What is a Civil Ceremony?

@NativePortlander1970 why u say that

@Vincent1235 Because it doesn't give you the same protections, for instance medical or legal decisions.

@NativePortlander1970 I don’t get it

@Vincent1235 I'll give you an example, in 1993 my aunt needed an exploratory procedure done, the guy she was with and her did a civil ceremony in 1991. They discovered they needed to remove part of her lower large intestine and upper colon, but that she needed to be authorized by someone, her "husband" said he'd sign, but when the hospital admins discovered they weren't technically married they refused it and had to get my cousin, her daughter, to sign for her since she was my aunt's legal next of kin.

@NativePortlander1970 How did it become fake when it's done at the city hall? The proceedings are legal.

@IamCuriousBabe Because a civil ceremony isn't a true marriage.

@NativePortlander1970 You're probably thinking the intention behind it isn't as sincere and lacks the organization of a planned, social event. What is your definition of "true" by the way?

@IamCuriousBabe I'm just going by what the hospital admins did with my aunt and the guy she was with to get a cancerous growth removed by surgery, take it up with them.

@NativePortlander1970 You clearly aren't aware of how others have taken that route and just skipped having a church ceremony. It's legal, and that is all that's needed. Surely your view isn't going to be solely defined by that incident.

@IamCuriousBabe This explains it then, her surgery was done in a Catholic hospital.

@NativePortlander1970 For Catholic weddings, yes, I do know about that. In many cases, the couple can have a Catholic church wedding later on.

For church weddings, they are followed by the registration at the city hall. Civil weddings just cut out the church ceremony.

@IamCuriousBabe Except that my aunt and her second husband are both agnostic, hence the civil ceremony.

@NativePortlander1970 I do get why you may feel it's fake.

@IamCuriousBabe I am an Atheist myself, so I understood why they chose a Justice of the Peace.