Couples do panic and with raising heartbeat when the minister says this.

Minister: is there anyone here who knows why these two should not be wed, let him speak now or forever hold his peace.

there are different English version of the sentence but literally they all mean the same thing.

It was a way for anyone who had a legal reason to stop a wedding.

If an ex-lover comes up and says something like, “The bride is carrying my baby!” or “I’m pregnant with the groom’s !” Or the inlaws object it. Then those are enough reasons why there might be a pause on the ceremony by the minister but it’s not a legal reason why it can or should be stopped.

Anyone cannot just stand up like that and say the wedding shouldn't hold, without any legitimate reason.

But yet there is always signs of panic.