The movie The Doors with Val Kilmer had a much-cut-down scene of Jim Morrison (played by Kilmer) and his Wiccan lady Patricia Kennealy getting hand-fasted -- the real Kennealy plays the High Priestess in this scene..

For an outline of a hand-fasting, you can look in Raymond Buckland's Complete Book of Witchcraft, chapter 8, page 97.

You may find it ironical or amusing that Pagans have made a formal religious ritual for hand-fasting, when originally it was a custom practiced in the absence, or due to the absence church or clergy -- existing somewhere between betrothal and common-law marriage.

"When we are hand-fasted, as we term it, we are man and wife for a year and a day; that space gone by, each may choose another mate, or, at their pleasure, may call the priest to marry them for life, and this we call hand-fasting." -- Sir Walter Scott, -The Monastery-(1820),

"This custom of hand-fasting actually prevailed in the upland days. It arose partly from the want of priests. While the convents subsisted, monks were detached on regular circuits through the wilder districts, to marry those who had lived in this species of connexion."

-- Andrew Lang, note in his edition of The Monastery

Hand-fasting remained legal in Scotland until 1939. As of 1987 common-law marriage in general is still legally recognized in several of the United States: Alabama, Colorado, Georgia, Iowa, Idaho, Kansas, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, and even in Washington DC.

Generally, this just takes each individual saying that you are man and wife, and conducting yourselves accordingly. No particular ceremony needed. The laws concerning this may vary considerably from state to state.

This allows a man and woman in a deserted place with no-one else around to marry -- and later have it be found legitimate, legal and binding.

The idea of needing a High Priest(ess) to tie a cord around your arms sort of works against the whole point and reason of hand-fasting, wouldn’t you say?