Can You Marry Serana in Vanilla Skyrim?
The short answer is no. Despite being one of the most popular and well-written companions introduced in the Dawnguard DLC for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition, Serana cannot be married in an unmodded, vanilla playthrough. When you wear the Amulet of Mara around her, she doesn't offer the dialogue options that standard marriage candidates do.
Bethesda purposefully locked her out of the marriage system due to her complex backstory, trauma, and deep-seated aversion to holy sites like the Temple of Mara. Even if you successfully convince her to cure her vampirism at the end of her questline, the game code still flags her as ineligible. If you want to share a home with her as a spouse, you have to look outside the base game mechanics.
Why Bethesda Locked Serana Out of Marriage
Understanding why the developers restricted her helps explain why modders had to step in. Serana spends thousands of years locked away, dealing with severe trauma tied directly to Molag Bal and her volatile family. During casual dialogue, she explicitly mentions her discomfort with shrines, clerics, and holy marriage rites.
Her voice actress, Laura Bailey, delivered stellar lines that gave Serana an independent personality. Unlike vanilla spouses who typically turn into generic homebody merchants after a quick ceremony, Serana maintains her own routine, comments on the environment, and refuses to be boxed into a traditional role. Forcing her into the standard marriage framework breaks her character design, which is why Bethesda left her unmarried.
How to Marry Serana Using Mods on PC and Xbox
Since vanilla options don't exist, you need to use community-made mods designed for Skyrim Special Edition. Because Sony restricts external assets on PlayStation platforms, these workarounds are typically limited to PC (Nexus Mods) and Xbox (Bethesda Creations).
Step 1: Complete the Dawnguard Questline
Before installing any marriage mod, you should finish the main Dawnguard narrative, specifically completing the quest Kindred Judgment. This ensures her standard voice triggers and quest states won't break when a mod alters her relationship rank.
Step 2: Download a Compatible Marriage Mod
Head to your platform's mod manager and look for stable options like Marry Me Serana or Simple Serana Marriage. These mods inject the necessary relationship flags and dialogue choices into her script without corrupting your save file.
- Always check the description page for load order instructions.
- Place the mod lower in your load order if you use other follower overhauls to prevent conflicts.
Step 3: Equip the Amulet of Mara
Talk to Maramal in Riften at the Temple of Mara to declare your availability for marriage, then purchase and equip the Amulet of Mara. Approach Serana. The custom dialogue option added by the mod will appear, allowing you to propose. Attend the ceremony at the temple just like any other vanilla spouse.
Console Commands for PC Players
If you play on PC and prefer not to download full quest-altering mods, you can manipulate the game engine using console commands. Keep in mind that this method can cause animation bugs or silent dialogue issues because her voice files lack standard marriage lines.
- Open the console with the tilde key (~).
- Click on Serana with your mouse to target her reference ID.
- Type
setrelationshiprank player 4and press Enter. This changes her disposition toward your character to "Lover". - Type
addfac 51596 1to add her to the player faction, andaddfac c6472 1to include her in potential wedding factions.
Even with these commands, her lack of native voice lines means the wedding ceremony might freeze or skip dialogue lines. Using a dedicated mod is much safer and preserves the stability of your save file.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I marry Serana on Nintendo Switch?
No. The Nintendo Switch version does not support user-generated mods or console commands. Because vanilla files completely block her marriage triggers, Switch players must accept her as an essential companion rather than a spouse.
Does curing her vampirism change her marriage status?
No. Many players waste time convincing her to visit a wizard for a cure, thinking it unlocks marriage. The cure alters her eye color and combat comments, but it doesn't alter her hardcoded relationship variables.
Will marrying Serana break other Dawnguard quests?
If you use a reputable, updated Special Edition mod, it should not break active quests. However, installing poorly coded or outdated mods mid-quest can cause script lag, preventing her from following you properly or freezing her AI pathfinding. Always create a hard manual save before installing any modification.
