With so much to plan for a wedding, the little formality of a marriage license doesn’t seem like it would be a big deal. But that pesky little piece of paper can cause problems if you don’t thoroughly check up on all the rules and regulations in your state regarding the marriage license . . . as one of our couples learned the hard way.

You see, in Florida, once you obtain a marriage license, the marriage must officially take place within 60 days — but, and this is a big but, if you’re a Florida resident who has not completed a pre-marriage counseling course with a state certified counselor, there’s a three day waiting period before the marriage license goes into effect.

And that was precisely the part our couple didn’t know when they went to get their marriage license the day before their wedding.

It all worked out just fine in the end (they got married, after all!), but it put some really unpleasant stress on the couple just before their big day!

So, once you’ve set an official wedding date, do a Google search or call your county courthouse to make sure you know all the details involved in getting a marriage license so there are no surprises in the days leading up to your wedding!

~ Laura