Before Your Wedding

The first step to getting married in Virginia is obtaining a marriage license through the Circuit Court Clerk’s Office. This is most often found at the courthouse in a given county, and some links are provided under the FAQs section for the most commonly used clerk's offices. 

You do not need to be a resident of the County or even Virginia to obtain a Virginia marriage license. For specific information about the requirement for obtaining a license, contact the Circuit Court Clerk directly. 

Once you have your license, it remains valid for 60 days.  This means, the marriage ceremony needs to be completed within 60 days by the wedding officiant (that's me!)

Marriage ceremonies taking place within my office (Arlington or Fairfax) during my normal business hours are available for a fee of $75. (This fee is set by statute https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title20/chapter2/section20-27/)

Marriages taking place outside business hours, on Saturdays or Sundays or at a location outside my office (but within the Commonwealth of Virginia) are available for an additional fee. See the FAQs for details.

Weddings can be scheduled by calling the office at 703-248-0626 or using the scheduling tool available here. No weddings are confirmed as scheduled until you receive confirmation for me or the office.

Lastly, once you've confirmed your appointment let us know before the big day of any special requests that we may be able to accomadate.

On the day of the ceremony, you will need to bring the following: 

1. Both copies of the marriage license obtained through a Virginia Circuit Court 

2. Government-issued identification for both individuals getting married. 

3. Rings and/or vows to exchange, if desired 

4. Ceremony Fee  (Cash Only)

Ceremonies typically take no more than 30 minutes. 

But that's the boring part.... Let me know what you want your ceremony to be. I've done sand ceremonies, read Corinthians, read Fitzgerald, quoted I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry. It's your day and your wedding, so absolutely let me know what you want or don't want to be a part of it!

Once your wedding is completed, I make sure the signed marriage certificates are filed with the appropriate clerk's office within 5 days. Additionally, we scan and maintain a copy of it for our records and your convenience.