I have never understood the obsession with even having rings or a ceremony to begin with. My wife was my wife prior to a judge legally marrying us (and only bec

I have never understood the obsession with even having rings or a ceremony to begin with. My wife was my wife prior to a judge legally marrying us (and only because my mother-in-law didn't want our children to be bastards). If for whatever reason the government "dissolves" our marriage, it doesn't change anything between us. It's a token formality. Fortunately, my wife agreed wholeheartedly and we used the obligate ceremony to invite our two favorite people and leveraged the "it's our wedding" card to force them away from their jobs so we could eat Chinese food and play board games with them. Is there anything more to it than social jockeying and prestige?