How would this go..?

Please excuse my lack of knowledge on the whole marriage topic, but myself and my boyfriend have been talking about marriage a lot lately. We would like to be together sooner rather than later so, I'm deciding to ask on here since many people are knowledgeable. He says the next time he comes here (which will be next year some time) that he wants to propose, which I know isn't the most romantic thing; as most proposals are spontaneous, but for us we'd rather have this kind of thing planned.

Anywho, so I know he can come here on a visa waiver and we can get married as long as he returns to England. However, how does going about marriage work? We'd probably be having a tiny get-it-over-with wedding first (then a bigger one when we can afford it). Let's say he was here and we wanted to get married, can you just go somewhere and get hitched without much reservation? Is there anything specifically that needs to be done/brought to the register office wedding? I'm sorry if this is a kinda duh question, but I honestly have nooo idea on this kind of subject since I never really thought of myself as someone to be in this kind of predicament where we have to get married to be with eachother. So, hope someone has some insight for me.

It depends on your state and maybe even your county.  You need to give them a call, or if your state is a helpful one (which PA wasn't much) google it.

In New York, you have to give 24 hours notice.  We couldn't (bank holiday) so had to get a waiver from a judge to marry the same day.  After waiting around all day, we got it.

It depends on your state and maybe even your county.  You need to give them a call, or if your state is a helpful one (which PA wasn't much) google it.

I know all what it depends on. Not trying to be rude here but I didn't really come on here to hear "google it." That is the first thing I do when I have a question of any kind and I couldn't really find a definitive answer. If I've made a post it's because I want other's own experience to go on since a lot of what I read on here has turned out to be correct.

In New York, you have to give 24 hours notice.  We couldn't (bank holiday) so had to get a waiver from a judge to marry the same day.  After waiting around all day, we got it.

Thanks! That isn't bad at all.. here I thought you'd have to go through a little bit of a lengthy process but 24 hours notice isn't bad at all. Thank you for the info.

I know all what it depends on. Not trying to be rude here but I didn't really come on here to hear "google it." That is the first thing I do when I have a question of any kind and I couldn't really find a definitive answer. If I've made a post it's because I want other's own experience to go on since a lot of what I read on here has turned out to be correct.

Actually, most of us would probably have told you the same thing - there is so much variation between states and counties in terms of the procedure for getting married that there is no definitive answer.

You didn't say which state or which county you wanted to marry in, and other people's experiences are probably not going to help you unless they got married in the same state/county/court house that you are thinking of.

So, at this point, it's either a case of you Googling it, or one of us Googling it for you and then posting our findings here... and since you're the one who wants to know, and who knows the specifics of where you want to marry, it makes sense for you to do the Googling, not us .

That isn't bad at all.. here I thought you'd have to go through a little bit of a lengthy process but 24 hours notice isn't bad at all. Thank you for the info.

Again, it depends where you are - I think NYC is 24 hours, but other counties/states may have a longer wait (3 days in some places, I think).

Some counties require a passport from the UK citizen, others don't (some may even require blood tests... not sure if this is the case anymore though).

Some counties (i.e. NYC) give you the marriage certificate on the day, others you have to send away for it and it can take up to a couple of weeks (or more).

Hey, I sent you a PM on here and explained it all. We got married in NYC.

xxoxoxoxoxoox

I know all what it depends on. Not trying to be rude here but I didn't really come on here to hear "google it."  

   

Actually, most of us would probably have told you the same thing - there is so much variation between states and counties in terms of the procedure for getting married that there is no definitive answer.

You didn't say which state or which county you wanted to marry in, and other people's experiences are probably not going to help you unless they got married in the same state/county/court house that you are thinking of.

So, at this point, it's either a case of you Googling it, or one of us Googling it for you and then posting our findings here... and since you're the one who wants to know, and who knows the specifics of where you want to marry, it makes sense for you to do the Googling, not us .

Exactly!

Look, here is an article on the downtown NYC court house where they do very cool civil service weddings -

http://articles.nydailynews.com/2009-01-08/entertainment/17914843_1_city-hall-wedding-today-s-brides

Interestingly, many famous people have been married there.

It is a great spot!

MandyBoo, PM me if you would like any more information.

I'm friendly! And happy to help!

 

As others have mentioned, there is so much variation, the best thing really is to Google the specific requirements for your place of interest.  Or at least Google the contact information at the city hall in the town you want to get married in.

My experience:  I lived in Massachusetts, and two towns in the same county had different ID requirements.  Literally, I could drive from one town to the other in about 10-15 minutes, they were both in the same county, and the requirements once I crossed the town line would be different and one set of documents that would be satisfactory in one town wouldn't suffice in the other.  It wasn't even a regional variation, it was literally between neighboring towns!  I could probably even walk from one to the other if hard pressed to.

Once you know where you want to be married, contact the clerk and inquire as to the specific requirements (documents, waiting period, would your UK spouse-to-be need any special documents, etc).

The variation I talked about earlier - in one town you could use one document to prove both your age and identity (ex. passport).  In the other town, you needed two separate documents to independently prove your age and identity (ex. passport for ID and birth certificate for age).  It's not a huge difference, but if DH had come over from the UK with only his passport and we had arranged to get married in the town that required two documents, we could have been in big trouble.  So it's worth it to check specifically in the town/city hall you're planning on getting married in to get the info on the specifics.

MandyBoo - Here is the marriage information and requirements for New York State. (Including NYC).

No variations - all of the towns, cities, and villages are under the same rules and regulations.

Makes it easier!

Oh, one other thing I just thought of:  if you'll need a witness.