3 O’Clock Wedding

Is a California marriage license worth the paper it’s printed on? Yes, it is, if you know how to go about getting one legally. Unfortunately, because of strict immigration laws and health insurance rules, it’s getting more and more important to make sure that your marriage is done in the eyes of the law as well as in the eyes of whichever God you worship. There have been scams in the past involving false California marriage licenses but you can avoid these with common sense and by following the advice in this article.

You Don’t Have To Live In California

You don’t have to live, work or plan on moving to California in order to get married in California. You can plan your wedding as part of a vacation to California, if you so choose. However, you just can’t waltz into a County Clerk’s office and get married. You need to apply for a California marriage license up to 90 days before the actual wedding date.

There is such a thing as marriage by proxy in other parts of the world but not in California. Both parties need to show up to the ceremony in order for the marriage to be declared legal in the eyes of the law and despite California supporting a large gay community, only heterosexual marriages are allowed.

There’s An Expiration Date

You have to have a California marriage license before you can legally marry. This piece of paper is not the same thing as a marriage certificate. A California marriage license still gives you the option of cancelling the ceremony. A California marriage certificate declares that the ceremony has happened and you are legally married. You have a mere 90 days after getting a California marriage license to get married. When you reach day 91, like a warranty for a small appliance, it expires and you have to get another California marriage license. Since fees change at a California politician’s whim, it is advisable to check the website for the Department of Health Services for the state of California for fee details. Also, blood tests are no longer required in order to get a California marriage license. You have to give the marriage license to whoever is performing the official wedding ceremony so that they can fill it out and return it to the County Clerk for official recording into the county’s marriage registration book. You can’t get a copy of this unless you pay a fee.