The costs that go into weddings has been a piece of discussion we have had as well. I do agree that weddings are overly expensive.
A legal marriage is not something he wants but we've talked about this a few times now and he can see that this is hard for me and in turn is hard for him because he ultimately does want to make me happy. So he did say that as a compromise, he is willing to have a commitment ceremony. Not a wedding and we would not be husband and wife after but a ceremony where we could recite vows, celebrate our love and share the event with some of our loved ones. The fine details of this haven't been discussed (how this would be initiated, where, how many people invited, what would go into the ceremony, etc) but I am happy that he wants to do something to kind of meet me in the middle.
I like the idea of possibly still having rings. We haven't thought of that but I will bring that up.