What is the point of a commitment ceremony?
There's all types of reasons really. Some don't feel its fair that people though straight people can marry and, other people can't. (1) Some of don't like the thought of the state being in their business.(2) And then there's the folks who tried you traditional state bound marriage and it didn't work out for them.(3)
Theres lots of straight people who have them for a variety of reasons.
Some can be extremly extravagant church ceremonies, some can be a simple backyard gathering for friends and loved ones.(4)
So even though they can cost just as much as a traditional state bound marriage can but if the two who are making the comment to each other and God feel this is what they want and how they want to do it, there's nothing wrong with that fact.(5)
Is it different? Sure it is! However, I don't see the two involved as being any less committed because they don't have a piece of paper on file with a state somewhere.(6)
-A
I just wanted to add another perspective on the points made in the above post.
(1) Personally, I have always found this answer against marriage licenses as bogus. The government does not have the power to dictate who can be together and who cannot. Free citizens can do as they please under the law. The government can only DEFINE what "marriage" is. Those unions not meeting its definition are still able to unite under another term.
(2) This answer strikes me as coming from the chronically paranoid, maybe the illogical,
(or mentally ill) 
, as it is HIGHLY improbable to keep the government out of one's business or stay off of the grid AND lead an ordinary life. If someone owns a house, has a bank account, or rents a room, Uncle Sam knows about it.
(3) I've gotta say it: BOGUS!
If a "traditional" marriage didn't work out, it's unlikely that the cause of that was having it publicly and/or legally recognized. I have only personally heard this excuse used by those who wanted the benefits of a relationship without having to GIVE ANYTHING UP. They use the "non-traditional" route now as a way of avoiding responsibility and, thereby, liability.
(4) And if one is willing to go to all this trouble, why is legal recognition unacceptable?
(5) Actually...there is something wrong with it. Adequate has done a "more than adequate" (no pun intended
) job of explaining it already, so I won't rehash. The point is this: if money is not an issue, and shame is not an issue, and backing out/reneging is not an issue, and you will be surrounded by those who will keep you loyal to your commitment by their witness, and "it's no big deal because it's just a piece of paper" then why is it so important NOT to be legally recognized?
(6) See, I wanna agree with you, but people are fickle. We make decisions and sometimes change our minds when we realize that everything isn't as we want. Instead of making difficult decisions or sacrifices, we can sometimes become overwhelmed. Some of us then run away from our problems instead of facing them. This is why government was created! To keep us loyal to our agreements and obligations in those weaker moments.
If one party of the couple in your scenario realizes that their dearly beloved bites their toenails instead of clipping them, they might opt to play dead and skip town instead of going through the "work" of a divorce. If they were actually married, there will be a PUBLIC RECORD of that union. If not, then he/she can just move to North Dakota and hook up with a rancher and start all over. That "piece of paper" is sometimes all that keeps people loyal.
P.S.
OP, I see where you were going with this thread, but in checking the link you posted, I noticed it was for Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. If I am not mistaken, birth certificates in Mexico are not handed out manditorily as they are in other countries. There is a charge for them, and not all Mexican born citizens have them because they can not all afford them. When I scrolled down on your link, they noted that a birth certificate was required for the civil ceremony, where it was not for the alternative "spiritual" one. This might be why they offered two types.
So, all things considered, if you qualify for a license and want to be united...get married, throw a party, and call it a day.
If it boils down to cost and you can't afford it, you probably shouldn't even be dating. People should be mature in all ways; physically, mentally, spiriturally, financially, and otherwise before engaging in something that could render them responsible for another human life. Just my two cents.
, makes sure you are of sound mind and body (at the time you sign your marriage license) to decide to be married, etc.
erplexed
