Civil ceremony
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A civil ceremony is a non-religious legal marriage ceremony performed by a government official or functionary. In England and Wales, this person is normally called a "registrar." In American jurisdictions, civil ceremonies are variously performed by town, city and county clerks, judges and justices of the peace, and other persons who might be authorised by law to "solemnise" marriages.
In England and Wales, a civil ceremony cannot include hymns, religious readings or prayers, and the marriage must take place at a registered or licensed venue to be legally valid. Many private premises are licensed to hold civil weddings. To get married in a registry office outside their area of residence area then either the bride or groom must be resident in the area for at least 7 days and then wait a further 15 days before they will be eligible to marry.
In most American jurisdictions, civil wedding ceremonies are subject to the same requirements as religious ceremonies. In practical terms, civil ceremonies are performed at a city or county office, a judge's chambers or courtroom, etc., and the whole process, including finishing the paperwork, takes less than half an hour. Women frequently wear traditional wedding gowns and men frequently wear tuxedos for these occasions, but there are also those who get married in jeans and tee-shirts.
In theory, there are no restrictions as to what may or may not be part of an American civil wedding ceremony - but it depends partly on who is performing the ceremony. If you're being married by the county clerk at the county office, you are not likely to be allowed the full trappings of music, a full court of bridesmaids, and so on. There just won't be room for them.
Often, however, you can hire someone to conduct the civil wedding ceremony - much the same as you might arrange a member of the clergy to perform it (e.g., most jurisdictions allow people to be temporarily deputised to perform marriages) - and have what amounts to a traditional "church wedding" but without the church or any other religious associations.
