Wedding Blog

I have a confession to make. It’s a bit embarrassing, really…

Mr Peony and I were married in mid-April and we still haven’t received our marriage certificate.

To be honest, the marriage certificate completely slipped our minds. But when friends started asking if I will be changing my name (the answer is yes), I realized we never got the certificate in the mail.

I joked to Mr Peony, “Wouldn’t it be funny if after all this time, it turns out we were never legally married?”

I think the question lit a flame under Mr Peony, who proceeded to call the City Clerk’s office the very next day. After being transferred from one department to the next, and staying on hold for 30 minutes, here’s what we found out.

Obtaining your marriage license in NY state is different from NYC. We had checked the NY State Department of Health’s “Getting Married in New York State” website prior to getting the license, which reads:

If the marriage license is issued by a town or city clerk in New York State outside of New York City, it costs $40. This fee includes the issuance of a Certificate of Marriage Registration. This certificate is automatically sent by the issuing clerk to the applicants within 15 days after the completed license is returned by the officiant (person who performs the marriage ceremony). It serves as notice that a record of the marriage is on file. Couples who do not receive a Certificate of Marriage Registration within four weeks of the wedding should contact the town or city clerk who issued the license.

If the license is to be issued by the City Clerk of the City of New York, please contact the New York City Clerk’s Office for current fees and requirements. The City Clerk’s Office can be reached at (212) 669-2400 or via their web site at New York City Marriage Bureau.

The NYC Marriage Bureau website stated that a marriage license in NYC would cost $35, so we thought, “$40 vs $35? That’s a no-brainer” and got our license in NYC.

However, what we didn’t know was that the $35 fee does not include an automatic issuance of the marriage certificate. We would need to order the marriage certificate separately, for an extra fee of $15 ($30 for foreign use). You can check this site to find out more about ordering your marriage certificate.

Mr Peony promptly ordered our marriage certificate and we should be receiving it this week in the mail.

And yes, we did feel very stupid after this incident. But hey, that’s what marriage is about, isn’t it? Having someone to share these stupid feelings for the rest of our lives?