"Okay," he says. "So. Yes, getting married is a ceremonial thing. It is also supposed to be a precondition for doing the things that lead to children and related activities - kissing is a related activity - but people being people, they don't always do everything in the socially approved way. If we get to the inn and I introduce you as Mrs. Quick, people will assume we're married, if you can call that an assumption. If we get to the inn and I introduce you as any variation on 'my friend Rapunzel', they're going to assume that we're not married but are doing things that lead to children or related activities anyway. Respectable people would look down on us for that sort of thing; the kind of people you find at the Snuggly Duckling might think it's funny and tease us about it, but won't get snippy or anything."