Yup we got married at the registry building in Melbourne. We're not religious and just wanted a really low key ceremony but still memorable (we had a ****tail party of the reception so most of the money we saved went into that instead). The registry in Melbourne is the old treasury building so it's actually a really nice place to get married, lots of dark wood and leather. We had 55 guests (they have a choice of a large room or a small which only holds 8). What I liked about a registry wedding was that we were pretty much given free reign to do what we liked. I think most who choose a registry wedding keep it pretty low key but you do have the option of wearing a big white dress and hiring a string quartet if that's what you want. We paid $280 which covered the room and the celebrant then the rest was up to us.

We were given a choice of a long or short ceremony (if I remember correctly the long is about 15-20mins and short around 5mins). They give you a basic outline and you can either use that or do your own (as long as all the right civil mumbo jumbo is included so it's legal). We made us our own and you send it off for a celebrant to approve a few weeks before the big day. We kept it pretty traditional just without the religious connotations, we said vows, dad walked me down the aisle etc.