How do atheists get married?

They get married like anyone else, just not in a church. Marriage is actually secular, considering the only way to be legally married is to go through the state and get a marriage license. The only time religion is involved is if you're religious and choose to involve it in your wedding/marriage. You can select a non-denominational officiant, there are plenty of them nowadays. You can marry practically anywhere but a church.

We hire a marriage commissioner and get married. The ONLY difference between a religious ceremony and a civil ceremony is the references to God and blessings and such. The vows are the same. The process is the same.

Pretty much the same way everyone else gets married, just with a different venue and officiant. As far as officiants go, you have a couple of options. You can get a secular officiant, like a judge, justice of the peace, etc., or you can find a religious officiant who also performs civil ceremonies. For example, my husband and I are atheists. A good friend of ours was ordained and married us. He wrote a beautiful secular ceremony for us and it was lovely. If you do not know anyone personally, you can typically find officiants through your local county clerk office. I believe vendor sites like WeddingWire can also provide lists of vendors in your area. As far as venues are concerned, you can go pretty much anywhere. There are TONS of venue possibilities that are not churches. Just to name a few, you could get married at city hall, a ballroom, an event center, a history museum, your local botanical garden, a coffee shop, in your back yard- I could go on. There are plenty of options.

I've been to many atheist weddings. They look just the same, except the person officiating is a notary public or something, and they don't mention God. I used to work occasionally as a wedding photographer. One wedding I worked at (a girl I knew from work), there were three people standing at the altar, her, her new hubby, and her little boy from a previous marriage. Before asking her and the man if they would love, honor, cherish etc each other, the officiator asked the little boy 'Do you love this man and want him for your father?' I thought that was very cute.

As far as the Master of Ceremony, you can use a Justice of the Peace. If you don't know one (my wife's former coworker was one, made it easy!), I'm sure you can look up one in your area online or your local City Hall might have a directory. As far as location, there are plenty of VFWs that you can rent for not too much $$ (and you're helping veterans--win win!). If you're willing to spend a little more (think $$$) there are plenty of "resorts" and country clubs that have both indoor and outdoor settings. If you're LOADED , you can pretty much turn any public or private building around town into a temporary wedding venue for the right price (think $$$$$$), such as a historic library or community park. On the other hand, if you're really strapped and just want to elope, you can save yourself the time and hassle of finding a Justice of the Peace AND the time/money/hair pulling of selecting a venue (plus food, who's going, selecting wedding party, etc., etc., etc.) and have it done right at your local City Hall for next to nothing--save all that $$$$ for honeymoon, new house, future children, 60" plasma TV, etc.

You can get an atheist or agnostic friend to apply online and get a license to perform a wedding ceremony. Happens all the time. You can get married in the judges chamber at city hall. You can get married at a wedding chapel in Reno or Las Vegas. You can find a Justice of the Peace and get married by them. There never has to be a mention of God in the ceremony. You can write your own vows. You can look up pre-written vows online. You can get married at the beach, on a mountain, in the woods, in the desert or for that matter even in a church and still not mention God.

Every county clerk's office can provide you with a list of registered officiants - who are not religiously affiliated. Where I live, any elected official can officiate a wedding. We just don't get married in churches. I got married at a bed and breakfast. One friend got married in a backyard. One friend is getting married on the beach in Jamaica. You can get married literally anywhere.

atheist weddings just skip the prayers and most of the time they are officiated by a judge. however, depending on your state, you could also see if a friend would be willing to get a license (online course, cost is about $50) and officiate.

Do they not have register offices in the USA ? they do non religious ceremonies..