The history of the ring in the marriage ceremony, the good, the bad, the ugly and the expensive:
Originally, only the woman was forced to wear a wedding band which was heated before it was placed upon her finger where it was meant to be permanently worn as proof that she was owned by her husband. OUCH!
Obviously, this changed over time to where the ring was no longer heated and couples had the option of mutually exchanging rings which made jewelers very happy.
The diamond in the engagement ring was meant to be worth six months of the groom's present wages as proof that he could provide for the woman to whom he had proposed. Both the engagement ring and the wedding ring were meant to provide a minimum source of money for the woman if her husband died during a time when there were no respectable occupations available to women by which they could provide for themselves. As I understand, the standard still remains that the stone in the engagement ring traditionally is a diamond equal to at least six months of the proposer's wages. This is due more to the skyrocketing cost of care in the elder years. Although, the way things cost now, even the money you would get from selling your rings would not get you much care. The 'least of these' and 'the fatherless and the Widow' need the help of the church now more than ever.
The Wedding party/dinner:
In some cultures, the wedding party/dinner could last for a week or more. Different cultures had different practices. Consummation of the marriage was part of the marriage ceremony and if consummation did not take place, then the couple was not considered to be married even if there had been an exchange of vows. As I understand, this is still true today at Jewish weddings performed at synagogues where there is a room provided for the couple to use.
Most Gentile weddings do not include consummation of the marriage before the beginning of the wedding party/dinner, though some can still last for days (example: Polish wedding parties). This can make wedding caterers and musicians happy to varying degrees.
The dark origins of the Honeymoon:
The tradition of the Honeymoon evolved out of the practice of bride kidnapping which has occurred in the past all over the world at some point in history or another. Men would get dressed in full armor before riding off to snatch a bride and take her somewhere for a month or more that was far enough away from friends and family to where he would not have to worry about acts of retribution or his captive being rescued. In some cases, when the 'bride to be was willing to be snatched', it was called an elopement and when the bride was not willing, then men would just say 'do not take the sheep that has been bitten by the wolf from the wolf!' Later, the bride would be forced to marry her kidnapper or be considered ruined.
Somehow, much later, this tradition became a romantic expensive trip that newly married couples took someplace beautiful in the world to pretend that marriage for a short time is this ideal existence free from cares and full of relaxation, entertainment and pampering. which made the travel agents very happy.
Bride kidnapping still happens today in certain parts of the world and sometimes it is in the form of elopement.