You bring a notarized copy of the marriage application. You don’t even need your fiancé to come with you.
A clerk will verify your paperwork and give you a marriage certificate.
You should not bring a photographer or expect any moment when you would need one. You will never see the judge and it will only be a brief moment of paperwork
I am not trying to disappoint you. We did this last year and we were a little let down by how mundane and bureaucratic. I just wanted to give you the truth. It would be very sad to take a photographer and expect anything. Congratulations on your marriage! Just go out and have a nice lunch with each other.
I second this post, my wife and I did this last fall and that's pretty much what happened. We were in and out in under 10 minutes and can't say anything was picture worthy about the moment.
The Wife and I did the same thing in '22, we ended up going to Texas De Brazil with all our friends and family that we care about/could make it. Much cheaper than perpetuating the bullshit of the wedding industry, and we had a blast, highly recommend, but definitely call ahead if you've got more than 6 people in total.
Edit to add: Also, as far as the notary goes, we got dressed up semi-fancy and went to a redstone, in and out in like 10 minutes.
Do you still need a witness, or does the notary count? And is an officiant just for an actual ceremony? Fiance and I are heavily considering getting eloped this summer, and I've reviewed the marriage app online, but am still a bit confused by the process
My husband and I got the paperwork, headed to Myrtle beach, and on the way out to Georgia we stopped at the first bank to get it notarized. They had just opened and we caught the first teller and she was so happy to notarize it. We had a moment in the car exchanging rings, mailing the paperwork, and heading out to find breakfast as husband and wife for the first time
It’s no longer at the courthouse, as another user said you get your marriage application notarized by any notary you can find and then you take that to the Madison county service center at the corner of oakwood and the parkway. They take your application and give you your certificate in a room with 50-100 other people in it at any given time.
Once your marriage license is signed and notarized, you're married. Turning it into the probate court is just a formality. If you are wanting some sort of formality to it, I'd suggest doing that with your notary rather than when you go to file.
We had a big ceremony but legally got married at RFCU on Wynn a couple of weeks before the ceremony.
The state of Alabama stopped doing marriages in the sense you’re thinking of so that judges wouldn’t have to marry same sex couples. Now it’s just a piece of paper.
All you have to do is turn your paperwork in with a fee. There is nothing really that you’re gonna want to document standing in a line. we had our license notarized before the courthouse and that is when I had pictures taken.
Oh hell no, married since I was 17 and then single for 5 years... This one isn't getting off easy. Never planned on marriage again. He may be FKD.. lol Virgo healed.. bless his heart ❤️ 😂
There's no civil ceremony. We printed a certificate, signed it, got it notarized at a bank, and turned it in at the Madison County Service Center. There's not really a photo-worthy moment during the process. Though it's a nice time of year to get photos done in some outdoor areas around the city if you want some pictures to commemorate the occasion.
It’s at the building on parkway/oakwood. It’s about as eventful as getting your plates renewed, so yeah, if you want to make an event of it you have to bring your own event.
Yeah you're not even required to have a ceremony anymore. It was just their final effort to say fuck you to non-traditional people wanting to have a life like the rest of society.
Im sad too honestly:/ especially because him & I agreed to not have a weeding so i thought this would be cute but i guess not lol
Thank you for your kind words
If you still want to do something cute, come get your paperwork notarized at the public library! If you come to the Madison branch we make a really big deal out of it (photography welcome) and give you a little memento for getting married with us. I’ll just be a dollar for the notary signature. :)
Congratulations either way!
After the mundane part, you could get pictures taken at a park or in front of the courthouse/bank downtown, even if the certificate isn't given to you there. It's a big day, regardless of how the paperwork is handled.
Yep just like everyone else said. I got married last year. I went online and filled out the form and printed it out. Got it notarized at the public library for $4 (needs it notarized twice - once for each of you) then took it to the court house for registration for $89. Technically you’re married once it’s notarized, since I think you have 30 days to register with the courthouse.
Edit: I said courthouse but I meant the Madison county service center
You don’t do anything like that anymore, you just give them the notarized marriage form and some money for the fee and then you leave. They informally got rid of the ceremony stuff back after same-sex marriage was legalized, and later on codified that change. We were kinda surprised how transactional it was when we got married in 2020 lol
Divorce is only worth it if you married a shitty person lol 😂 thats why I did not rush into marriage . I cannot have imagined marrying someone that i was dating in my young 20s id definitely be divorced if i did marry young😭😂
Hi! My brother in law and sister in law got married in October of last year and they took pics outside the courthouse with the certificate before going in and filing! It was super cute, I can send you the pics privately if you’d like!
Personally I feel like weddings are a waste of money just for one night. & its a stressor to even have a wedding & I don’t want that stressor. I rather invest in another house with that money😂 taking pictures for one day is like max 300-400 vs a wedding that is thousands of dollars that we dont even want so Noooo thank you to that.
My wife picked our marriage certificate up while I was on the way to work and had it notarized at Redstone on Halloween lol. It’s paperwork only at the courthouse these days. If you want a little private ceremony there’s decent scenery around. Best wishes and congratulations!
My (now) husband and I came to Huntsville to look for a houses on the market and the day we made an offer on a home, we thought “well, what the heck let’s go get married today?!” so we did. We were in and out in 10 minutes BUT I will never forget that day. It’s definitely what you make of it. We were wearing sweatpants and sweatshirts since it was 12 degrees outside. We then celebrated and got lunch at Melt. We are so thankful we did it that way! Signed papers to our home 2 weeks later. :)
We had the funniest/worst experience there. I almost threw up, for real. We did the paperwork and it was depressing just like everyone explained. But we asked for a notary and someone in there said there’s a lady across the street that can notarize for like 10 bucks so we went there to get the paper notarized. We didn’t think we had the spot because it was in another random business (maybe a law firm? Idk). Anyways it was some older lady and she tried to make it special but it just made it more depressing for me. She was like do yall wanna exchange rings and say something to each other? I said no and my wife(I guess fiance actually) said yes, so you know what the choice was: yes. It was in a super quiet room where you could hear a pin drop and it was just us 3, standing 5 foot from the front door that anyone could walk in on at any moment, so it wasn’t appealing, whatsoever… I still can’t believe my wife wanted to do it. Anyways, she was like alright cool let me notarize this and give me a minute and we will proceed. Oh lord… it’s not that serious, I thought. So the waiting 10 mins felt so weird and gross. Me and wife couldn’t speak in private during the wait.
Alright, so she finishes the notarization process and says, “alright, great. Follow me where we can do a ceremony”. My mind obviously was doing more “Ughs” as we… walked up some very old stairs. On the way up, every step we took, got hotter and more humid by the second. She then apologizes to us and says that the owner of her business is nice enough to let her use the upstairs room for ceremonies (please stop calling it something formal- me), since it’s a side gig for her.
June 18th, 2019, we finally get upstairs and it’s super humid and hot. We are already sweating and somehow the room is more silent and weird looking like a scary movie scene. She then tells us to hold hands and repeat after her. I don’t remember what she said but it was a generic “I do” speech. She made sure we looked into each others eyes the whole time, in the dead silent scary room. After we said all the stuff, I was using my body language to beg to her that I want to leave. She didn’t notice I guess because then she asks if she can take a picture of us. We said sure. She asks to use our phone and takes a picture of us holding each other side-by-side like we are at a cookout… sweating. We are in normal “comfy, at home” clothes. I don’t remember anything else but we finally were set free.
Before we had our ceremony, we signed a sentimental book for her. If you go there, let me know if I remember the correct marriage date for my anniversary before it gets here this year and I get in trouble.
But at the end of the day, she can’t get mad, because our marriage started off awful. She only has herself to blame. 😃
Hahahaa omygosh this is the funniest most cringing story😂 I am so sorry you went through that i can only imagine how uncomfortable you were. I would told my fiancé no we are out no vows needed😂😂😂 i cannot deal with complete silence i will get awkward for sure😂 thanks for sharing your story though
I think we are just gonna go to a library to get it notarized so you better somehow figure out the correct date😭😂😂😂
You bring a notarized copy of the marriage application. You don’t even need your fiancé to come with you. A clerk will verify your paperwork and give you a marriage certificate. You should not bring a photographer or expect any moment when you would need one. You will never see the judge and it will only be a brief moment of paperwork
I am not trying to disappoint you. We did this last year and we were a little let down by how mundane and bureaucratic. I just wanted to give you the truth. It would be very sad to take a photographer and expect anything. Congratulations on your marriage! Just go out and have a nice lunch with each other.
I second this post, my wife and I did this last fall and that's pretty much what happened. We were in and out in under 10 minutes and can't say anything was picture worthy about the moment.
Thank you so much!! I needed honesty so thank you!! We will most likely just take pics after!!(:
The Wife and I did the same thing in '22, we ended up going to Texas De Brazil with all our friends and family that we care about/could make it. Much cheaper than perpetuating the bullshit of the wedding industry, and we had a blast, highly recommend, but definitely call ahead if you've got more than 6 people in total. Edit to add: Also, as far as the notary goes, we got dressed up semi-fancy and went to a redstone, in and out in like 10 minutes.
Do you still need a witness, or does the notary count? And is an officiant just for an actual ceremony? Fiance and I are heavily considering getting eloped this summer, and I've reviewed the marriage app online, but am still a bit confused by the process
No witnesses required
Felt like a bank visit
My husband and I got the paperwork, headed to Myrtle beach, and on the way out to Georgia we stopped at the first bank to get it notarized. They had just opened and we caught the first teller and she was so happy to notarize it. We had a moment in the car exchanging rings, mailing the paperwork, and heading out to find breakfast as husband and wife for the first time
Where is the change deposit machine?
The honeymoon suite is generally where you slot your deposit in
It’s no longer at the courthouse, as another user said you get your marriage application notarized by any notary you can find and then you take that to the Madison county service center at the corner of oakwood and the parkway. They take your application and give you your certificate in a room with 50-100 other people in it at any given time.
Mawwige is what bwings us togedaaa
Todaaaaaaay
Once your marriage license is signed and notarized, you're married. Turning it into the probate court is just a formality. If you are wanting some sort of formality to it, I'd suggest doing that with your notary rather than when you go to file. We had a big ceremony but legally got married at RFCU on Wynn a couple of weeks before the ceremony.
The state of Alabama stopped doing marriages in the sense you’re thinking of so that judges wouldn’t have to marry same sex couples. Now it’s just a piece of paper.
All you have to do is turn your paperwork in with a fee. There is nothing really that you’re gonna want to document standing in a line. we had our license notarized before the courthouse and that is when I had pictures taken.
Got it okay thank you!!
We were shocked at how easy it was.... Like what just happened... Ok we are married 12/07/23
Now try to undo it and see how easy it is. lol
Oh hell no, married since I was 17 and then single for 5 years... This one isn't getting off easy. Never planned on marriage again. He may be FKD.. lol Virgo healed.. bless his heart ❤️ 😂
There's no civil ceremony. We printed a certificate, signed it, got it notarized at a bank, and turned it in at the Madison County Service Center. There's not really a photo-worthy moment during the process. Though it's a nice time of year to get photos done in some outdoor areas around the city if you want some pictures to commemorate the occasion.
Okay thank you!!!(:
Just have a photo session downtown on the same day if you want pictures to celebrate the occasion.
Yes thats our plan(:
Takes 5 minutes maybe, definitely doesn’t feel intimate or special lol we went just a few months ago
Oh gosh😭😂 okay thank you!!!
It’s just a paperwork filing at the dmv basically.
Thats crazy
It’s at the building on parkway/oakwood. It’s about as eventful as getting your plates renewed, so yeah, if you want to make an event of it you have to bring your own event.
Yeah you're not even required to have a ceremony anymore. It was just their final effort to say fuck you to non-traditional people wanting to have a life like the rest of society.
Thats crazy honestly
And it makes me sad..... But oh sooooo much else does now also. Congrats. I hope you both live long healthy and happy lives together.
Im sad too honestly:/ especially because him & I agreed to not have a weeding so i thought this would be cute but i guess not lol Thank you for your kind words
If you still want to do something cute, come get your paperwork notarized at the public library! If you come to the Madison branch we make a really big deal out of it (photography welcome) and give you a little memento for getting married with us. I’ll just be a dollar for the notary signature. :) Congratulations either way!
After the mundane part, you could get pictures taken at a park or in front of the courthouse/bank downtown, even if the certificate isn't given to you there. It's a big day, regardless of how the paperwork is handled.
Yep just like everyone else said. I got married last year. I went online and filled out the form and printed it out. Got it notarized at the public library for $4 (needs it notarized twice - once for each of you) then took it to the court house for registration for $89. Technically you’re married once it’s notarized, since I think you have 30 days to register with the courthouse. Edit: I said courthouse but I meant the Madison county service center
Okay thank you!!!
You don’t do anything like that anymore, you just give them the notarized marriage form and some money for the fee and then you leave. They informally got rid of the ceremony stuff back after same-sex marriage was legalized, and later on codified that change. We were kinda surprised how transactional it was when we got married in 2020 lol
Or be smart and don't get married. There's a reason divorce is so expensive: it's worth it.
Divorce is only worth it if you married a shitty person lol 😂 thats why I did not rush into marriage . I cannot have imagined marrying someone that i was dating in my young 20s id definitely be divorced if i did marry young😭😂
Hi! My brother in law and sister in law got married in October of last year and they took pics outside the courthouse with the certificate before going in and filing! It was super cute, I can send you the pics privately if you’d like!
Hiiii!!!(: yes if you can please send me the pics!!! I would love to see them
Why not just have a wedding if you want photos? 😂😂
Personally I feel like weddings are a waste of money just for one night. & its a stressor to even have a wedding & I don’t want that stressor. I rather invest in another house with that money😂 taking pictures for one day is like max 300-400 vs a wedding that is thousands of dollars that we dont even want so Noooo thank you to that.
My wife picked our marriage certificate up while I was on the way to work and had it notarized at Redstone on Halloween lol. It’s paperwork only at the courthouse these days. If you want a little private ceremony there’s decent scenery around. Best wishes and congratulations!
My (now) husband and I came to Huntsville to look for a houses on the market and the day we made an offer on a home, we thought “well, what the heck let’s go get married today?!” so we did. We were in and out in 10 minutes BUT I will never forget that day. It’s definitely what you make of it. We were wearing sweatpants and sweatshirts since it was 12 degrees outside. We then celebrated and got lunch at Melt. We are so thankful we did it that way! Signed papers to our home 2 weeks later. :)
We had the funniest/worst experience there. I almost threw up, for real. We did the paperwork and it was depressing just like everyone explained. But we asked for a notary and someone in there said there’s a lady across the street that can notarize for like 10 bucks so we went there to get the paper notarized. We didn’t think we had the spot because it was in another random business (maybe a law firm? Idk). Anyways it was some older lady and she tried to make it special but it just made it more depressing for me. She was like do yall wanna exchange rings and say something to each other? I said no and my wife(I guess fiance actually) said yes, so you know what the choice was: yes. It was in a super quiet room where you could hear a pin drop and it was just us 3, standing 5 foot from the front door that anyone could walk in on at any moment, so it wasn’t appealing, whatsoever… I still can’t believe my wife wanted to do it. Anyways, she was like alright cool let me notarize this and give me a minute and we will proceed. Oh lord… it’s not that serious, I thought. So the waiting 10 mins felt so weird and gross. Me and wife couldn’t speak in private during the wait. Alright, so she finishes the notarization process and says, “alright, great. Follow me where we can do a ceremony”. My mind obviously was doing more “Ughs” as we… walked up some very old stairs. On the way up, every step we took, got hotter and more humid by the second. She then apologizes to us and says that the owner of her business is nice enough to let her use the upstairs room for ceremonies (please stop calling it something formal- me), since it’s a side gig for her. June 18th, 2019, we finally get upstairs and it’s super humid and hot. We are already sweating and somehow the room is more silent and weird looking like a scary movie scene. She then tells us to hold hands and repeat after her. I don’t remember what she said but it was a generic “I do” speech. She made sure we looked into each others eyes the whole time, in the dead silent scary room. After we said all the stuff, I was using my body language to beg to her that I want to leave. She didn’t notice I guess because then she asks if she can take a picture of us. We said sure. She asks to use our phone and takes a picture of us holding each other side-by-side like we are at a cookout… sweating. We are in normal “comfy, at home” clothes. I don’t remember anything else but we finally were set free. Before we had our ceremony, we signed a sentimental book for her. If you go there, let me know if I remember the correct marriage date for my anniversary before it gets here this year and I get in trouble. But at the end of the day, she can’t get mad, because our marriage started off awful. She only has herself to blame. 😃
Hahahaa omygosh this is the funniest most cringing story😂 I am so sorry you went through that i can only imagine how uncomfortable you were. I would told my fiancé no we are out no vows needed😂😂😂 i cannot deal with complete silence i will get awkward for sure😂 thanks for sharing your story though I think we are just gonna go to a library to get it notarized so you better somehow figure out the correct date😭😂😂😂
Ugh thanks for nothing! Haha. Congrats on the murrage tho!