Wedding Ceremony

Everyone of legal age who is of sound body and mind has the right to get married in the United States, which includes Oklahoma. Inmates incarcerated in prisons throughout the State of Oklahoma likewise deserve to get married just as much as non-incarcerated individuals. Unfortunately, the State of Oklahoma has not permitted its prison chaplains to officiate wedding ceremonies for anyone in many years. Indeed, even most judges at courthouses in Oklahoma have not been able to officiate wedding ceremonies for anyone since about 2007. Fortunately, there are other options available for those seeking to tie the knot and get married at a prison.

Each prison wedding minister at Lifelong Wedding Ceremonies has been officiating inmate wedding ceremonies at prisons throughout Oklahoma for many years. These marriage ceremonies only occur twice a year, if even that. Indeed, riots, diseases, and other disruptions to the Oklahoma Department of Corrections’ prisons can cause further delays for those seeking to get married in one of Oklahoma’s many prisons by a prison wedding pastor for incarcerated inmates in Oklahoma.

Of course, having a marriage ceremony in one of Oklahoma’s many atrocious, understaffed, resource-lacking, dilapidated, rehabilitation-lacking, privately-run, for-profit prisons is not an ideal situation for anyone. But with the right help, our ordained ministers and wedding chaplains at Lifelong Wedding Ceremonies can help make your wedding ceremony in Oklahoma a bit more pleasant. Both sympathetic and empathetic, we bring our experience and training together for inmates and their future spouses to celebrate their nuptials and become newlyweds. 😊

Because most people have never had the experience of getting married in a prison facility, most future brides, grooms, and other would-be spouses need a lot of help knowing what to do. This is why the inmate wedding ministers and ordained prison pastors at Lifelong Wedding Ceremonies have put together this special page for those seeking to tie the knot in a jail or prison facility. Hopefully, everyone will find the information below helpful, but if you still have questions, you may always contact Lifelong Wedding Ceremonies directly at (405) 696-6450 or may call or text us on our cell number at (405) 593-3515:

Procedure to Have a Prison Wedding Ceremony in Oklahoma:

To have a wedding ceremony at a prison facility in Oklahoma for an inmate and her/his/their future spouse, you will need to follow the steps below:

1. You need to hire a prison wedding officiant from Lifelong Wedding Ceremonies and pay the associated fee. The fees and costs will vary depending on the location, travel time, etc. Note that prison chaplains only allow a marriage ceremony to take place about twice a year, once in the spring and again in autumn. Once you have paid the fee, Lifelong Wedding Ceremonies will reserve a general date and time for you for your inmate marriage ceremony at a jail or prison facility, because the chaplain will not provide you with an exact date and time until later.

You will need to hire a prison wedding officiant early on to conduct an inmate wedding ceremony, because securing formal approval from a DOC prison chaplain to permit your wedding ceremony in one of Oklahoma’s notorious prisons can take time. If you delay, you may miss your opportunity and may have to wait an additional six months or so. Please trust what your ordained wedding officiant or event planner from Lifelong Wedding Ceremonies tells you and do exactly as she/he/they say(s).

2. The prison chaplain will then give you a form to fill out and return to her/him/them. You will need to complete this form, which will also require that you provide certain information about your intended marriage officiant for your jail wedding ceremony or your inmate marriage ceremony. Once you have made the payment per step 1 above, your prison wedding pastor will provide you with the needed information for you to complete your form for the prison chaplain. The prison chaplain will then run a background check on the minister and will help verify her/his/their credentials prior to allowing her/him/them into the prison grounds and approving your marriage ceremony.

3. Your ordained pastor from Lifelong Wedding Ceremonies will ask you for certain information about your upcoming nuptials, which may include but is not limited to, the following:

• Names of Both Future Spouses
• Location of the Ceremony/Prison Name
• Name & Phone Number of the Prison Chaplain
• Whether You Want a Religious or Non-Religious Wedding Ceremony
• Whether Any Ring Exchange Will Be Involved, Noting That the Department of Corrections May Limit or Prohibit Rings
• Whether You Want Traditional Vows or Wish to Write Your Own
• Whether Any Special Considerations Are Needed, Such as if One or Both Future Spouses is LGBTQIA+.

By providing this information to the person marrying you, it will help the wedding ceremony go smoothly. 😊

4. Once you know the date and time of your marriage ceremony at the prison or jail, you will need to inform your prison marriage pastor so that she/he/they can plan accordingly.
5. Your prison chaplain will inform you as to the procedure for obtaining your marriage license for your inmate wedding in Oklahoma. Many court clerks will require both you and your future spouse to go to the court clerk and get the license, though if so, a correctional officer will accompany the individual who is currently incarcerated at her/his/their correctional facility. Other prisons and their correctional facilities’ chaplains may have different procedures, so it is important to inquire and to ascertain this essential information directly from the prison chaplain.
6. On the date of your marriage ceremony in Oklahoma, your licensed minister will meet you at the jail or prison facility at the appointed date and time. Both your wedding officiant and the non-incarcerated future spouse must go through security prior to entering, just as all visitors do. This procedure helps keep everyone at the jail or prison safer.
7. Your prison chaplain can answer questions you may have about having witnesses at the marriage ceremony and their procedures for it. The prison’s policies may require that you provide the witnesses or may provide them for you.
8. After the marriage ceremony, both spouses, the two witnesses, and your prison minister will all sign off on the marriage license to make it official. The prison staff will then instruct the newlyweds on their procedures for returning their marriage license to the court clerk for filing of their wedding license.

Make sure you get certified copies of your marriage license for legal purposes, such as insurance, changes to your driver’s license/passport/bank cards, etc. You will also want to tell your car insurance company you got married, because many vehicle insurance companies offer a “married” discount, as well as “home and auto” discounts and “multi vehicle” discounts. Tax time can also be less stressful as well, because the IRS offers tax benefits to married couples and for those with children.

9. Please remember to always be kind and loving to one another as spouse and spouse. Life will be over for all of us before we know it, and you do not want to waste a minute of it. Materialistic things like jobs, vehicles, our looks/beauty/fashion, houses, money, etc., are all just tools to help you enjoy excellent health, your family, your friends, and the opportunity to help others less fortunate than you. Nothing else really matters in life.

To know what prisons you can find a prison wedding officiant to officiate an inmate wedding ceremony for you at, Lifelong Wedding Ceremonies has put together a list of prisons each ordained minister at LLWC will officiate wedding ceremonies at for prison inmates. This list of correctional facilities is listed as follows, but if you do not see the correctional facility or private prison you want below then please just call Lifelong Wedding Ceremonies (405) 696-6450 or text or call us on our cell phone at (405) 593-3515:

Complete List of Prisons Our Wedding Ministers Officiate Prison Marriage Ceremonies at:

Our ordained prison ministers and prison chaplains at Lifelong Wedding Ceremonies will happily perform wedding ceremonies at all the correctional facilities below:

1. Charles E. Johnson Correctional Center
2. Dick Conner Correctional Center
3. Eddie Warrior Correctional Center
4. Howard McLeod Correctional Center
5. Jackie Brannon Correctional Center
6. James Crabtree Correctional Center
7. Jess Dunn Correctional Center
8. Jim E. Hamilton Correctional Center
9. John Lilley Correctional Center
10. Joseph Harp Correctional Center
11. Lexington Assessment and Reception Center
12. Mabel Bassett Correctional Center
13. Mack Alford Correctional Center
14. North Fork Correctional Facility
15. Northeast Oklahoma Correctional Center
16. North Fork Correctional Center
17. Oklahoma State Penitentiary
18. William S. Key Correctional Center
19. Clara Waters Community Corrections Center
20. Enid Community Corrections Center
21. Lawton Community Corrections Center
22. Oklahoma City Community Corrections Center
23. Union City Community Corrections Center
24. Cimarron Correctional Facility
25. Davis Correctional Facility
26. Lawton Correctional Facility
27. Diamondback Correctional Facility
28. Great Plains Correctional Facility

Jails and other lower security work facilities do not usually permit marriage ceremonies for inmates to occur. So, we did not list them in our comprehensive list of prisons above. However, if your loved one is incarcerated in a correctional facility that we did not list above and they do allow ordained marriage ministers and outside chaplains to officiate inmate marriage ceremonies, then please contact Lifelong Wedding Ceremonies and we will do our very best to accommodate your needs. 😊