Cost Of A Marriage License
The marriage license fee is $40.00, which includes the issuance of a Certificate of Marriage Registration. This certificate is automatically sent to the applicants within 15 days after the completed license is returned by the officiant . It serves as notice that a record of the marriage is on file.
Payment may be made in cash or by local check or money order made payable to Kate Murray, Town Clerk.
If you wish to pay the marriage license fee using a credit card, a $1.50 credit card processing fee is charged for a total of $41.50.
Does A Wedding Officiant Need To Enter My Home
This depends on the location of your wedding. Unless the ceremony is being held in your home, a wedding officiant will not need to enter your home before the ceremony. Some couples are choosing to stand outside or go to a vacant public place, so the officiant can conduct the ceremony while maintaining 6 feet of distance. Ask your wedding officiant what kinds of arrangements they offer, including virtual or remote services.
Obtaining Your Printed Marriage Certificate
If scheduling allows, the Couple may return together to the Marriage License Bureau, after the Wedding, with their completed License in hand, to ask for their Marriage Certificate on-the-spot. A charge of $15.00 is well worth this convenience. This also prevents mishaps, such as the mysterious “Lost in the Mail,” pronouncement that generates much grief.
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Can My Friend Or Relative Get Ordained To Perform A Ceremony Of Any Religion
Though some online organizations are for specific religions, many are either nondenominational or interfaith. The American Fellowship Church, which has been ordaining people since 1975, ordains people of any religion, and those who go through the process are also able to perform nondenominational services.
Getting Ordained In New York
Regardless of where in the state you are officiating the ceremony, the first step is to become a marriage officiant with the Universal Life Church. Just complete the free online ordination application found here on our website the entire process takes only a few minutes. Legally licensed ministers of the ULC perform marriages all across the state of New York on a regular basis. Soon you will be officiating a wedding too click the button below to get started.
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Who Can Officiate Weddings In New York
“1. A clergyman or minister of any religion, or by the senior leader, or any of the other leaders, of The Society for Ethical Culture in the city of New York, having its principal office in the borough of Manhattan, or by the leader of The Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture, having its principal office in the borough of Brooklyn of the city of New York, or of the Westchester Ethical Society, having its principal office in Westchester county, or of the Ethical Culture Society of Long Island, having its principal office in Nassau county, or of the Riverdale-Yonkers Ethical Society having its principal office in Bronx county, or by the leader of any other Ethical Culture Society affiliated with the American Ethical Union.”
Step 2start The Online Nyc Officiant Application Process
While you wait for your package to arrive, you can begin your registration process with the NYC Clerk’s office with their Online Marriage Officiant Registration Application.It should take you no more than 15 minutes to complete this application.Do not complete this online application more than 21 days before you finish your registration in person. The application expires after 21 days, at which point you will have to re-submit the online application.
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Fill Out An Application
Once you’ve collected the documents that prove you’re of legal marrying age, a U.S. resident, and more, you’re ready to officially apply for a license. You can fill out your application online and present it at the Office of the City Clerk, or fill it out in-person at the office at your appointment. Either way, you and your fiancé must both be present when you turn in your paperwork, according to the office. See a list of office locations, by borough, here.
If you choose to fill it out online, just know that it expires within 21 days so make sure to get to the city clerk’s office before then. If not, you’ll need to resubmit it.
Prepare The Right Paperwork
Before you get a marriage license in the city, you must first gather the following paperwork, according to New York City’s Office of the City Clerk: Proper identificationa driver’s license, passport, military ID, or U.S. resident’s card are all acceptable forms of identificationand, if you were previously married, proof that your divorce is final or your spouse passed away. You’ll be asked to list all previous marriagesand the dates they were dissolvedon your marriage license application.
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How To Become A Wedding Officiant In Nyc
First things first, in order to be eligible to perform a marriage ceremony in Gotham you have to qualify as one of the following:
- Clergy members or ministers of any religion
- Leaders of the Society of Ethical Culture
- The Mayor or any former Mayor of the City of New York
- Federal, state, or local judges or justices, elected or appointed in the State of New York, who are currently serving or retired
- The Clerk of the Appellate Division of the First or Second Department and
- The County Clerk of any of the five counties in the City of New York
So unless your name is Bill de Blasio or you are a judge, you probably will need to qualify under the first option, and become a minister. Never been a very religious person? Perhaps you skipped out on Sunday school as a kid? No matter. You can say your prayers at the church of the internet.
Whats The Best Way To Set Up A Consultation Or An Appointment With A Wedding Officiant During The Covid
The safest way to conduct a consultation during COVID-19 is virtually. Ask wedding officiants near you if they can have a phone call or a virtual appointment over video chat. If they can, make sure to ask them any questions you have about upcoming work. Discuss what precautions, if any, they have in place to ensure safety. You might consider asking if they accept digital payments or if they can complete the work remotely, without any in-person contact.
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Can I Use Digital Payments To Pay For A Wedding Officiant
Ask your wedding officiant if they accept digital payments. Many professionals are accept payment via Venmo, PayPal, Square Cash, Apple Pay, Zelle and other online platforms. Professionals may be more willing to switch to digital payments during the COVID-19 pandemic, as this is typically considered safer than using cash or credit cards. You can see which digital payment options officiants accept by reviewing their online profiles.
Officiant Registration Outside New York City
If you plan on performing a marriage in New York State but outside of New York City, then you need to contact the office responsible for issuing the marriage license to the couple.That office will be able to inform you if they require ministers to register with their office before performing marriage. That being said, most jurisdictions outside NYC do not have registration requirements for ministers.
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How To Get Ordained In New York To Officiate
New York is a state unlike any other, not just generally speaking, but specifically as it pertains to performing a wedding. Even if you know how to marry someone in other states, you should read this guide if you are asked to officiate a ceremony in New York. It will explain how to become a wedding minister, how New York differs with its process, and how to ensure the ceremony is legally binding.
Here are the basic steps for officiating a wedding:
Years Ordaining And Counting
American Marriage Ministries has been ordaining people just like you for over a decade. Our officiant training resources are the best, both and in . We make ordination easy so that you can focus on conducting an awesome wedding ceremony. And that’s not just us saying it.
AMM is an inclusive institution. We welcome people of all backgrounds. It is not important to us if you are black or white, religious or non-religious, rich or poor, gay or straight.What is important is that you have a sincere desire to officiate weddings for people you care about. We support your right to officiate weddings that reflect your values, the couple’s, and your community’s.
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Officiant Registration Outside Nyc
To the best of our knowledge, the only locations outside New York City that requires wedding officiant are certain towns on Long Island.
Our advice is to call the city or town clerks office where the couple intends to get married. That office will inform you as to whether you need to complete an application or submit your ministry credentials.
To simplify this process we recommend that you order your ministry credentials from your ordaining church just in case. Even if officiant registration is not required, it doesnt hurt to have your official ministry credentials for your own records.
The information provided here was mainly sourced from this page.
The Foundry Wedding Photos
The photos accompanying this article are of Barbara and Greg, whose wedding at the Foundry was officiated by a friend of theirs. Their beautiful ceremony took full advantage of this gorgeous venue, which looks just as good at night as it does during the day. Enjoy the photos!
Ceremony and reception venue: The Foundry, Long Island City, Queens
Hair & makeup: Betty Salinas
Grooms suit maker: MySuit
Bride and grooms jewelry: Joseph Calderone, Downing Diamonds
Band: Silver Arrow Band
Want to see where it all began? Check out photos from Barbara and Gregs Brooklyn Bridge Park engagement shoot here.
Are you planning on having your wedding at The Foundry? Drop me a line and lets talk about scheduling.
If you would like to see more images from my wedding photojournalism portfolio, then please visit my website KellyWilliamsPhotographer.com.
Kelly Williams, Photographer
Hi! My name is Kelly Williams, and I am a wedding photojournalist and family portrait photographer based in New York City. I love telling the story of someones love, life, and happiness in one frame.
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Who Performs A Wedding Ceremony
Anyone who is authorized by the court or a credible online source has the power to perform a wedding ceremony. Traditionally, wedding officiants were ordained members of a religious organization or civil officiants authorized by the court to legally marry two people. With the increasing customization and personalization of weddings, many couples are asking a friend or family member to become ordained and act as their wedding officiant. Wedding officiants can represent a wide range of backgrounds including Christian, Catholic, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, nondenominational, interfaith or nonreligious. There is no legally required structure for a wedding ceremony, so couples can customize the language of the ceremony and their vows in any way they desire . To legally validate the marriage, the couple and the wedding officiant must sign a marriage certificate after the ceremony verifying the date and names of those involved. The wedding officiant should then submit the certificate to the court, which will in turn mail an official marriage certificate to the newly married couple.
What About The Ceremony
In-person wedding ceremonies are available at Hempstead Town Hall outside on the patio, where social distancing and other safety protocols are in place. Please call to book your wedding ceremony.
There is no particular form or ceremony required except that the parties must state in the presence of an authorized member of the clergy or public official and at least one other witness that they take one another as a married couple. There is a minimum age of 18 to be a witness.
The Town Clerk’s Office has a chapel available for small wedding ceremonies. Marriage ceremonies will be officiated by a Hempstead Town Marriage Officer by appointment only on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, from 10 AM to 3 PM, and on Thursday, from 10 AM to 5:00 PM. The fee the use of the chapel is $65. The chapel can only be booked after obtaining a New York State Marriage license. If the license was not issued by the Town of Hempstead marriage department, please come into our office with the original marriage license and valid I.D. to schedule a ceremony.
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How To Register As A Wedding Officiant With The Nyc Marriage Bureau
The instructions provided below assume that you were ordained with American Marriage Ministries. If you sought ordination with a different church, you should still be able to complete registration so long as they can provide you with the required documents, and by substituting American Marriage Ministries with the name of that church.
Step 1 Get Your Paperwork for the NYC Clerk
The NYC Clerks Marriage Bureau requires the following documents when applying as a wedding officiant in New York City.
- Your Official Ordination Certificate
- Your Letter of Consent Addressed to the City Clerk
- NYC Marriage Officiant Registration Form
- Valid Government ID
The easiest way to procure the first three documents is to order your Minister Ordination Package. It includes your ordination certificate, your Letter of Consent addressed to the City Clerk, and the Marriage Officiant Registration form with instructions on how to complete and submit your application.
AMM also offers a Signature Wedding Officiant Package that includes a Clergy Stole and their comprehensive wedding training manual Asked to Officiate. The book is especially a good resource for first time officiants.
Once you have received your package, you will have all the documents you need to register with the Marriage Bureau.
Step 2 Complete the Online Marriage Officiant Registration Application
While you wait for your package you can get started with the online portion of your officiant application.
How Long Does It Take To Get The Marriage Certificate
You will NOT receive a certificate of marriage right after your ceremony. Usually it takes about two weeks for the documentation to be sent to you from the City. If you need documentation sooner than that, you should discuss this with the Clerk when you apply for your License.
For more information, call Peter,email directly at or fill out the form below:
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Observe State Officiant Laws
Once you have gotten ordained, your next step should be to find out if the state where you will be officiating the wedding requires you to register with a government office.
Most states do not have any minister registration requirements. For the ones that do, we will explain the exact steps you need to take to successfully register with that State Government.
Where To Go Online To Become A Wedding Officiant
There are several non-profit, interfaith organizations online designed to help you earn your street cred as a minister. In the case of the American Marriage Ministries, the organization believes strongly that everyone has a right to be married. As such, they are looking to spread the gospel, so to speak, and want to get everyone ordained. To become an officially ordained minister with American Marriage Ministries, all you have to do is to agree to uphold these basic tenets:
- All people, regardless of race, gender, or sexual orientation, have the right to marry.
- It is the right of every couple to choose who will solemnize their marriage.
- All people have the right to solemnize marriage.
You then submit your application , and thats it. You are ordained! I did it myself and received my ordination certificate electronically in a few seconds. Other popular online resources for ordination certificates include:
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Details Details Details And Location Location Location
And thats it. New York City is a bit like Las Vegas in the ease with which you can get married, or marry someone else.
One important item to note: the above information applies to any marriages taking place in New York City. If you will be officiating at a wedding in Suffolk, Nassau, Westchester, Putnam, or Dutchess counties in New York State, than an online ministerial license is not recognized, and the wedding will not be a legal union. For these five counties you need to get a minister from a recognized church to oversee the ceremony and sign the documents.
Finally, once you have declared the couple married, dont forget that it is the officiants job to fill out the marriage license paperwork and return it to the place where it was issued. If a couple applies for their marriage license in any of the five boroughs, they have the option to be married anywhere in New York State. That said, the marriage license must be signed and returned to the place from which it was originally issued. So if you applied for a marriage license in Manhattan, and were married in Albany, your officiant would need to return your paperwork to Manhattan NOT Albany.
Step 3submit Your Officiant Application To The Nyc Marriage Bureau
At this point you should have completed the online application and have all your required paperwork in hand. The last two items you need are:
Once you have everything you need, you can complete your officiant registration in person at the City Clerk’s office:Office of the City ClerkMarriage Officiant Registration Clerk141 Worth StreetNew York, NY 10013If you are not able to register in person and the circumstances are extenuating, you can make arrangements to with the City Clerk to complete your application by mail. Please be mindful that they only allow this on a case-by-case basis. For further questions you can contact the NYC Marriage Bureau at:Phone: 669-8090Hours: M-F 8:30am-3:45pm
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