
I disagree.  People marry each other.  When they commit fully to each
other as life partners, they are married.  The ceremony may assist in
emphasizing the depth of such a commitment, but is of itself nothing.
God knows our hearts.  He knows when two have committed themselves to
be one, he knows the fears and delusions we have that keep us from fully
giving ourselves to another.  The way I see it, you'd have to be living
together in a marriage for somewhere between 10 and 100 years before anyone
knew if a marriage really existed, but God knows.  I don't think God keeps
a scorebook.