Applying for a Marriage License and According Fees

Marriage License:

My then fiancé and I went to the County Clerk's office in Van Nuys on August 14,2010. The one in Norwalk is too far from our location so we called to inquire about one in our vicinity. We entered the place at 11:00 am and we were entertained after 20 minutes of waiting in the queue. Since the application is readily available online, we printed a copy for ourselves and filled it up the night before. If you don't have the luxury of time to do it at home, you can proceed to the County Clerk's office and fill up an application there.

REQUIREMENTS:

-One valid I.D. for the petitioner

-One valid I.D. for the beneficiary

-$90 fee for the marriage license

-Application form

-You must both be present in order to show "proof of identity"

The process only took 15 minutes for us. The usual time for the process takes an hour depending on the volume of clients. I handed over my Philippine passport while Jordan showed his license. I brought along an original copy of my birth certificate just in case but I was never asked for it. Your passport will suffice.

The registrar then asked us to sign the marriage license. As it goes with every legal document, we scanned the papers to check for errors. Once again, my name was misspelled though I don't blame her for it. The registrar produced one copy for their file and a personal copy for us to keep.

I was told to jot down the married name of my choice. My single name used to be in this format:

A A A B C. I decided to drop my last name so it's now, A A A B D.

You cannot change your first name. You are not required to change your name. You can choose to alter your middle name as your current last name, a hyphenated combination of your current middle name and current middle name or that of your spouse or the traditional way. What you can do is use a hyphenated combination of your present last name and future husband's last name or simply, your husband's last name as it is the tradition. Be sure to check any errors because you cannot amend the license once it is issued by the County Clerk. The registrar was very adamant about it.

Afterwards, we took a quick oath and paid the fee of $90 for the marriage license. Our marriage license was issued on the same day. They offer a same day service only until 3pm. The last step that we had to decide on was the desired ceremony date. In California, the available days are only on Fridays. We chose August 29th since I didn't have a dress yet. At the end of it, you will be given an envelope which you should bring on the wedding day. Do not fold it in any way.

FYI: You can apply for a marriage license online though by law, it cannot be mailed so you are required to pick it up once the document is produced.

Keep in mind that the marriage license is only valid for 90 days so you must marry within the given time frame.

instructions for marriage records

appointment slip

Wedding Day:

Requirements:

-One valid I.D. for the petitioner

-One valid I.D. for the beneficiary

-One valid I.D. for the witness/es

-A fee of $14 for a copy of the marriage certificate

-Civil ceremony fee of $25

-Marriage license

Proceed to the line where the other grooms and brides are then wait for your name to be called. You must show your marriage license. Once again, you both must present one valid I.D. and sign the provided documents. The witnesses will be asked to present valid I.D.s and sign the marriage certificate. Do not alter your signature just yet. You will then pay for the civil ceremony fee of $25 and $14 for a copy of the marriage certificate. Since it was just two days before Halloween, the registrar gave us and our witnesses a couple of candy bars. That part made me laugh. Moving on, you will be directed towards the ceremony area and stand there until the marriage officiator beckons for you. Once called, you will proceed into the area for the ceremony. After which, the officiator will sign the papers and you'll be officially wed.

fill up and submit the pink version of this form

The marriage certificate takes approximately two months to produce. In the meantime, you can apply for a Social Security Number. If by any chance, you failed to do so before the expiration of your visa, apply for a Social Security Number once you receive your two year green card. 

Halloween Blast

On Saturday, my husband and I attended two parties. Did we know who threw the parties? Of course! We met them that night! A friend of mine invited us to a party, so who are we to decline?

Here's the diagram for what went went about on Saturday:

The first party was fun. I was awkward to walk into a house of someone I didn't know but at the same time, I was looking forward to meeting new people. There were a ton of people blocking the front door entrance and one girl in particular said hi to Jordan and I. Being that she was polite, I said hi in return. At the end of the party, I bumped into the same girl again and discovered that it was her party. *teehee* We met a lot of new people and my husband finally met my friend's husband. I haven't seen that friend of mine in months so Jordan and I decided that the drive was worth it. Since most of the people we were conversing with left and there were cliques at that part, we decided to go to another one.

We were met with a plethora of zombies at the door of the second party. It was a laid back party with less people who were more sociable. I tried my first ever chocolate cake shot. Being that I'm a light drinker with a ton of allergies, I choose to steer away from alcohol. I must say, that shot was the bomb! As the host of the party explained, it was half and half of vanilla vodka and hazelnut liquor. The drink was served chilled in a shot glass with the rim lined with sugar.

Oh yeah! The outfits! I was dressed as a 20's flapper while my husband was dressed to the nines as a mobster. My friend was The Queen of Hearts and her husband, the Oxyclean man. Our new friends were dressed as zombies.

Bringing back the 20's!

Make up by Jumelle Makeup Artistry

My lovely mobster husband

You gotta love red

The make up at 5:00 am

The next day, we both got up in the afternoon. I slept like a baby. Since Saturday was a busy night, we handed out candy and carved some pumpkins on Sunday.

Our pumpkins

Pretty awesome, huh?

My Induction to Wedlock

Wedding date: October 29, 2010

It happens to be my grandma's birthday.

R.I.P. Lola Geli

My husband and I had a long distance relationship for a little over two years. We mutually came to a decision for me to emigrate to the States. The visa process was a grueling wait for us so when my application got approved, we visualized the planets align in our favor. I came to the States in August and as it is part of the requirement, we got married before the expiration of my I-94. If we had a choice, we would have planned it for 2012. Being a traditional romantic, my husband wants to give me my dream wedding. A few years from now, he wants to get on his knee and propose to me all over again.

I can't possibly ask for more. I've got all that I need.

Before the wedding

Jordan and I with the officiator

Mr. & Mrs. P

Make-up by Sabrina of Jumelle Makeup Artistry

I love Sabrina's make-up job! <3

The wedding was at 1:15 pm and the night before, Jordan had a bachelor's party at the house. Since we wanted to keep it traditional, I slept over elsewhere to surprise Jordan on the wedding day. I had my make-up done at 10:00 am and was done an hour later. Sabrina did such a great make-up job because I had no smears the entire time. By the time Jordan and I called it a night at 2:00 am the next day, my make-up was still looked wonderful.

She'll be blogging about her make-up jobs soon so follow her at Jumelle Makeup Artistry. As a lot pf our family and friends had plans yesterday and this weekend, we're having an intimate dinner next Friday to celebrate our union.

Tonight, we party! I, in a 20's flapper dress and Jordan as my mobster lover.

Happy Halloween!

Jumelle Makeup Artistry

As I have mentioned in previous posts, I'm getting married this Friday. I'm fortunate that my fiancé's twin aunts are professional makeup artists and stylists. They are the brains behind Jumelle Makeup Artistry. They both worked with music artists at the Latin Grammy Awards and numerous wedding entourages. Makeup is an evolving lifestyle and these two ladies surely keep up to date with the latest beauty finds in the industry.

We went to Macy's yesterday and purchased my wedding dress along with makeup and other articles of clothing. I like the classic Victorian style so that's exactly what we got for me to wear on the big day. I'll reveal my dress on Friday but for now, I do want to show you another purchase I made that day. There was a clearance sale at Macy's and I got a skimpy dress by Ms.Fabulosity herself, Kimora.

I'm thick and I don't mind it.

Soon enough, another ring will be around my finger.

Yesterday was a good trip to the mall and I'm happy with my purchases. The twins are going to join the blogging world soon so watch out for their page. I'll link them to my blog this Friday. Go and take a gander at their work!