Getting married in court, fiance is in the army?

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Muggiex

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My fiance is stationed in Washington and we plan to get married this April. We decided to have a quick court wedding, then deal with the actual wedding later on. We just want to be together.

I'm from Michigan and hes planning to take a week of leave to fly out here so we can get married and I can go back with him.
I plan to call tomorrow and get more info, but I need some advice on how to do all this.

Do rings have to be present at the court, or can we get them after?
Is a doctor visit for us required first for the marriage license?

Any advice would be great, thank you!
Romantic, yeah it is =]. I just got home yesterday from a visit when we decided to do this. It's hard being away from him. Feels like I'm missing half of myself.
But yeah, thanks for the advice, I'm very excited!
 
I don't require rings but would expect you should get them, don't have to be expensive. As for wedding It doesn't have to be at the courthouse you could marry at home in your living room.( a little nicer than the court house and more like a wedding for you both and much more romantic) You have 30+ days to do this, there is plenty of time to plan for a nice home wedding. I planned a church wedding for 300 people in 30 days and made the dresses so I know from experience. If cash flow is an issue you really don't need much for this kind of wedding. Rings can be gotten cheaply if you use just bands. A nice dress you already have is fine, or if you can, buy a new one just not the wedding variety unless you can find an informal one off the rack. Flowers from the grocery store a couple of party trays, cake from there too. soft drinks and coffee. Set your table pretty for this with flowers and a nice cloth. Invite only your closest family by telephone. Snap shots and there is a wedding. It was done 1000"s of times during WW2. It is all about the love you have for each other not the big show. Cost maybe $200-$350 Unless you can get the flowers free like we did.
 
Hey congrats on the wedding! My fiance returned from afghanistan (army as well) on march 9th and now we are finally getting married on April 10th at the courthouse too!
I completely agree with what everyone else here has said. And I know you didn't ask for this, but it really helped me out. See I was kinda getting nervous and wondering exactly what happens in a courthouse ceremony, and figured out that if you YouTube it, lots of videos come up and you can see exactly what happens during them :)
Hope this helps slightly at least, and congrats and good luck :D
 
I don't think rings are necessary. They're just symbolic, and I don't know why you would need to go to the doctors. Of course, you would want to invite really close family, like parents and siblings, etc. Sounds romantic to me. Best wishes!
 
First off, rings are not necessary for a wedding. The ring is symbolic of your commitment to each other. As for the physical, call the town hall. Every state has there own rules. For example. Connecticut(where I got married) does not require a physical before you get the marriage license. However, years ago they did. You had to be tested for AIDS, syphillis, and other STDs.

Finally, take a deep breath and relax. My hubby is in the Navy and we are planning a big wedding while planning a move. But it will all work out. Enjoy your special day. And congrats!
 
This is what you can expect from a "Court House wedding."

First, you will have to apply for a Marriage License and then find out if there is a waiting period (1 day? 3 days? 5 days?). And you will also need to find out what the ceremony fee will be at the Court House.

You may have to make an appointment to get married or just wait in line. There may be couples waiting in front of you or after you. You may or may not be able to take photographs (you are in a government building). You probably will NOT be able to take in a cell phone, most government buildings do not permit any electronic devices to pass through the front door.

Either the Court Clerk or the person officiating your ceremony (a Judge or Justice of the Peace) will ask to see your Marriage License (to make sure it is valid). And then you will have a five minute civil (non-religious ceremony). Exchanging wedding rings is NOT a legal requirement but 99% of the Brides and Grooms do exchange wedding rings. If you do not want to exchange wedding rings then you will need to tell the officiant so that part of the ceremony is eliminated.
After the exchange of wedding vows, the officiant will declare you "Husband and Wife" and then he/she will sign your Certificate of Marriage (your legal document of marriage).

Just a few words of caution . . there are many ministers/priests/rabbis who will NOT conduct a second wedding ceremony for those couples who had "a Court House ceremony" and now wish to have a ceremony in a house of worship.

Yahoo Answers has lots of wedding regrets and most of those regrets are based on two things . .

(a) We got married too young.

(b) We got married at the Court House.

Answered by: A Certified wedding specialist / A Professional bridal consultant / A Wedding ceremony officiant
 
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