No, ask anyone who has done genealogy. Lots of marriage records in church and government records, even in early Colonial days, 1600s. And yes, Colonial records were excellent. Common law marriages were actually pretty rare.
Agree - lots of marriage records.
When the government did not issue marriage licenses, the churches were the clearinghouse for marriages. Some states didn't get around to marriage licenses for a very long time - South Carolina didn't have them until after WWII. You can still track down marriages . . . thoughtful genealogists have tabulated marriage records from every church they could find. Of course they missed some . . . but the probate records will usually pick them up when one partner dies.