Bride-to-be Blogger Kathleen: Tips for (Smoothly!) Getting Your Marriage License


Kathleen and her 'maids at her bachelorette party.

Bachelorette Party was a success! We had a great time down at the beach (though notice, please, that I’m the only one who committed to my word and wore an ugly dress—the rest of them claimed they had a hard time finding one, and so wore wolf t-shirts, instead) and now, the official wedding countdown has begun!

Twenty more days and we will officially be Husband and Wife. Just this past week we went to the courthouse, filed our paperwork, and are now “certified” to be married in the state of Pennsylvania. It’s such a weird thing to have to “apply” to marry someone, but we were told that it serves a purpose in the long run; apparently, if our kids ever want to research their roots, we will be on file!

Just a few FYIs if you are getting ready to apply for your marriage license in the state of Pennsylvania: 1) See if your courthouse has special extended hours that they offer on specific day/days of the week or month. Doylestown offers extended hours on the first and third Wednesday of every month, so you can avoid having to take time off work if you are a nine-to-fiver. 2) Check to see if your courthouse website has a sample PDF of the application. They will not accept forms filled out before you arrive, but at least that way you can be sure to bring with you all the specific information you’ll need to fill it out. 3) Keep in mind that the state of Pennsylvania does not require you to obtain your marriage license in the town you are getting married in—which is great, because then you have flexibility to find more places with extended hours!

Now that we have one of the last and most important tasks completed, we will be spending this weekend taking care of a few more less-important last-minute details (while also trying to find some time to relax and not freak out). It is very easy to start losing yourself in all of the craziness, so making time to just chill out is very important. Out of all of the three-weeks-out tasks I need to accomplish this weekend, I am really looking forward to finishing our music selections, as that can easily be done while sitting outside in the sunshine with an ice-cold adult beverage. A little Bob Marley can really help put your mind at ease!

Any other helpful information about getting your marriage license that I missed?

 

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