Marriage can be very different things to different people. Once I was talking to a group of fellow students, and I mentioned how I knew my marriage was a good one because after we were married, it was as if nothing had changed between me and my wife (we had been living together previously).

A girl who was about to get married - and who was very much in love with her fiance - told me that to her marriage was in fact going to change everything in their lives. The reason was that they were both strict Catholics, so that marriage was an important ritual that defined what went on both before and after the big day.

By the way, my wife and I eloped. Cost us a few hundred bucks to get a justice of the peace and rent out witnesses...if you live in the States, I think you can probably so do for even cheaper.

The only thing I'd be worried about is your bf's remark that he does not want to be "that committed" to you. It could be an innocent enough remark, as he may have some built-up apprehensions as to the idea of marriage - the "old ball and chain" mentality. Or maybe he's worried you'll turn into a raving bride-to-be once the wedding planning starts. Yes, we guys get stupid ideas sometimes. But at some point, if you feel comfortable, you might want to have a discussion about the future with him, just to make sure you both have it in your minds to stay together, whether or not you get married.

As others have stated, I do enjoy the legal aspect of being married - being tied to another person under the law. It makes me feel connected to all those billions of anonymous folks throughout history who made similar commitments to one another.