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Officiant related question

cnf2013cnf2013 member
1000 Comments Second Anniversary 25 Love Its Name Dropper
in Wedding Vows & Ceremony Discussions
My FI's cousin is ordained and is going to officiate our ceremony. However, we're getting married in New York and he lives and works in Alabama. I know we need to get a NY state marriage license, but does it matter that he's ordained in a different state then the one we're getting married in? And what do we do with the license afterwards? Will we be responsible for getting it notarized and how exactly do we go about doing that? I'm unsure about what to even do with the license after we sign it, since we'll be going off to take pictures and he'll be both in pictures with us, then heading off to the reception. 
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Re: Officiant related question

  • calliopeia2013calliopeia2013 member
    500 Comments Second Anniversary 25 Love Its Name Dropper
    You need to talk to the courts (call the clerk's office) in both New York and Alabama.  Ask NY if there are anything out-of-state officiants need to do to perform a wedding in state (in my state, for instance, they have to file some sort of notice with the courthouse).  Ask Alabama if the license needs to be notarized or anything.

    Some of this information may be findable online, but if you're not familiar with legal stuff, it may be better to just call the clerk and have a real person explain it to you.  This is not the sort of thing where you just want to trust legal advice from random people online.

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  • HobokensFuryHobokensFury member
    5000 Comments Sixth Anniversary 500 Love Its First Answer
    edited April 2012
    DItto PP. Call both county clerks and ask.
     
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  • KelaReneeKelaRenee
    100 Comments
    It totally depends on the state. In Texas the officiant just has to be ordained by someone somewhere.
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  • annie912annie912 member
    100 Comments

    I echo the PPs. Check with your clerk of courts. We live in WI, FI's friend got ordained online to do our wedding but lives in IL. In order for him to marry us in WI, he has to be "sponsored" by a member of the "church" in WI. We had to order the "out of state officiant" kit from the place he got ordained. The way it was explained to me, the chances of anyone checking are small because it's not like we have to submit anything with the license to prove that he was sponsored, but I'd rather be safe than sorry.

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  • simoneforoncesimoneforonce
    First Comment First Anniversary
    I have a quick tip kind of unrelated to your original question!!!!!   For inexperienced officiants the number one thing they forget is to tell the guests to be seated.  It seems obvious, but after the bride is at the front of the ceremony area, the guests are supposed to sit back down.  Everytime I have worked with someone who hasn't done weddings before they forget this part....and the guests wind up stainding for 20+minutes. 
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  • Lisa50Lisa50 member
    2500 Comments 5 Love Its Combo Breaker
    Have you called the marriage license bureau (or equivalent office) in the jurisdiction in which you plan to marry?  I'm sure someone there can answer your questions.  In fact, call a couple of times (on different days), just to be sure the answer is consistent.  Good luck!
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