Weddingbee Blog

Holy guacamole! Mr. Deviled Egg are officially licensed to wed! Last Wednesday, we stopped at the City-County Building in downtown Pittsburgh to file the paperwork and made it official.

In the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, you can apply for a marriage license in any county, regardless of which county the wedding will be held. We chose to apply in Allegheny County because they have the only office in the area with evening hours. Every Wednesday, the Marriage License Bureau is open until 7:30 pm, which is perfect for Mr. DE and I since we both work downtown.

The downside of applying in Allegheny County is the cost. We had to pay $75 in cash, where other counties charge around $50 or $60. We definitely paid for convenience on this one. Going after work was much easier than both of us taking time off of work to save $20 bucks.

It was quite busy the day we went, and I’m sure that was due to other couples taking advantage of the convenient after-work hours. The whole process took us about 20 minutes. We were asked to provide our information, a little background on our parents, questioned if either of us were married before or if we were under the influence of any drugs or alcohol. After that, we raised our hands and took an oath that the information provided was correct and handed over the cash. Painless and easy! (Except for the handing over the cash part!)

In PA, you can apply for your license up to 60 days before the wedding, and it’s recommended you do so at least two or three weeks prior. There is a three-day waiting period on all marriage licenses, so we left the office empty handed. Our license will be mailed to us once it is processed. (I’m guessing it will come in the mail today!)

So, even though we don’t yet have the legal, paper evidence, I snagged a picture of us at the marriage bureau to share with all of you.

I have to say, it was the best $75 I have ever spent!

And yes, I’m a dork and took more pictures of us as we walked in, of statues in front of the building, and of other directional and department signs we passed, thus completely making bystanders think I was either A) a tourist, or B) insane. Niiiiiice! But hey, my scrapbook will thank me later. Must. Document. Everything.

Thinking back on it, I’m a little surprised that I didn’t see any other camera-carrying brides-to-be. Did you/will you take pictures to document the process of getting your marriage license?