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Mrs. Mary Jane, Grand Forks, ND Age and Occupation: 26, Instructional Designer Fiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Lead Programmer Engagement Date: February 28, 2009 Wedding Date: September 2009 Venue: City Hall About Me: I'm a career woman on the surface and a homemaker at heart. I love fast cars and high heels, and my favorite food is cake. Mr. Mary Jane and I are both full-time employees and students, and we just bought our first house. We love to curl up on the couch with buttery popcorn, Sour Patch Kids, and the latest Netflix arrival -- whenever we can get a break from everyday life.
About Mrs. Mary Jane

We Have Our Marriage License!

August 17th, 2009 @ 6:03 pm by Mrs. Mary Jane

… and we don’t even have a cheesy picture to show for it. Because I forgot to take one. Sorry!

I wasn’t even going to blog about this event, since it was so… anticlimactic. But I really don’t have anything else to share at the moment, so why not?


[source]

I knew exactly what we needed to do to get our license: bring our IDs and my paperwork from my previous marriage down to the county records office, pay our money, and fill out our form with our names, addresses, parents’ information, and wedding information.

We arrived at the courthouse, inside which the records office is located and walked up to the security guard to be wanded for weapons. He said “Where are you going?” to which I replied “Records office?” He looked at me funny.

I said “Deputy clerk?” Still looking at me… “We need a marriage license.”

“You’re in the wrong building.” Oh, ok.

We were supposed to be across the street at a special office that is specifically there for tax issues, passport applications, and marriage licenses. Oops. We jogged over there and stood in line behind a lady who was trying to figure out some kind of tax problem with her uninhabitable mobile home, which she was trying to sell.

When we got up to the counter, the gal took our licenses and typed the information in to the computer. She didn’t ask us anything about our parents or our jobs, or anything else. Just birthdays, social security numbers, and addresses. She took my divorce decree from me also. She asked if we were related to each other, then checked the “No” box when we’d answered.

She printed out the form and had us look it over and sign it. We had to sign our first, middle and last names, which was weird. We had to do that with our house purchase, also. So our signatures look like we each signed our first and last names, and someone else scribbled our middles in later. Because seriously: how often do you sign your full middle name? I rarely ever do, and so it looks and feels unnatural.

She asked me if I’d be changing my name, and I said “Yes.” So she gave me some advice about which agency to start with (in our state, you start at the DMV).

The entire process took under 10 minutes, and we received a packet containing three copies of the license, an instructions sheet on what to do with each copy (two get returned to the county, one is a souvenir), and a card about taking folic acid now for the health of our “future baby”.

It feels good to have our license. It makes it that much more real. But speaking of real, it says:

Groom: Mr. Mary Jane, who has not been married.
to
Bride: Miss Mary Jane, who has been divorced.

Romantic. Don’t think that’s going in a frame or the scrapbook.

But that’s real. And once the name changing paperwork’s complete, I suppose we’ll tuck it away and never look at it again.

Was your marriage license process as anticlimactic as ours? What are you going to do with your “souvenir copy”, if you got one?

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24 Responses to “We Have Our Marriage License!”

1.
Miss Sapphire
Member
Miss Sapphire (message)  623 posts, Busy bee

Congrats. You make me laugh so much, but congrats, even though it’s not as romantic as well…I guess a marraige license isn’t overly romantic to start with.

 
2.
nomerstoo
Member
nomerstoo (message)  97 posts, Worker bee

I didn’t get a souvenier copy, lucky. And yes, ours was quite anticlimatic. NO photos either.

 
3.
Miss.Swede
Member
Miss.Swede (message)  46 posts, Newbee

I think we will have to use ours more then most as it will be for visa issues but I think we will frame it or something just because it will be meaningful to us coming from such different places.

 
4.
Bridebella
Member
Bridebella (message)  350 posts, Helper bee

Anticlimatic, but very exciting nonetheless!

 
5.
honeymyheart
Member
honeymyheart (message)  763 posts, Busy bee

getting our marriage license was also anti-climactic, but hooray for being one step closer to getting married :)

 
6.
Jessie516
Hostess
Jessie516 (message)  4,008 posts, Honey bee

We got a copy of our license, but it’s just in the file cabinet for reference. Romantic…not.

 
7.
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Guest
Miya

As a bride and a future pediatrician, I think the folic acid card is an interesting idea, a little creepy, and absolutely hilarious. Just like how my Facebook ads went in a few months after I changed my status to engaged from “bridal weightloss diet!” to “having a baby?”

 
8.
Member Icon
Member
jhguba (message)  239 posts, Helper bee

Just thinking what you wrote Miya! I also am a future pediatrician - and we were studying about birth defects due to folic acid deficiency just the other day. How crazy! But handing out cards with a marriage license? hahaha. Some things could and should be saved for the ob-gyn’s office! So Romantic!

 
9.
ggsb
Member
ggsb (message)  842 posts, Busy bee

So we received a “souvenir copy” of our license as well. I should take a photo of it, especially after the nice lady folded and shoved it in an envelope that was too small for it. So she took it out and folded it in half so it would fit. It was nothing we’d scrapbook before (think dollar store frame insert) but it’s especially nice with all the creases running all over it :)

We also went to the wrong building and the officer who redirected us advised us to “not do it”. But yes, anticlimactic, the whole process took less than 10 minutes and then we went for Chick-fil-a

 
10.
D.Marie
Member
D.Marie (message)  1,372 posts, Bumble bee

Congrats! Thats funny that they are already telling you what to do for the “future baby”. I think these days they might want to take that out! What is some people can’t have a child or dont want to have a child. Also funny that they asked if you were related!! LOL! Congrats again!

 
11.
miss longhorn
Member
miss longhorn (message)  238 posts, Helper bee

That’s cool that the lady actually gave you advice about where to start when you want to change your name. It might not have been the most exciting wedding related event, but it makes you one step closer to the big day! :)

 
12.
His Barista
Member
His Barista (message)  1,837 posts, Buzzing bee

Are you related? lol.

Congrats!

 
13.
Miss Poodle
Bee
Miss Poodle (message)  3,020 posts, Sugar bee

Felicitaciones :)

 
14.
kkimm
Member
kkimm (message)  39 posts, Newbee

We just got ours today too! It was also pretty anticlimactic - I got weird looks when I got all giddy-like. We didn’t get folic acid information, but we DID get a brochure about getting tested for STDs, especially HIV! Super-romatic, right?

 
15.
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Member
carablossom (message)  36 posts, Newbee

We got married in Vegas, and totally documented everything :) Hmm, sadly, I don’t quite know where ours is at the moment… but with another friend who got married in Vegas (this sounds psycho, doesn’t it?), I scrapbooked her Elvis wedding + made a reduced-size copy of it to paste on the outside + included the copy in an envelope. Ah, paperwork.

 
16.
Bee Icon
Bee
Miss Mouse (message)  3,306 posts, Sugar bee

Can’t wait to get ours! Just gotta wait until the Dude can get away from work for a sec!

 
17.
mkat88
Member
mkat88 (message)  154 posts, Blushing bee

Our process was exactly the same!!! We were still pretty excited but it was a 15 minute process and then it was over! Congrats!

 
18.
Sage
Member
Sage (message)  398 posts, Helper bee

LOL @ the folic acid thing. That just seems so random to me!

 
19.
alishaneva
Member
alishaneva (message)  1,526 posts, Bumble bee

The folic acid card just makes me laugh here. Wow. But congrats on being one more step closer to being married!!!

 
20.
Bee Icon
Bee
Miss Moonbeam (message)  1,328 posts, Bumble bee

Yeah, our license came with vd and pregnancy information and a souvenir copy, bleh. But we didn’t even have to go wait in line. In LA, you can do like the celebrities do and have someone do everything for you. Our officiant came and we signed our papers. And a thumbprint was involved. That’s it. Congrats though, it’s still a nice thought.

 
21.
nicrob007
Member
nicrob007 (message)  111 posts, Blushing bee

Congrats!

 
22.
Member Icon
Member
EtoilePB (message)  7 posts, Newbee

Hang on to that souvenir copy somewhere. My dad now has, hanging in his den, a copy of his grandparents’ marriage license… Boston, 1891. (Or 1893… can’t remember.) It’s not that cool a thing to have in the year you get it, but should you have children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, it’ll be cool to them!

 
23.
Jenniphyr
Member
Jenniphyr (message)  1,397 posts, Bumble bee

Hurrah!

 
24.
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Guest
Scrapbook-Keepsakes.com | what kind of licences will i need to open an online scrapbooking store?

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Mrs. Mary Jane Mrs. Mary Jane, Grand Forks, ND Age and Occupation: 26, Instructional Designer Fiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Lead Programmer Engagement Date: February 28, 2009 Wedding Date: September 2009 Venue: City Hall About Me: I'm a career woman on the surface and a homemaker at heart. I love fast cars and high heels, and my favorite food is cake. Mr. Mary Jane and I are both full-time employees and students, and we just bought our first house. We love to curl up on the couch with buttery popcorn, Sour Patch Kids, and the latest Netflix arrival -- whenever we can get a break from everyday life.
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