A Darwin groom who tried to headbutt and choke his bride in the car ride home from the reception has spent his wedding night in custody, police say.

Police were called after neighbours intervened in a fight between the man and the wife at their home in Fannie Bay that night, Duty Superintendent Louise Jorgensen said.

They found the groom, 29, in his wedding clothes spattered with blood from a bleeding nose.

The man had allegedly thrown the woman, 28, to the ground and kicked her.

"It's anticipated charges will be laid and a domestic violence order obtained," Duty Superintendent Jorgensen said.

"We're all appalled by the situation, and of course it doesn't bode well for any ongoing relationship."

She said the groom had been drunkenly arguing with his new father-in-law during the reception at a commercial premise in central Darwin.

"The antagonism started because of that argument," she said.

The alleged violence was a reminder of the prevalence of domestic violence in the community, she said.

"It happens to the rich and the poor, the old and the young, those newly married and those who have been together for a long period of time," she said.