. Lists what is recommended in a nikah.
Checked by our team. For a more accurate answer to your own situation, consult a scholar. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.