How to get married in California?

[waitman 0]

Hey, fellow VJers!

So in the next couple of months, if that interview at the embassy goes well, we should get married. I understand that to make that happen in California, we have to apply for a marriage license at a County Clerk's office and than take that license to someone who is authorized to perform the marriage.

Could someone who got married in California list the steps they went through? Like where did you have to go and when, what paperwork did you have to deal with and how did you get the marriage certificate? How long did you have to wait for and between all the steps? Who did you have to call/contact exactly? It's the gory details that interest me.

We are looking for a non-religious, not fancy ceremony.

Thank you!

[msu17 0]

Go to your county courthouse and inquire there. They should be able to give you the exact details of what is required for marriage.

[Hannah+Vito 0]

there ares some quite informative websites that explain what you need for each state. i remember looking for the same info a while bk have you tried googling it?

http://www.wedalert.com/content/articles/married_ca.asp

http://www.sfgov.org/site/countyclerk_page.asp?id=5565

http://marriage.about.com/cs/marriagelicen.../california.htm

heres just a couple i found

Edited May 10, 2008 by Hannah+Vito

[anitacastillo 0]

We were married just 2 weeks ago in CA and I'll give you our steps.

I suggest you check out your county (or some other) website for info about whether the clerks can perform a ceremony at the courthouse. For example, Alameda County (for an extra $50) can perform a ceremony during their business hours in also any language (I wanted us to be married in Spanish since he understands that more than English). However, Santa Barbara County does not offer any ceremony services.

About a week before our marriage we went to the Alameda County courthouse. Filled out a form on the computer and waited to be called. When our number was called we reviewed our info with a woman who also compared this to our passports. (I had brought mine instead of my CDL because I had read something about some clerk wanting each part of the couple to have same type ID - probably not the rule.) I have been divorced and did need the County and date of the dissolution, although no one asked for the papers.

We also paid $84 (I think) and were handed our "preliminary license" along with some info about completing the forms. The license - once signed by an officiant and a witness - must be sent to the County within 10 days of ceremony. The license obtained in Alameda is good anywhere in CA, however must be used within 90 days, I believe. One certified copy is included with the fee. We paid $30 extra when we sent in the license to receive 2 more certified copies.

We had planned to be married at the courthouse, but my mom requested a small ceremony in Santa Barbara. So a bi-lingual friend got her "one day officiant's license" at the courthouse there and performed the ceremony in my parents' backyard. Our friend was also told about the submit license within 10 days of ceremony rule.

Hope that gives you a general idea.

Good Luck!

[Helmut & Bee 0]

Hey, fellow VJers!

So in the next couple of months, if that interview at the embassy goes well, we should get married. I understand that to make that happen in California, we have to apply for a marriage license at a County Clerk's office and than take that license to someone who is authorized to perform the marriage.

Could someone who got married in California list the steps they went through? Like where did you have to go and when, what paperwork did you have to deal with and how did you get the marriage certificate? How long did you have to wait for and between all the steps? Who did you have to call/contact exactly? It's the gory details that interest me.

We are looking for a non-religious, not fancy ceremony.

Thank you!

Look in your yellow pages under marriage. We are in Torrance, Los Angeles county. You do not have to go through the government bs to get married. There are a number of Public Notaries that are licensed to perform marriages, and confidential marriages. They can also apply for the official county certificate for you. We married that way last September. It was around $120, and took about 30 minutes. We received the county document two weeks later.

Helmut.

[msu17 0]

Hey, fellow VJers!

So in the next couple of months, if that interview at the embassy goes well, we should get married. I understand that to make that happen in California, we have to apply for a marriage license at a County Clerk's office and than take that license to someone who is authorized to perform the marriage.

Could someone who got married in California list the steps they went through? Like where did you have to go and when, what paperwork did you have to deal with and how did you get the marriage certificate? How long did you have to wait for and between all the steps? Who did you have to call/contact exactly? It's the gory details that interest me.

We are looking for a non-religious, not fancy ceremony.

Thank you!

Look in your yellow pages under marriage. We are in Torrance, Los Angeles county. You do not have to go through the government bs to get married. There are a number of Public Notaries that are licensed to perform marriages, and confidential marriages. They can also apply for the official county certificate for you. We married that way last September. It was around $120, and took about 30 minutes. We received the county document two weeks later.

Helmut.

They can apply for the marriage cert for you??? That's kinda creepy! How does the courthouse know if the people who are applying are legally able to/ the people who are actually getting married? Sorry just really curious how that works!

[sunandmoon 450]

Hey, fellow VJers!

So in the next couple of months, if that interview at the embassy goes well, we should get married. I understand that to make that happen in California, we have to apply for a marriage license at a County Clerk's office and than take that license to someone who is authorized to perform the marriage.

Could someone who got married in California list the steps they went through? Like where did you have to go and when, what paperwork did you have to deal with and how did you get the marriage certificate? How long did you have to wait for and between all the steps? Who did you have to call/contact exactly? It's the gory details that interest me.

We are looking for a non-religious, not fancy ceremony.

Thank you!

Look in your yellow pages under marriage. We are in Torrance, Los Angeles county. You do not have to go through the government bs to get married. There are a number of Public Notaries that are licensed to perform marriages, and confidential marriages. They can also apply for the official county certificate for you. We married that way last September. It was around $120, and took about 30 minutes. We received the county document two weeks later.

Helmut.

They can apply for the marriage cert for you??? That's kinda creepy! How does the courthouse know if the people who are applying are legally able to/ the people who are actually getting married? Sorry just really curious how that works!

In LA County, only certain notary publics can perform this service. the notary public would be verifying the identity of the couple. Most countys in Ca. require the couple to appear at the County Office.

[Helmut & Bee 0]

They can apply for the marriage cert for you??? That's kinda creepy! How does the courthouse know if the people who are applying are legally able to/ the people who are actually getting married? Sorry just really curious how that works!

In LA County, only certain notary publics can perform this service. the notary public would be verifying the identity of the couple. Most countys in Ca. require the couple to appear at the County Office.

Correct. Only some Notaries can perform this service. They are licensed by their respecive county to perform marriages, sort of like an agent for the county. They still require the neccessary documents, Identification, etc. that they county requires. We still have to sign the documents, etc.

We did it this way, since the notary was less than 5 minutes from our home, and there was no line. At the county courthouse they told us it would take over half a day.

[Kang Lang 7]

getting married in san francisco city hall was a breeze and where they perform the ceremonies is beautiful (a lovely marble staircase) we were able to set an appointment for both the marriage license and the ceremony online. it was about $140 or so then we picked up the marriage certificate 10 days later.

good luck