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u/LtDrebinNh 1d ago
My wife and I got married at town hall. We originally went to get a marriage license, and when they asked when the date was, we said we didn't really have one yet because we didn't want a big wedding. The lady at the town hall then said, " I'm a j.p. and I can marry you right now. ". We said hell yeah, but we don't have a witness. The guy behind us was registering a boat trailer, and without hesitation, he said he would absolutely do it. 15 years and 2 kids later we are still as happy as we ever were
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u/Sarke1 1d ago
Ah yes, the classic "boat trailer & marriage license" combo.
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u/pokey1984 1d ago
My local courthouse, years ago, had "wedding hours" every business day between five and five thirty in the afternoon, if there wasn't a major trial. If you came in during those hours with a prepared marriage license, whichever judge was on that day would marry you for no additional charge. (there's usually a fee, in addition to the marriage license.)
I was dropping off paperwork for something else when a couple rushed up at 5:15 and asked if I could spare a minute, they didn't have a witness for their wedding.
It's a romcom cliche for a reason. Sometimes you just gotta grab a random witness and get hitched.
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u/LtDrebinNh 1d ago
The funny part for us was I was home all day cleaning so I was in sweatpants and a tee-shirt and she was in scrubs from work lmfao
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u/SheToldMeSheWasLvI18 1d ago
Hopefully they weren’t the cameraman too
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u/wizean 1d ago
She came dressed. The dude is wearing whatever he woke up in.
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u/ExpectingHobbits 1d ago
Wtf? Do you generally wake up in smart casual?
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u/West_Description_852 1d ago
To be fair, you don't know the answer to that. Maybe they sleep in black tie, wear white tie for breakfast, and have a custom-tailored outfit for mid-morning brunch.
Lunch time requires a walk-in wardrobe and preparations begin around 11:15 am.
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u/kathrynxoxoo 1d ago
chill out bro, the guy looks fine. Not everyone has the luxury to buy a suit and tie. What matters is their love for each other
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u/Akku_LP 1d ago
you’re now part of their love story forever congrats
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u/MarchFew 1d ago
Side quest complete
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u/Optimal-Hedgehog-546 1d ago
Go in for a drug test, stay for the side quest.
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u/eveningdragon 1d ago
The drug test was the start of the side quest. Witnessed to marriage was the end result
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u/Snowbank_Lake 1d ago
Doesn’t the officiant count as a witness?
Edit: Just looked it up… Nevermind!
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u/T-Rex-Hunter 1d ago
I am pretty sure that most states require more than one witness
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u/bexohomo 1d ago
In my state, all my parents (mom and stepdad) needed was just me as a witness. Nevada.
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u/P0ptarthater 1d ago
My friend and I are getting married soon and we’re pretty sure we want to go this route too for our witness lol
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u/mnf-acc 1d ago
calling your future spouse 'my friend' tickles me so much. what is marriage if not a legally-binding contract for lifelong friendship?
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u/P0ptarthater 1d ago
The funny thing is that we’re not even dating! He is my absolute best friend and we love each other to death, tried to date a few years ago but realized we work better as friends. Neither of us is interested in marriage as a romantic gesture, so we’re marrying for more pragmatic reasons, but ultimately it is about being able to be there for each other medically and legally
We’re down to change it down the line if either of us ever changes their mind about marriage, but for now we’re getting a kick out of joking about honeymooning at the movie theater by watching The Godfather re-release after we leave the courthouse
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u/ColoredGayngels 1d ago
I'm really happy for you! "Married for legal reasons" needs to be more accepted than it is. I hope you guys have a peaceful life together and a good day at the theater :)
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u/Snoo-46218 1d ago
That's different. But cool. Also. They are re-releasing The Godfather in theaters?
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u/P0ptarthater 1d ago
They are in some places for the 50th anniversary I think? It’s a select theaters kind of thing but worth checking if there are any near you playing it if you like the trilogy
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u/Altruistic_Book8631 1d ago
We did this! We did not want a wedding, and there's no way we were going to be able to have some people that we knew attend (as witnesses) but not others, without drama, and you do need to have witnesses, so we got a couple of randoms off the street to be our witnesses - it was fun!
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u/P0ptarthater 1d ago
Sending a belated “mazel tov” to you and your partner! The courthouse we’re looking at is right by a really big art school, so we know we’ll find at least one cool person who’ll get a kick out of having a movie moment with us
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u/Ccquestion111 1d ago
Check your state laws, you might not even need witnesses! Not every state requires them
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u/Golden_Enby 1d ago
Like a QPR type deal? It's cool that you're doing this with your best friend. :)
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u/Bestdayever_08 1d ago
Like having your marriage posted on social media so your witness can score upvotes?
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u/P0ptarthater 1d ago
Idk why you sound a little cynic about the video, it’s cute! I don’t think I’d post about it though, I’m generally not huge into posting pics of my life on socials often anyway
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u/Bestdayever_08 1d ago
Posting an intimate moment of a stranger’s marriage, whom the witness did nothing nor had any ties to, on social media for upvotes is peak American.
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u/P0ptarthater 1d ago
Oh I do hope they had permission to post, I’m usually not a big fan of people being recorded without permission, but tbh this feels like the type of situation you’d want recorded anyway.
I don’t wanna sound rude, but it feels maybe also a bit American to assume that everything people share online is for outside validation. Sometimes you’re just sharing a nice moment because it was funny or sweet. A little off topic but it reminds me when people tell me I posted a comment for karma when I still don’t understand what karma is or what it’s supposed to be useful for lol
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u/Ok_Lawfulness1249 1d ago
I got married at my city hall, in Canada in the winter. So I was wearing my white wedding dress from the thrift store, and snow boots underneath. The room we used had a meeting right after us, and some people who came early got to watch! I was posted on their socials for the city because they all loved it.
I agree that not everything is used for validation, sometimes its a funny, or sweet and fun moment that the person just wants to share with others.
Good luck with your upcoming marriage to you and your friend!!
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u/MintyMystery 1d ago
My parents left me with my grandma in the morning, picked up their two friends (who were also a couple), drove to the courthouse, got married with just those two witnesses, then went to do the grocery shopping, and came to pick me up in the afternoon.
That was 37 years ago - still going strong!
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u/lueur-d-espoir 1d ago
This is what my getting married felt like. Lol my mom and grandma met us at the court house and we knocked it out. Went out to eat at a very non expensive low key restaurant, then went home and took a bath together.
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u/bLAzedMOB 1d ago
"Is there anyone in the room who..."
Me: I met these two outside of a TGIFridays and have no idea whats going on...
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u/Fluffy-BOYi 1d ago
Why are people racist in the comments?
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u/Golden_Enby 1d ago
Because that's how far too many Americans say hello.
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u/Fluffy-BOYi 1d ago
Ah yes, blame it on the Americans. That's totally not racist
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u/Golden_Enby 1d ago
America's long "proud" history is baked in racism and bigotry. I've lived here my whole life and seen it firsthand. Not all are bigots. I'm not. But millions are, and that shouldn't be ignored.
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u/Myster_Hydra 1d ago
Oh that’s cute.
Something so absolutely precious about a couple who just wants to get married to be together no matter what. Fuck the drama. Screw all the stress. Just the two of them, thrilled to be together.
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u/WU-itsForTheChildren 1d ago
I lived in St. John for awhile and the Westin resort was up the street I would go there often and walk the beach and see weddings. I ended up attending dozens of weddings and celebrating with them it was a lot of fun
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u/jason_de_pr 1d ago
I asked the guy that sells hotdog in front of the courthouse. It wasnt his first time. Lol
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u/nice_one_buddy 1d ago
Lawyer from the previous case was our witness. Told us to rock on after the I dos.
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u/bikehead66 1d ago
We got married like this. Justice of the peace, little old lady as witness. 45 years ago!
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u/DistractedByCookies 1d ago
I swear this would be a dream day for me (as long as they looked happy like these two). You're so lucky!
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u/instantghetto 1d ago
We got the security guard and clerk to sign ours cause our two friends bailed.
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u/Throwaway9183333 1d ago
I’d really like to get married like this something simple, not flashy
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u/jam11249 1d ago
I had a weird string of events for my wedding due to having families in different countries. The legal bit consisted of going to a notary office with two friends who came to visit, then back to our flat to eat pizza and drink champagne in our pyjamas whilst playing minecraft. Wouldn't have changed a thing.
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u/706union 1d ago
My wife and I did this as well. We had to go before the ceremony and they told us we had to provide witnesses, we thought we'd have to ask people on the sidewalk outside just before.
They ended up finding a couple of clerks as witnesses for us. Didn't even know their names, they cried while we did the vows the Justice of the Peace provided.
It felt like the JP thought we were dumb kids doing something dumb. My wife was just finishing law school, I worked in IT for a bank. We just didn't want a traditional wedding.
We had a new year's eve party months later as a reception since we had initially met new year's eve.
3 kids and over 25 years married now. Everyone should do whatever feels right to them.
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u/Glass_Smile_2551 1d ago
My wife and I got married like this. We went down to the courthouse on a Friday afternoon and tied the knot. We just celebrated 29 years happy years so far.
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u/mustbethedragon 1d ago
My dad was a small town pastor. When the justice of the peace was unavailable, the courthouse would send couples to him. He'd call my sisters and me (f) to witness. We'd argue over which of us would be the best "man."
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u/LosMorbidus 1d ago
What's with Americans and this...hollering...for everything
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u/_rojun017 1d ago
They just probably wanted a quiet and simple ceremony but this picture reminds me ofthe song Cast Iron Skillet.I have been listening to too much Jason Isbell.
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u/iTheJok3rx 1d ago
Props to you.
I nearly went through the same thing. Me and my wife recently married. I have no family, and hers were deadset against any wedding that wasn't huge.
Luckily, a friend made a 5 hour drive to be one of our 2 witnesses, but we were prepared to be asking strangers
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u/liminalwombat 1d ago
So sweet!! This is my dream 🫶🏼 My partner and I are at that point where we're just ready to be married, don't care for the whole shebang of engagement and parties and a big ceremony, we just want to be legally recognised as partners and as a family.
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u/MenInG_98 1d ago
That's awesome! Don't forget the food tho. It could well be the best part of an anon wedding.
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u/Caleb_Reynolds 1d ago
I've signed 4 marriage certificates as a witness.
I've only known 1 of them, my brother/SIL.
Idk why this keeps happening to me.
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u/hkohne 1d ago
I was a witness for a wedding at our county courthouse a couple of months ago. The request by the couple was made to our local Reddit sub. Three or 4 of us came to the brief ceremony outside, where another civic wedding also took place. I brought my laptop & played the Mendelssohn wedding march when they kissed. The whole thing was so sweet.
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u/BigDaddyHadley 1d ago
I'd bet money there's a story behind these two. Good looking couple and I hope they live their best lives!
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u/Secret-Weakness-8262 23h ago
I was a maid of honor to a girl I just met once. We’re still friends!
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u/RebelLion420 20h ago
Situations like this often are a result of not being able to afford a full wedding or not having the family support to host one. So seeing someone take the initiative to be there for this couple genuinely made me smile 😊
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u/themoonhasgone 14h ago
my parents got married by the Jusice of the Peace. they were wearing jeans and t shirts and my dad's best friend was the witness. they were married just shy of 40 years (dad died in March of 2021 and their 40th was that August). Love isn't defined by fancy weddings :)
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u/rodrigoelp 11h ago
This is how my wife and I got married (albeit, we married in a park instead of the court house).
Our witnesses were, the lady selling ice cream, a ww2 veteran that for some random coincidence shared my middle name, his grand daughter, and a random woman jogging who cried more than his grandmas funeral.
Quite fun actually. Most of our friends were disappointed, but they understood.
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u/rodrigoelp 11h ago
I should mention, they were disappointed because we didn’t invite anyone to our wedding, didn’t mention it until 8 months later.
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u/MadeMeSmile-ModTeam 1d ago
Your post was removed as we feel it violated rule 1. Please make sure to remain civil and do not post if it violates any of our rules.
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[removed] — view removed comment
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u/MadeMeSmile-ModTeam 1d ago
Your post was removed as we feel it violated rule 1. Please make sure to remain civil and do not post if it violates any of our rules.
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u/Intergalacticdespot 1d ago
Forge your own signature. Then they'll never be legally married. But they won't know. /s
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u/PatienceLevel0 1d ago
Aww, seeing how enamored they are with each other is absolutely beautiful. I hope they have a long and happy marriage.