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Some wedding couples suddenly decide they want a same day marriage ceremony. They get excited, act spontaneously, and are ready to tie the knot and get married together as husband and wife, wife and wife, husband and husband, or partner and partner. But how do they go about it? What can they do to make it happen? Do the courthouses even offer same day wedding ceremonies? Sadly, most couples seeking to get married quickly do not know the answers to any of these questions and can benefit from finding the best wedding officiant to help guide them through the process.
Same day weddings can be especially stressful, if you are on a short timeframe because of an illness, military service, or because one or both future spouses are going out of town, the state, or even the country. It is especially difficult to get married the same day, because most courthouses no longer have judges or magistrates there who can help – especially on the same day! So, what is a couple seeking to get married supposed to do?
Same day weddings are also ideal for those who had planned to have an officiant marry them, but then their officiant cancelled due to an accident, illness, or death in the family, or some other non-discriminatory issue arose, and they need to find a new one on short notice. When urgent tragedies strike that threaten to derail marriage ceremonies, our same day marriage pastors stand ready and willing to help.
There are several steps to follow properly, to ensure your same day elopement wedding ceremony runs smoothly. But do not worry, because our wedding officiants in Oklahoma City will help guide you right through them with expert precision. These important steps you must follow are listed below:
Before you can secure your marriage license from the Passport & Marriage License Office at your local courthouse, they will first require that you have located a same day wedding minister in Oklahoma to help officiate your wedding ceremony. If you have already hired one of our ordained ministers from Lifelong Wedding Ceremonies, then you will not need to worry about this anymore because you will have already hired the best ordained marriage minister to help officiate your marriage ceremony.
Before we can book in your date and time, you must first pay the fee and provide the needed information that we request. Once you do both things, we will formally book you in and no one else will be able to take your date and time. Your payment is also nonrefundable for this very reason, because we turn down other weddings and other clients to help you.
Most courthouses will not grant you a marriage license until you have first chosen your ordained officiant to help officiant your wedding ceremony. This is because Oklahoma marriage license is only valid for thirty days, after which you must obtain a new one. Thus, court clerks will not want to issue a wedding license until they feel confident you have been able to find a wedding pastor to sign off on it with in the thirty-day timeframe.
To obtain a marriage license, both people must go to the courthouse at the same time and bring their state or federal photo IDs. Call the courthouse in the state you are getting it from in advance, if you are recently divorced or if you are not a citizen of the United States. They may have specific requirements and processes for you to follow, such as waiting periods, the presentation of translated birth certificates, etc.
You will also need to decide upon the location for your marriage ceremony. It will be important for you to first discuss location possibilities with your future spouse, your witnesses, and other guests, and of course your justice of the peace. Once you can all agree upon a mutually satisfactory location to get married.
Some wedding venues are free of charge and are open to the public during normal business hours, while others charge a fee. Places like the Lake Hefner Lighthouse and Will Rogers Gardens offer cost-free locations in naturally gorgeous locations. For smaller elopement wedding ceremonies within Oklahoma City, you may also use our office at no extra cost other than the standard elopement ceremony fee.
Other locations offer inside venues or other outside locations for a fee, and for those who plan, they can offer scenic views and other locational benefits for those with larger budgets. While typically unavailable for same day marriage ceremonies, places like the Myriad Botanical Gardens, the Clauren Ridge Vineyard & Winery, and Castle Falls Wedding Venue are some of many excellent choices.
You will need to bring at least two adult witnesses with you to your marriage ceremony. This is the minimum requirement that the State of Oklahoma mandates, and they must both sign the marriage license after they witness both spouses do so.
Some people will want to bring professionals along who can help with wedding videography and/or wedding photography. Our organization does have these professionals available for hire, or you are free to bring your own. You may also ask your wedding guests to help you take photos and videos, if desired.
Also, some of our packages come with free help from the ordained minister who will help take a marriage video and some photos for you, but please keep in mind that our marriage pastors are not trained photographers/videographers and that the video/photos will come from their cell phones and not big, expensive, precise cameras unless you hire a separate photographer/videographer.
We at Lifelong Wedding Ceremonies do not issue marriage licenses. Despite saying this, we continue to get some clients who seem to think we do. Only court clerks can issue your marriage license for you. Please bring your marriage license with you to your wedding ceremony at the previously agreed upon date and time. Both spouses, the two witnesses, and your justice of the peace will need to sign off on it after the completion of the wedding ceremony itself.
Please note that the court clerk will finish filling out the very bottom of the marriage license. That just records the date and time you brought it back. Your wedding officiant does not fill out this portion of your wedding license in Oklahoma.
Following the completion of the wedding ceremony and the signing of the license, you will need to return the Oklahoma marriage license back to the courthouse you got it from. You may get certified copies for about two dollars each, and if you are changing your name, you will need one certified copy for your passport, driver’s license, Social Security Card, bank cards, etc. Thus, we usually recommend getting at least five or ten certified copies in this case to help you.
You will also want to call your car insurance company. Many of them offer exclusive discounts for people who are married, because empirical evidence shows that married couples statistically tend to have fewer vehicle accidents. Be sure to demand that extra discount and use the money for your special, weekly date nights with your newlywed bride, groom, or other married partner.
You can often get your marriage license in other states, such as Kansas, Arkansas, Texas, etc., if desired. Be sure to check with both the court clerk there and at one in Oklahoma if you plan to get married in this state with an out-of-state marriage license. Our ordained ministers have filled these out before on numerous occasions.
One last thing to remember when planning any wedding ceremony, especially same day weddings, is to show up on time. Please finish all your makeup and have your witnesses and other guests there. It is important for you to be respectful of your officiant’s time.
Many people sadly forget to tip their ordained minister in Edmond, OK. Some couples unfortunately do not feel it is important to show gratitude to the trained professional who has just helped them celebrate one of the biggest, most important moments of their lives. This is not only rude, but it is disrespectful and shows poor emotional intelligence and empathy. Please do not spend ten thousand dollars on a wedding venue and then show your wedding minister that you do not care enough about her/his/their wellbeing to tip. That is a terrible way to start a marriage.
When you pay the fee for your same day courthouse wedding ceremony, there will be some information you will need to provide to Lifelong Wedding Ceremonies so we can finish formally booking in your date and time. This information that we need will help ensure your Oklahoma marriage pastor performs your ceremony just as you like it. Thus, the information we will need is included in the following items:
Some wedding clients have preferred nicknames, middle names, or other names they wish to go by that may differ from their legal names. This is especially true with wedding couples where one or both people is transgender, nonbinary, or another variety of the gender nonconforming spectrum.
We are a 2SLGBTQIA+ owned and operated organization, and as such respect all sexualities, genders, and name preferences. So, please just advise us in advance as to what name you wish us to call you and your corresponding gender designations. Our wedding pastors in Oklahoma City will do their utmost best to fully accommodate you.
As with your preferred names, you may also tell us what pronouns you wish us to use for each future spouse during their marriage ceremony. This is especially important if one or both people who are tying the knot is nonbinary, transgender, or androgenous where our wedding ministers may have a more challenging time discerning which gender the person is.
Our ordained officiants can say a religious or nonreligious ceremony for the couple. We recognize that we have clients from diverse backgrounds, and as such our organization remains respectful and mindful of the individualized needs of each wedding couple.
Ring exchanges are not a requirement to get married in Oklahoma, but most couples prefer to exchange rings when they make their vows to one another. Our wedding ministers do not have any requirements for specific rings for the ceremony.
There are two sets of vows during the wedding ceremony. The first set of vows only asks only for an, “I do” as a response. If desired, the couple may choose their own special, personalized vows, which they may write and read to one another. There is no requirement for the couple to select the personalized vows option, if they wish for the traditional vows instead.
Thereafter, the second set of vows comes with ring exchange, if the couple has rings they wish to give to one another. These vows are like those you may have seen at other weddings or in movies, though our marriage officiants in Yukon, Oklahoma prefer not disclosing them beforehand because it tends to make the ceremony livelier and more entertaining if they do.
Some brides prefer to have their dads, both parents, uncles, or even kids “give them away” to their future spouse, while others do not. Some grooms also want someone to give them away as well, while many do not. Nonbinary partners also occasionally opt for this choice, and some prefer not to have anyone give them away. We are perfectly fine with whatever the couple wants.
For wedding ceremony packages that cost more and which our organization intends for larger, more complex marriages, we offer a wedding ceremony package and wedding ceremony plus rehearsal options, we will also need to know the following additional information:
If you choose a wedding package with a rehearsal option, then we will need to know what date, time, and location you want it. Same day weddings can potentially have rehearsals performed the same day as well, if we have officiants available for them on such short notice.
We do offer extra wedding ceremony enhancements for couples wanting upgrades to their packages. These are even available for same day marriages in OKC, and they can include things like a handfasting, unity wine ceremonies, unity candle ceremonies, unity sand ceremonies, jumping the broom ceremonies, and more.
As mentioned earlier, each gets one such ceremony for free with more advanced wedding packages, and they may purchase additional ceremony add-ons, if desired. These marriage ceremony enhancements are a wonderful way to add an extra special touch to your wedding nuptials.
Our more expensive wedding ceremony packages usually reserved for larger wedding ceremonies typically come with premarital counseling. This is not only an excellent option for all couples to go through before tying the knot together as spouse and spouse, but it will also lower the cost of your wedding license from fifty dollars down to only five dollars.
Our premarital counselors have special forms they can fill out that couples may turn into the court clerk when they apply for their marriage license.
There are also options to have a wedding officiant do a same day simple signing for you. With this option, there are no real vows or ring exchange, but both future spouses and their two adult witnesses will sign the license. They will then take it back to the courthouse or may mail it in for filing. This is the cheapest, quickest option we have for those who are on a budget and/or who want the simplest marriage possible. Some older couples, those who have already been together for extended periods of time, and those seeking to elope usually choose this option for a same day marriage.
Costs for a same day marriage ceremony vary, based upon which package you choose. Our simple signing option is the cheapest, but it comes with no ceremony and is just signing the marriage license. Elopement packages and our wedding ceremony packages come with additional costs, but they offer additional benefits as we have described on their respective pages.
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