During the time of Christ it was customary for the Jewish in-laws to fly into the local airport and pick-up the young couple in a Cadillac...preferably in a convertible, and take them to the Four Seasons where they would have a lavish wedding ceremony, presided over by a Catholic Priest. Afterward at the reception they could party with the band Alabama while they watched the Superbowl on a big screen TV. What is wrong with this statement? The same as yours. History, historical era, and timeline, you have to keep them straight.
Two of the most common mistakes in biblical understanding....
1. You cannot read the Bible like it is the latest edition of the local Sunday Paper.
2. You cannot superimpose your beliefs on the scriptures.
The terms you are using are not part of the biblical narrative. I understand the confusion because there was a wedding in the Gospels.
But the Hebrew language does not have a word for wed or wedding. Just like the Christians their wedding customs will develop long after the biblical era.
Hebrews "took" their wives....the union being the event that bound them.
Genesis 2:24 "For this cause a man shall leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave to his wife; and they will they shall become one flesh." The cleave and the one flesh is the finalization of the marriage. No mention of wedding or ceremony, no requirement.
No requirement in the New or Old Testaments for Jews or Christians....never was a requirement....the custom comes much later and it is modeled after Pagan weddings. Still today many parts of a normal wedding has Pagan customs. What does a balloon with a string on it look like?
There are two scriptures concerning Miriam and Joseph, one shortly after Joseph finds out that Miriam was impregnated by some one else and the other during their time in Jerusalem.
Luke 2:5 in order to register, along with Mary, who was engaged to Him, and was with child.
Matthew 1:24 And Joseph arose from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded, him and took her s his wife, and kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son, and he called His name Jesus.
How many problems do we have here? Number one they seem to conflict. One says that Joseph took her as his wife before they went to Jerusalem and one says that they were still engaged when they were in Jerusalem. Any possible explanation for this is speculation to a degree...so here it is...Since wedding ceremonies were not the custom, Joseph could announce publicly that they were married and stay off the controversy. And as the scripture indicates wait for her to have the baby to make it official....which means sex.
Now that would mean that Joseph would have to lie....for the pious pies, they are likely to take exception to Joseph lying, but that can of worms is already open...Miriam was impregnated by someone else while engaged to Joseph, and the scriptures say Christ was raised as Joseph's son. They are not telling people that the baby is the Son of God.
The scriptures certainly imply that Joseph was waiting for her to have the child before taking her as his wife. And if you understand Jewish law, custom, and even the storyline of the Jews, you would know that he was waiting to have sex with her to finalize the marriage. The alternative would be much worse. If he never had sex with her, than they were never married and just living together...literally, and Christ would be a completely illegitimate child.
Still, we do not have a video of their coupling or a body of witnesses and scriptures do not describe them having sex or not having sex...All we can go with is the narrative and the norm. Then again, the concept that Miriam could not be holy or blessed, or it would be wrong for her to deliver Christ normally or have sex with her husband or have children by him is completely dreamed up, man-made. Mostly do to the fact that the Church developed beliefs that women, sex and nudity were of the devil.
Because of that Miriam could not have sex, Christ could not be delivered normally, (could not touch the dirty, nasty and evil female genitalia) and Miriam had to remain a virgin forever. Which is not biblical, not logical, and goes against every biblical norm.