PLANNING YOUR WEDDING DAY
If you choose to book me for your wedding, I will write your ceremony based on the choices you made at our first meeting, and will submit it to you for approval. I will do unlimited rewrites until the wording is exactly the way you want it.
Up to 90 days for the wedding day, you will both need to pick up a marriage license together from the County Clerk's office. Please bring the license on your wedding day, as state law requires that you hand the marriage license to me before the wedding ceremony begins. Each county has one office. In and around the Bay Area, you will find a county clerk office in San Francisco, Oakland, Redwood City, San Rafael, Martinez, Salinas, Napa, Hollister, Stockton, Santa Cruz, Fairfield, Santa Rosa, Modesto, and San Jose CA. Please click here for more information about the marriage license and to find the addresses for all the county clerks in the state of California.
| REHEARSAL DAY: Most couples like to meet once before the wedding day to rehearse the ceremony with the attendants and everyone who will participate in the ceremony. A rehearsal is not required, especially if you will not have any attendants. However, the more people that participate in the ceremony, the more likely it is that a rehearsal will be needed. Most couples usually provide dinner for their attendants and close family members immediately after the rehearsal. There is no need to invite me to the rehearsal dinner, as I believe that this is a time for the two families to bond and get to know each other better. |  Photo courtesy of Amy Frugoli, Twitterpated Weddings |
 Photo courtesy of Wardell Photography | YOUR WEDDING DAY I will arrive at least a half hour before the ceremony, and will be available for any last-minute questions. Please remember to bring your marriage license. I will review it, gather signatures from you and the witnesses, and will submit it to the county after the ceremony. Once you are married, I will usually stay for a little bit in case you wish to have me pose for pictures. As with the rehearsal dinner, there is no need to invite me the reception. The reception is meant to be a celebration with your closest friends and families and you will have meet me only once or twice before the wedding. |
I will submit your marriage license to the County Clerk-Recorder after the wedding. Your certified marriage certificate will not be sent to you automatically. Unless you request it from the County Recorder, it will not be sent to you. It typically takes about two weeks after the wedding day before marriage certificates are available. You may request them in person, by mail, or online. When you give me your marriage license on your wedding day, you may give me the completed application form with a self addressed stamped envelope and a check made payable to the county recorder as instructed on the application form. If so, I will submit the application form with your license so that the county recorder will mail the marriage certificate from you. Otherwise, you may mail the form yourselves, or request it in person or online two weeks after the wedding day.
Bilingual: English and Spanish FEES BEFORE THE CEREMONY |  |