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-   -   OTish: court house wedding - what is it like? (https://britishexpats.com/forum/usa-57/otish-court-house-wedding-what-like-109298/)

swoosh Jul 12th 2002 10:26 am

OTish: court house wedding - what is it like?
 
Hello everybody,

Like many of us my fiance and I are going to have two *weddings*. We are going to get married at the court house first (which we want to keep as non-wedding like as possible) and then have a bigger celebration later with family and friends.

I guess I don't really know what a wedding at the court house is like. Are there vows or do you just sign a piece of paper as if you were buying a house or car? What about a kiss and exchange of rings, is that done as well? Are these proceedures pretty set or can one influence them at all?

Thanks all.
Jeannine

Rete Jul 12th 2002 10:36 am

Re: OTish: court house wedding - what is it like?
 
A courthouse wedding (my first one was just that) is the same as any non-religious ceremony. You recite the standard, love, cherish, to death do you part vows, exchange rings and kiss at the conclusion. Then you sign the papers and you are done. It can be more elaborate if you wish as was my second civil wedding. You have no choice though on vows. Those you must recite.

Rete

meauxna Jul 12th 2002 11:55 am

Re: OTish: court house wedding - what is it like?
 

Originally posted by swoosh
I guess I don't really know what a wedding at the court house is like. Are there vows or do you just sign a piece of paper as if you were buying a house or car? What about a kiss and exchange of rings, is that done as well? Are these proceedures pretty set or can one influence them at all?
Ours was quite hysterical and there was much laughing and fun throughout. Add in the translation (on the fly) from Greek to English of the following and you can see why:

"From this moment on, having as you did united with each other by freedom of choice and consent to the establishment of matrimonial bonds, you are mutually committed to love, faith and respect to each other for the rest of your lives. Marriage implies a convergence of fates and the will to equally deal with any issues or circumstances eventually to arise within the context of your marital life and more generally, of whatever controversy life may bring about. Moreover, you are heretofore to jointly and proportionally contribute – each one within the limits of his/her capacities – to whatever expenses and any other obligations implied by marital life, the maintenance and further promotion of the family you are about to create. Last but not least, you are jointly entitled and at the same time obligated to care for the rearing, upbringing and education of your children so that they become good and useful citizens and independent personalities�

We did exchange rings and only kissed because we wanted to and our koumbarai (best men) were yelling "kissie, kissie!"

We tried to influence things by having the ceremony outside in the yard under the big tree, but the GIANT ledger we signed was too big to carry out, so we stayed in the office.

Enjoy!

Mmwilliamson1 Jul 12th 2002 4:20 pm

Re: OTish: court house wedding - what is it like?
 
It's very quick in many cases...standard vows, exchange of rings, kiss. We only had
my children there and my oldest likened it to a drive thru wedding!

Alvena Ferreira Jul 12th 2002 11:20 pm

Re: OTish: court house wedding - what is it like?
 
swoosh wrote:
    > I guess I don't really know what a wedding at the court house is like. Are there
    > vows or do you just sign a piece of paper as if you were buying a house or car?
    > What about a kiss and exchange of rings, is that done as well? Are these
    > proceedures pretty set or can one influence them at all?
    >
We had two witnesses (friends) who met us at the court house outside of the judge's
quarters. The judge was late, seems he got busy sending criminals to jail or
something, so we take a bunch of pictures while we are waiting...

anyway, after we were a half-hour late, the judge arrives, in his robe, and we join
hands in his office with the witnesses present, recite the vows after him, do the
ring thing, and voila! We are married. then we trotted down to the marriage license
office again and requested certified copies.

Frankly, this was my 3rd marriage and Arnaldo's second, we rather thought it was
private and quiet and fulfilled our needs. This judge happened to be rather
nice, also.

alvena

Tim Jul 13th 2002 5:20 am

Re: OTish: court house wedding - what is it like?
 
If you want a visual example of a very simple courthouse wedding, go to the next
link. This was in Texas, your personal experience may vary.

http://home.swbell.net/rebl/Wedding.htm

Regards, Tim

swoosh Jul 13th 2002 6:25 pm

Re: OTish: court house wedding - what is it like?
 
Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences. I have a much better idea of what is awaiting me now =).

Thanks for sharing those pictures of your wedding with us Tim. You guys look very happy and make a cute couple =).

Thanks again!
Jeannine

ms_bhon Jul 15th 2002 1:50 pm

Re: OTish: court house wedding - what is it like?
 
In case you're interested, we have 3 pictures from our courthouse wedding on http://www.bethandpaul.com

Here in Baltimore, they actually have a very nice room specifically for weddings with a registry book to sign, a archway trellis with silk flower garland on it and about 15 chairs for guests to sit on. We had about 18 guests that witnessed ours and followed it with a nice sit down luncheon at a nice restaurant, and then a cake and champagne open house at some friends' house.

They ceremony is still meaningful and romantic, and the justice of the peace was actually a former minister and takes the whole thing very seriously, only no mention of "God" in the ceremony.

My in laws were married at the Chelsea Registry office in the UK, and I imagine their ceremony was very similar to ours.


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