Civil Ceremony?

How does a Civil Marriage Ceremony differ from a traditional one?  Most civil ceremonies do not include Christian traditions like communion or Jewish traditions like the seven blessings.  In California, civil ceremonies may be performed by:

• Priests, ministers, rabbis, and authorized persons of any religious denomination
• Commissioners of civil marriages
• Legislators or constitutional officers of this state, while holding office
• Members of Congress who represent a district within this state, while holding office
• County supervisors, while holding office
• Mayors of a city elected in accordance with Government Code §34900 et seq., while holding office
• Judges (except State Bar court judges, judges from other state court systems, judges pro tem, and Federal Administrative Law Judges)

Note: Ships’ captains have no authority to solemnize California marriages unless they fall into one of the categories listed above.

The components of a civil ceremony include the same basic structure as a religious one: 

• procession
• call to order/opening remarks
• vows
• ring exchange 
• pronouncement ("I now pronounce you husband and wife")
• kiss
• closing remarks
• recession
  

Depending on your officiant, other elements may be included.  If you are a couple that would prefer to include some cultural religious traditions, you may want to consider an interfaith ceremony instead.