Wedding 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?
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I have to pay 80.00 in Philadelphia County. Oh, well. I can’t wait. My camera is all charged up and ready to go! I didn’t realize you can’t take it with you. My FI and I are flying out just to apply early and drop it off at the Cathedral. I wonder if I can cry my way into getting it tomorrow 
Ha! I love it! Yes, your scrap book will thank you! We paid $30 twice (because we’re dumb).
LOL! Definitely! Is it wrong that, when I read what you said above about licenses in PA (any county is fine, etc.) I started thinking I might have to find the most attractive or interesting-looking place to get ours? 
of course i will!
like you said:
must.
document.
everything.
I totally plan on documenting the licensing of our marriage!
You really didn’t see any other brides with cameras? crazy!
Yay! You’re one step closer! Question: did Mr. DE think you were crazy taking all the pictures? Even though my FI “gets” it, whenever I act all touristy or try to document everything, I think he gets a little embarrassed to be seen with me! Oh well!
Yogigal - if you apply at City Hall in Philadelphia you DO get your marriage license to take with you, but you have to wait three days before you can be married. I went about a month ago. We went early (like 8:30am) and didn’t have to wait at all.
Congrats!! That’s on our to-do list!! We better get to it!!
No doubt I will take pics. And no doubt the mister (amoung others) will think I’m nuts!
Since we didn’t have a camera with us, we didn’t get any pictures of the fun stuff (the food tasting, visiting the venue, ANYTHING!) Grrr…but how much longer can I hold that grudge against my FI? At least as long as Bees are blogging with pics, LOL!
Perfect timing on this post, Miss DE! My fiance and I will be going to the same courthouse next Wednesday! Thanks for the tips on the crowds and cost. It’s a shame we don’t get our license that day for a photo op, but I’ll probably force my fiance into documenting the visit anyway! Too bad we didn’t run into each other
Congrats! For me that was one of the most exciting items to cross off the list, but I totally forgot to take my camera so I don’t have any photos of it.
Ha! I am from Pitt. and we got ours in the very same place. I took a picture of my groom in front of the same sign at 8:00 AM on a Monday morning and he looked totally crabby. Ended up being a really funny picture for our scrapbook. Congrats!
We got our marriage license on Saturday. I wanted to take pics but FI wasn’t into it. I got a photo of the building, though!
Surprisingly enough, there was only one other couple there while we were there. No cameras to be seen.
@kosstobe: I think Mr. DE is used to my crazy picture-taking habits. If it’s for something wedding related and he gives me attitude, I pull the “it’s for Weddingbee” card.
@Jenn R: I’m jealous that Philly gives you the certificate right then and there. I wonder why Allegheny and other neighboring counties don’t do that. They really don’t do much to the certificate. Ours is three parts and all but one area is blank. I understand the three-day waiting period, but don’t quite get why everyone doesn’t give you the paperwork at the time of application.
Doubtful. Since we’re now getting married in the city instead of in the County where we live, one of us will have to take off work to go get the license and I’m sure it will be me since I know all his info already. Which means a half day missed of work to do it and only one of us will be there so no pics to document the occasion
Oh, and ours is a 2 day waiting period but we still get ours handed to us right then and there, it just has an effective date of 2 days later
Yup. I’ll definitely be whipping out my camera to document the moment.
hehehe. When they give you funny looks, take pictures of them so you have documentation of the funny looks. I did it to people who stared when I took pics of us registering at Target. lol
I bet things are really feeling exciting for you about now!!
ooh yes, take lots of pictures! my fiance’s a photographer and he takes his camera everywhere, so we do seem kinda insane just taking random pictures in random places 
we’ll DEFINITELY be taking pictures of everything.
@Miss Perfume: LOLL “because we’re dumb” ?! you made me laugh out loud.
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Mrs. Deviled Egg, Pittsburgh
Age and Occupation: 27, Public Relations
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 28, Accounting
Engagement Date: December 24, 2007
Wedding Date: May, 2009
Blogging Since: October 21, 2008
Venue: Historic auditorium and meeting hall in one of Pittsburgh's commuter cities
About Me: I am obsessed with all things crafty, especially scrapbooking, knitting, jewelry-making & cake decorating. I also love being an aunt, wrapping presents, watching football (Go Steelers!), shopping at yard sales and consignment stores, procrastinating, singing and learning to play the guitar. When it comes to wedding planning, I'm excited about working on DIY projects and finding creative ways to stay under budget. Of course, nothing is more exciting to me than knowing that the wonderful Mr. Deviled Egg will be my husband.
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