Well, at least Cumberland County. Getting married in Fayetteville is shamefully easy. My guess is the large number of Army weddings encouraged a more efficient system. Given the success of Army marriages, this might not be a good idea, but I digress.
The marriage license
Cumberland County has a nifty link where you can apply for your license online. It asks for your basic info, but you are required to provide photo identification and your Social Security card at the courthouse. If you choose to go the online route, fill this out with your intended! You need things like where y’all’s parents were born. You complete the license and pay for it at the Register of Deeds office at the courthouse (on Dick Street). Since we filled ours out ahead of time (the day before), the office clerk keyed in our SSNs and printed it out. We paid $60 and were on our marry (ha) way. PS. You can take cell phones but not cameras in this courthouse.
The marriage ceremony
North Carolina is different from other states in that a marriage can be performed in any county as long as the license is returned and processed in the county in which it was issued. What? Our Cumberland County license was valid in Dare County (at the Outer Banks) or in Iredell County (over by Charlotte, generally speaking).
We chose to marry at the Magistrate’s Office, conveniently located in the Cumberland County Detention Center. Yeppers, we got married at the jail. The Magistrate recommends that you bring your two witnesses because they won’t guarantee two people will be there (but really, it’s Fayetteville. There are always people at the jail). We brought El Cunado and my friend, Megan. Another couple we know had two randos who were in the waiting room.
Depending on the time of day, you may or may not wait (we were there fifteen-ish minutes behind another wedding party who looked like they were 18). The clerk took our license, had our witnesses sign it, and sent us in to the Magistrate’s room. We chose to wear our wedding rings, so we handed those over. The Magistrate breezed through traditional vows, we pledged our love and fidelity, and it was done. PS. You can bring cameras but not cell phones in the Detention Center. But you’re not totally done, yet!
Picking up the certified license
Now that you’re married, you don’t have a marriage license. The Magistrate completed our license and returned it to the Register of Deeds to be certified and officially official. If you are married by a pastor, friend, or Indian medicine man, you will have to carry your license back to the issuing county. Either way, they’ll have it done in a few days, and you can begin the arduous task of the name change game and anything else you need a certified license.
