Well, there can be benefits, like a lower tax rate, health insurance options, survivor benefits, etc.

My last "wedding" was held in a friend's apartment. God was not mentioned.

Marriage is a legal institution. Religion aside, a hospital can deny you visitation if your girlfriend, boyfriend, or fiance is in critical condition. There are numerous other legal rights that marriage grants that have nothing to do with fairytales.

Marriage has more often been business than oriented than religious. In fact the idea of marriage for love, although romaticized for centuries, has only been in more practiced less than 200 years.

Committign to another person is nto a religiosu thing. It is a legal thing. The churches just took over the institution for a while.

My ex wanted to marry, she insisted, we didn't live together first.
20 or so years later after being seperated for 7 years, she hired a solicitor and barrister in an attempt to stop the divorce. Of course that was impossible.
So I swore, never marry again.
However, if I met someone just amazing, seriously amazing, and it was important to her, then yeah, probably.
Now shoot me.

Iagree unless its to keep a person you love from another country with you or there is financial gain otherwise its a pile of shit just like a funeral.

I got married at an aquarium and made sure there was no mention of any gods whatsoever. We didn't have a priest either. I think marriage is great if that's what you want to do. I wanted to find the one person I could spend the rest of my life with. Unfortunately, I chose the wrong person so I'm single again. My parents are not religious and have been married over 40 years. It can work.

I got married by a registrar in the local town hall no holy people around the two of us - signed the papaers away we went about 10 minutes no Holiness anywhere no religious institution at all .

Marriage is not for all. When it is good, it is great, nothing better. When it is bad, it is hell, no actually hell supposedly has limits on how terrible it can get. God has nothing to do with marriage unless it is put there by the occupants. I am an atheist and did not get married because of any god. I married because I found what was going to become the love of my life and I had to give it a try. That was 27 years ago. Kate has a form of Chester-Erdheim, fortunately her variety is not fatal. The disease makes one put on weight, have terrible looking blemishes all over the body, pain. Can't help it but when I look at her I see the woman I married 27 years ago. I would marry over again, knowing what was going to happen. No questions!

Marriage is a contract . It's a security contract for investing yourself in another person. You wouldn't invest 10 years of your life into anything else without a contract right? I don't see anything religious about it unless you do it at a church. My first one was at a state botanical garden and my second was at a courthouse. I would have to be very sincere and committed to someone to sign that contract and that's kind of the point.

My last marriage was in Machu Picchu, by the mayor of the little town at the bottom of that mountain, for the legal part. The personal part was actually in the ruins officiated by a fellow hiker and close friend. We all took turns reading poems (I read Walt Whitman, for example). The legal benefits of civil marriage has been covered here already. The point is - methinks thou dost protest too much? If you want to be in a committed relationship and have tax, insurance, hospital visitation and other benefits (at least in the US), you can hire a notary, sign a couple forms, and bada-bing. It is not so much about the ceremony, unless you find that fun and memorable. It's more about - are you committed to the person?

I married in New York City Hall. There were no religious overtones at all. We lasted 15yrs together.

Its not a religious institution you can get married by the state at a registry office costs about ten pounds takes about ten minutes and hey presto youre hitched same as births and burials just go to the registrar.

I would say no.

Just under half of the weddings I have attended (free-lance photographer or friends) have not been in churches and do not include any reference to the supernatural.

These ceremonies are simply a public affirmation of the couples willingness to dedicate their lives to achieve a common goal of establishing a mutually beneficial relationship for the health and happiness of both parties.

When you look it this way you see garbage however with children and legal address with name, it becomes easier to deal with school, neighborhood etc, then as one mentioned there are the tax breaks and survivor benefits. Not selling out , merely capturing the benefits which far out weigh the compromise. In my mind I do not believe the female needs to take the male name. the children could have her last name for all I care. I just care about the people .

Marriage is for family, not about theism, atheism or agnosticism. Moreover, our DNA tends to make us want a mate. The chemistry is luring and a connection is enduring. Often, when the chemistry wears off, we find the other person less desirable, and move on. But, when we connect, we settle into a long term relationship.

Religion appropriated what was historically an economic and procreative arrangement between families or individuals.

Well... in my country a religious marriage by itself has no legal implications of any kind, actually priests cannot perform a marriage ceremony without a certificate of civil marriage being presented first.
Civil marriage is the only one recognized by the state as such with its respective legal implications in matter of property, custody over children, inheritance, etc. And these things are actually important. This is why civil marriage is practiced.
So if a couple wants to get legally married they have to go for a civil marriage (with or without a civil ritual) and then (if they want) may bring the marriage certificate to a priest to perform a religious marriage ritual of whatever kind they desire.

People need to be “married” if they are in a committed relationship. I was in a committed relationship when he became terminally ill. I was his sole caretaker for 6years. Luckily he was lucid for most of the time and could direct his care. When he passed, I had no rights whatsoever. I was pushed aside by the blood relatives I had no idea existed. In the end, all of these people took over and I had no say at all. I wasn’t even mentioned in the obituary.

My translation is, makes me feel special, it's something that she wanted, money... maybe and social expectations. Just dressed up in abit of sophistry.

It is not a religious institution anymore. It is a contract. If you are married the lawyers will decide how to divide your stuff, as opposed to living with someone, coming home, and finding SHE HAS TAKEN ALMOST EVERYTHING YOU OWN! It took me two weeks to find her and my belongings.