You make a good point, perhaps two verses will get there
Rev 21:9 And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife.What do you think distinguishes the "bride" and the "wife" in scripture? Does the bride cease being a bride at some point?
Had the Bride NEVER been called a "great city" in verse 9, I wouldn't have anything to stand upon. So...I am basing my point specifically on what the Bible explicitly says. I also will say that if one can find another verse that explicitly says the Bride is the Church, then I also have nothing to stand upon.
But back to your original question:
What do you think distinguishes the "bride" and the "wife" in scripture?
The fact that they are separate words is enough to give me pause and not say they mean EXACTLY the same thing.
I believe the Holy Spirit inspired the very words of the Bible...every single one of them. And the word bride is not the same word as wife. Why? I don't know. They are obviously very close words in meaning...but they aren't the same word.
A quick lookup of the word "bride" and I find:
A woman who is about to be married or has recently been married.
So, it appears that one CAN be a bride and not yet a wife. It also seems the term bride is used to describe the closeness of a wedding (both just before or just after). In our common English language, if I described my wife as my "bride", the person listening would most likely think we had quite recently gotten married, but they would be mistaken: We've been married 11 years. If used the term "wife", there would be no confusion.
So, I believe the word "bride" implies or expresses the nearness of a wedding. "Wife" does not portray this idea.