hand fasting and banns

[Matthew Allen Newsome <mnewsome@warren-wilson.edu>]

A question on SCA marriages.  It is a custom to announce banns of 
marriage three times before getting married.  This is correct.  But, what 
I am interested in knowing is, is this a neccesity?  What I am thinking 
of is the Medieval Scottish custom of hand fasting (practiced in Scotland 
from the ninth century to the Reformation).  This consisted of living 
together for a period of one year, at the end of which, if you still 
could stand each other, you were considered legally wed.  If you desired 
ceremony, you could have the next visiting priest say a few words, but 
this was not neccesary until around 1550.  All children born during that 
year (hopefully only one!) were legitimate, and for that year, regardless 
of the outcome, you were considered more or less married.  But this 
custom did not include banns.  Banns were not a legal neccesity in 
Scotland until the Reformation.  So for a SCA wedding a la Scotland, 
banns would be completely out of period.  I guess what this boils down to 
is, if you are having an SCA marriage, are banns a neccesity or will any 
period form of wedding do?
Aye,
Eogan