Historically, not biblically, when and where is the first marriages and weddings happen?

Question

Was the wedding concept the same as it is today (the beginning of a monogamous relationship) or did it serve a different purpose, such as to let the rest of the tribe know who was in the chief's harem?

Answer 1

The purpose and definition of marriage has changed repeatedly and dramatically throughout human history. It is safe to say that the earliest marriages were the joining of families/tribes for wealth and political gain.
"The very earliest marriage certificate that we have was found in a bundle of Aramaic papyri, some 2,500 years old. It was found in the ruins of a Jewish Garrison, that had been stationed at Elephantine in Egypt. It's more of a "contract" than a "marriage certificate", as it documents that the groom landed himself a healthy 14 year-old girl bride in exchange for six cows." http://www.abc.net.au/science/k2/moments/s204128.htm

As for finding an appropriate mate, In ancient times, people lived in small communities that offered limited choices for eligible mates. So marriage-by-capture from other small communities became a popular way to obtain a mate. A man brought along his strongest male friends to kidnap the woman of his choice. She surrounded herself with female friends for protection. Was there a ceremony? Was this marriage? Who knows.

As we can learn from the Bible, A man could have several wives and concubines. (Jacob married two sisters, Leah and Rachel, and Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines.) Divorce was not encouraged, but permitted if a man found some "uncleanness" in his wife. In such a case, he simply wrote her a bill of divorce and sent her out of his house (Deuteronomy 24:1). However, it was virtually impossible for a wife to divorce her husband.

Marriage has primarily been a legal contract for most of it's history. Women have sometimes been considered property that could be bought and sold. At other times they were a burden, and families would have to pay to marry off a daughter. That is what a dowry is.

"Cleopatra's Ptolemaic dynasty practiced brother-sister marriage in homage to the Egyptian gods Osiris and Isis. And in some Native American cultures, transgendered women born as biological males — sometimes called berdache — were among the most prized of wives. Primarily, the institution helped the elite consolidate power, wealth, and property. Common-law and other informal arrangements were more customary among the lower classes who had little property to protect"
http://www.plannedparenthood.org/pp2/portal/files/portal/webzine/newspoliticsactivism/fean-041011-marriage.xml

Virtually nothing about marriage has stayed the same over time.

The wedding ceremony has evolved to make the contract legal. Witnesses were required. Before writing was common, everyone went to wedding ceremonies so that there would always be someone around who could testify that a wedding took place.
The modern elaborate wedding with the gown and the cake and the pomp and circumstance is a relatively new idea. Queen Victoria ( 1800's) started it, having an elaborate ceremony for her wedding to Albert.

Answer 2

No one knows for sure when the first real "wedding" took place, but it was most likely back in a time when Humans were recognizably human. As far as "modern" humans go, weddings were a common occurrance in such ancient places the Fertile Crescent (Egypt, Babylonia, and other parts of Asia Minor, as well as in Africa) and this lends support to the theory that marriage and sexuality go hand in hand, that monogamous (or at least committed polygamous) relationships are insinctive to human beings. There is also evidence that the first glimmerings of "true modern humanity" date back to Neanderthals as many Neanderthal burial sites indicate the presence of a spiritual world view and a ritualized approach to such things as burying the dead (including sexual mates who have died at different times from one another.)

Answer 3

Unfortunatelly, I don't rememner. I read a book "How Love Conquered Marriage" it talks about it a lot, but I don't remember specific dates. (I had different questions in my mind when I was reading the book.)

Answer 4

There have universally been wedding customs in all culture for as long as we know. You won't find a 'first.'