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Frequently Asked Questions:
What do I need to do to get married?
1) You need a fiancé (not provided).
2) You need to fill out our marriage form.
3) Both MUST bring a valid ID.
4) Set a time and date for your wedding.
5) Pay our fee.
6) Show up for your wedding.
Do I need a marriage license?
No, we provide the licenses. Unless you need or want a public record (you will need to get
this at your local County Recorders Office).
Do I need a reservation?
No, but if you want to get married on a specific day and time, I suggest you make a
reservation ( All reservations require a $150 nonrefundable 1st payment). We do not hold days and or times without a 1st payment.
What happens if I can’t get married on the date I reserved?
If you have made a 1st payment and reserved a date and time, we will not refund you the
payment, but you can always reschedule your wedding to any available date and time within
3 months of the original marriage date.
Do I have to file the licenses with the court?
No, we will file the license for you at no extra cost.
How long does it take to get the marriage license?
It takes anywhere from 6-8 weeks. During holidays please allow 8-10 weeks.
Can I get married the same day I show up?
Yes, we get walk-ins all the time, but if there is a wedding in progress, then you will have
to wait your turn.
Do I need to bring a witness?
No, you don’t not need to bring a witness.
Can I bring my own minister?
Yes, you can bring your own minister, but no discount is afforded if you do so.
Do I need to bring rings?
It is your choice. You don’t need rings but your fiancé might think otherwise.
Do I need to bring flowers/bouquet?
Flowers or bouquets are not necessary, but do come out great in pictures. We have a professional florist that works with us and packages are very reasonably priced. You can call us for more details.
What if I already have a marriage license?
You will need to bring in your purchased license and the license fee will be waived.
What kind of ceremony is it?
We perform a non denominational ceremony, which means that no particular religion is
represented at any given time during the wedding by the civil minister.
What is the difference between confidential and public marriage licenses
Confidential-You must be living together (no proof is needed, but you will sign a sworn statement), no witnesses are required, and the marriage
record is only available to the husband and wife.
Public -You can get married anywhere in the State of California, you need at least one
witness during your ceremony, and the marriage record is made available to the public.
Do I need to bring my own photographer?
You can if you like.
Can I bring more than the number of guest allowed?
Our packages includes up to 15-25 guests, however if extra seating is needed than there will
be an additional fee.
Do I have to leave after the ceremony?
We schedule weddings a hour apart so you can have that time to celebrate and take
pictures or do as you like. You can also add more time when scheduling your wedding for
a small fee. If there are no wedding scheduled after yours, you are welcome to stay as
long as you like or until 15 minutes before the next scheduled wedding.
Can I rent the place for a reception?
Yes. The chapel is available for rent. If you are interested in renting out the chapel, please
contact us.
If I’ve been married before, do I need to bring my divorce papers?
Yes, if it is under 2 years of the divorce date. No, if has been over 2 years of the divorce
date although you will need to provide the exact date.
1) You need a fiancé (not provided).
2) You need to fill out our marriage form.
3) Both MUST bring a valid ID.
4) Set a time and date for your wedding.
5) Pay our fee.
6) Show up for your wedding.
Do I need a marriage license?
No, we provide the licenses. Unless you need or want a public record (you will need to get
this at your local County Recorders Office).
Do I need a reservation?
No, but if you want to get married on a specific day and time, I suggest you make a
reservation ( All reservations require a $150 nonrefundable 1st payment). We do not hold days and or times without a 1st payment.
What happens if I can’t get married on the date I reserved?
If you have made a 1st payment and reserved a date and time, we will not refund you the
payment, but you can always reschedule your wedding to any available date and time within
3 months of the original marriage date.
Do I have to file the licenses with the court?
No, we will file the license for you at no extra cost.
How long does it take to get the marriage license?
It takes anywhere from 6-8 weeks. During holidays please allow 8-10 weeks.
Can I get married the same day I show up?
Yes, we get walk-ins all the time, but if there is a wedding in progress, then you will have
to wait your turn.
Do I need to bring a witness?
No, you don’t not need to bring a witness.
Can I bring my own minister?
Yes, you can bring your own minister, but no discount is afforded if you do so.
Do I need to bring rings?
It is your choice. You don’t need rings but your fiancé might think otherwise.
Do I need to bring flowers/bouquet?
Flowers or bouquets are not necessary, but do come out great in pictures. We have a professional florist that works with us and packages are very reasonably priced. You can call us for more details.
What if I already have a marriage license?
You will need to bring in your purchased license and the license fee will be waived.
What kind of ceremony is it?
We perform a non denominational ceremony, which means that no particular religion is
represented at any given time during the wedding by the civil minister.
What is the difference between confidential and public marriage licenses
Confidential-You must be living together (no proof is needed, but you will sign a sworn statement), no witnesses are required, and the marriage
record is only available to the husband and wife.
Public -You can get married anywhere in the State of California, you need at least one
witness during your ceremony, and the marriage record is made available to the public.
Do I need to bring my own photographer?
You can if you like.
Can I bring more than the number of guest allowed?
Our packages includes up to 15-25 guests, however if extra seating is needed than there will
be an additional fee.
Do I have to leave after the ceremony?
We schedule weddings a hour apart so you can have that time to celebrate and take
pictures or do as you like. You can also add more time when scheduling your wedding for
a small fee. If there are no wedding scheduled after yours, you are welcome to stay as
long as you like or until 15 minutes before the next scheduled wedding.
Can I rent the place for a reception?
Yes. The chapel is available for rent. If you are interested in renting out the chapel, please
contact us.
If I’ve been married before, do I need to bring my divorce papers?
Yes, if it is under 2 years of the divorce date. No, if has been over 2 years of the divorce
date although you will need to provide the exact date.
Disclaimers:
There are two (2) types of Marriage Licenses.
Marriage License:
A marriage license is an authorization to get married. The license is valid anywhere in the State of California. Once you obtain your license you will still need to have your marriage solemnized (have a ceremony) in order to be legally married.
You must have your ceremony within 90 days from the day your marriage license has-been issued.
There's two types of Marriage Licenses: PUBLIC and CONFIDENTIAL.
To obtain a PUBLIC marriage license, both you and your spouse-to-be must appear together during business hours at the Los Angeles County Clerk's Office, wait in line, and possibly have to come back again together the next day.
A PUBLIC Marriage License is available to anyone for viewing after its recorded (its public record), and once its recorded you'll receive a lots of junk mail from solicitors trying to sell you whatever they're selling.
A CONFIDENTIAL Marriage License is not available to the public for viewing because its not public record. Except for the two of you and law enforcement, a court order is needed by anyone else in order to obtain/view a copy of the marriage license. Many couples (including high-profile couples) opt for the security and piece of mind of a confidential marriage license.
Notary Publics who are authorized by the Los Angeles County Clerk to issue Marriage Licenses can only issue CONFIDENTIAL marriage licenses.
Here's What You'll Need:
There's certain requirements you must meet in order to obtain a Marriage License. You should know that you do not need to be a resident of Los Angeles county, nor do you even have to reside in California or even the United States. The marriage license merely gives you license to have your marriage ceremony performed in and recorded in the county where the license was purchased. After the ceremony, the license is returned to the corresponding County Recorder's office for recording.
These Confidential marriage licenses can be issued instantly at any location within the State of California, by
a specially authorized Notary. The couple must meet the guidelines below to qualify.
1. The couple must be living together.
2. The couple must be 18 years of age or older. Any persons under the age of 18 may not apply for Confidential Marriage License.
3. If either party has been previously married in the last two years, he or she must bring with him/herself the divorce decree or death certificate. If over two years, we will need the specific divorce/death date.
4.You each must bring a valid I.D. The following forms of ID are the only ones that can be accepted:
◦ Driver’s License
◦ State Identification Card
◦ Military service or Military Dependent Identification Card
◦ Passport Two Creditable Witnesses Required For State.)
◦ Alien Registration Card (A.K.A. Green Card)
◦ Identification Card issued by the US Government or Identification Card issued by another country.
◦ All Matricula Consular Status will be acceptable only if all of required information is on card, such as date of birth and picture and not expired. In addition a birth certificate is required with every Matricula Card accepted and all birth certificates must be translated into English, no exceptions. (You Must Also Provide Two Creditable Witnesses with an Acceptable Form of I.D. No Parents.)
Any of the above I.D.’s MUST have your picture, must have your signature on it, and can NOT be expired! We can NOT accept paper or temporary I.D’s. We cannot accept I.D’s with a hole punched in it ( DMV does this to your old license/I.D. when you move from one state to another).
NO EXCEPTIONS TO THESE RULES
PLEASE READ BELOW VERY IMPORTANT!!!
The Name Equality Act (effective January 1, 2009)
The Name Equality Act of 2007 (AB 102, Chapter 567, Statutes of 2007) gives specific rights to parties at the time they are applying for a California
marriage license to choose and list on the marriage license the name that each party will go by after marriage.
Parties are not required to have the same name, nor are they required to change their name.
If one or both of the parties want to have their new name(s) shown on the marriage license, the new name must be entered on the marriage license
application at the time they are applying for the marriage license. The parties may choose any of the following middle or last names as the name they
wish to be known as after marriage [FC §306.5(b)(2)]:
* Current last name of the other spouse
* Last name of either spouse given at birth
* A name combining into a single last name all or a segment of the current last name or last name of either spouse given at birth
* A hyphenated combination of last names
NOTE: You may not change you first name using this process. IMPORTANT: You may not amend the marriage license after it has been issued to add or
change the name you wish to be known as after you are married. The name you indicate on the marriage license application will be your name on the
marriage license/certificate and cannot be changed by the County Clerk .
A certified copy of the marriage certificate containing the new name, or retaining the former name, shall constitute proof that the use of the new name
or retention of the former name is lawful [FC § 306.5(b)(3)(a)].
The marriage certificate is used by multiple local, state, federal and private agencies, each of which have different rules and/or regulations regarding what documents are acceptable to change your name on their records following marriage. It is recommended that you contact these agencies to verify
their requirements prior to applying for your marriage license.
WE ARE NOT ATTORNEYS:
We are not attorneys. We Do Not Offer Legal Advice.
It is unlawful for us to answer questions of a legal nature. We cannot advise you how to complete the marriage license application as it relates to your entry of a new name or retention of your former name on the marriage license application. For your protection, if you have any questions regarding whether you should or should not list your new name on the marriage license application, and/or how the Name Equality Act of 2007 may affect you, please consult an attorney prior to applying for your marriage license.