License to Wed

I believe I let it slip a few days ago, but Mr. Goodlaff and I went into the County Recorder's office last Friday to get our Marriage License so we could make this whole thing legal. I've mentioned before that I work in Elections, which just happens to be the sister office to the Recorder's office.  What does this mean in the grand scheme of marriage license issuance?

It means we should have gone to another county in California where no one knows us, that's what!

Mr. Goodlaff and I were calmly sitting there, dealing with paperwork, when:



Paparazzi! The ladies in the Recorder's office were instructed to call Elections when we walked in the door, and soon after, the camera came out.  It's not because of me that this process is documented, but my um, helpful, co-workers.

Pictures aside, the process was relatively painless.

First there was some swearing....

Then there was some signing...

And $72 later, we had ourselves a marriage license. 

I'm not sure if I've really talked a whole lot about it, but Mr. Goodlaff and I are being married by Houdini, the troublemaker who introduced us, and together with Tally, forced us into The Lunch. When we first began our planning journey, our hope was that Mr. Goodlaff's grandfather would be well enough to marry us; unfortunately he passed away a few months into our engagement.  It was monumentally important for both of us to have a real connection with our officiant, and while pondering on the possibilities, Houdini's name came up.  We thought about it for a moment and eventually decided that he would really be the perfect officiant. 

With the right blend of humor and sincerity, wit and humility, and a wish for nothing but the best for the Goodlaffs, we knew there was no one more suited to the task of marrying us than Houdini. "Do you know who you're asking?" Houdini's wife wondered aloud when we proposed marriage.  We laughed, but all joking aside, we were completely thrilled when he agreed to marry us.   

In California, anyone can marry you so long as they get a Commissioner for a Day license ($68 for ours)--it's good for one ceremony only during a two-hour window, and is an easy process.

Houdini signs...

Then he gets a gold seal and is certified to perform our marriage ceremony!



The whole process took less than a half-hour, even with the photo shoot, and was really easy.  Just make sure you go prepared with all the required information needed on your marriage license and go to the right location and you are golden.

How did you choose your officiant?