Intimate Wedding in New Orleans

stephanieandjim · September 2014

My fiance and I decided to have a small private wedding in New Orleans (our parents and two others will be present). I had a few questions regarding marrying in New Orleans:

The fiance and I live in Ohio. One of the items on The Knot's checklist says, "Get married! No seriously, if you want your marriage to be legal in your home state, you'll want to do this ahead of time." Can anyone explain how/why our marrying in New Orleans wouldn't be legal in Ohio? Is this separate from doing marriage licenses in New Orleans? This task item really confused me about the whole thing.
I've read there is a 72-hour waiting period to get your marriage license, but it can be waived. I've seen a handful of sites say different things about having this waived; can anyone shed some light on this?
How does the "marrying" in the Algiers Courthouse go? Are you alone in the courtroom or are other couples in there? Do they just have you sign paperwork and it's done, or is there some kind of ceremonial readings or words exchanged?

I feel like I'm asking a lot, but I feel like I don't understand a lot of the process. Any clarification would be appreciated.

princessleia22 · September 2014

I live in Arizona, but got married in New Orleans. The marriage certificate is valid in all US states, so you don't need to get license in Ohio. And New Orleans requirements are fairly simple.

As far as waiving the waiting period, this can be done by the officiant. I believe they just need to send in the waiver form with the license. I've talked to other people who have done it without any problems. So, check with officiant that is marrying you. If you are getting married at the courthouse, call and ask them what their policy on it is. I didn't want to take any chances, so I just went to NOLA a few days early to apply for the license. They only require one person be in attendance to apply for the license, you just need to bring documents for both. So, instead of both of us taking more time off work to go early, I went to NOLA by myself, applied for the license, then my husband came down a couple days later. I just took his birth certificate and passport (photo ID) with me. That also gave me a few days to get my dress & his suit steamed, make sure we had all the wedding stuff in order, and do a little sightseeing. I actually loved being able to sightsee by myself without worrying about who wants to see what... I did a couple of walking tours in town, which were great.

As far as details of marrying at the courthouse, I can't help you there. We got married on a cruise ship, prior to leaving for a cruise. But, I called the marriage license department a couple times when trying to get info beforehand, and they were pretty helpful. So definitely call them and they should be able to help clarify that for you. I'm sure they can clarify the waiting period waiver also.

Jells2dot0 · September 2014

In order for your marriage to be legal anywhere in the US, it has to meet the legal requirements of the place where you hold your ceremony. So, if you hold your ceremony in New Orleans, you need to follow their requirements, but you can bring your marriage certificate to Ohio to change your name/marriage status.

As for your other questions, you will be best served by having this posted on the local New Orleans forum. No one knows the area better than the locals. As a moderator, I want you to get good advice, and I'll move your post.

stephanieandjim · September 2014

Yes please, thank you! I'm still trying to figure out how to utilize the discussion boards.

Jells2dot0 · September 2014

I moved your post from the DW board to assist you!

Intimate Wedding in New Orleans

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