Occasionally and for a variety of reasons,  some couples have need and/or desire for a legal marriage only.   For example,  some people find themselves in personal circumstance that require them to be officially and legally married prior to the date of their public celebration.  

The necessary ingredients are:

One bride

One groom

One wedding officiant

One marriage license

One witness

The officiant says,     
       "__(Groom's name)__, do you want to marry  __(Bride's name)__?"   
       Groom responds, "Yes."  

The officiant says,     

     "__(Bride's name)__, do you want to marry  __(Groom's name)__?"   
     Bride responds, "Yes."

The officiant says,     
     "You're married"

The officiant and the witness each sign the license.   The couple keeps the "customer copy" and the original copy is returned by the officiant to the county recorder's office where it is registered a legal document.   The couple is then legally married as of the date the officiant and the witness signed the license.

Step One -- Obtaining a Marriage License:

For information on obtaining your marriage license, go to the page titled:   Obtaining Your Marriage License .

Step Two -- Getting Married:

A)   Bring you spouse,  your license (and a witness if you 
        have someone available)  to our home in Canoga Park
         and we will officiate your legal marriage.

or  

B)  We will come to your home  and officiate your legal marriage.

Joe was in the navy and engaged to Sue who lived in Thousand Oaks.   They were planning a large wedding ceremony in about eight months.   In the meantime, they wanted to be together, but, because of military regulations, Sue could not go with Joe unless she was legally his wife.  

 When Joe came home on leave, they went to the Van Nuys office, obtained a marriage license, came to us in Canoga Park,  for a legal marriage, then took their signed license back to the Van Nuys office.   The entire process, including their travel time both ways, took less than two hours.   When Joe's leave time was over, Sue went with him  back to Norfolk, Virginia as his wife.   The following June, they had a traditional wedding ceremony in her parents' backyard.