I want to know if there is a way for two people (or perhaps
friends/family acting as witnesses) to marry themselves with no
officiants.  Specifically, can one (er, two...) do this in Maryland? 
We do not feel that it is appropriate for a member of a religious
organization to preside over a bond that we are creating.  I know
that, theoretically, we could just go down to the courthouse and have
a civil ceremony done, and *then* celebrate, but that doesn't really
appeal.  We also don't feel like waiting long enough to be "married by
default" (common law marriage).

  In terms of background - my partner has contacted a secular humanist
society, I believe the American Humanist Association. They can offer a
nonreligious officiant in some states (an option that we're still not
quite sure we're comfortable with), but there was some dispute over
whether this was legal in Maryland. For the record, is it?

  Also, I have a Quaker friend whose parents were married in a Quaker
ceremony. From what I understand, Pennsylvania makes special
allowances for these things. I've seen the marriage certificate, and
essentially it's a large (and beautiful) piece of paper stating that
the two people are married, followed by the signatures of everyone
present for the ceremony.  This sounds very much like what my partner
and I are looking for, as long as 1) it can be done apart from the
Quaker religion and 2) it can be done in Maryland.

  There may also be other methods we haven't yet heard of; if I
haven't mentioned it in the question assume I haven't heard of it. I
hope you researchers have better luck than we have had in the
search!

hippychick,

Researcher Pinkfreud (who is quite a neat lady) and I discussed your
Question, and she asked me to go ahead and post a complete Answer
which includes the information she provided you.

The legal mumbo-jumbo for getting married in Maryland in the Counties
of Anne Arundel, Frederick, Howard, Montgomery, and Prince George is
here:
http://www.marylandweddings.com/html/marriage_laws.htm

And for Baltimore, Carroll and Harford Counties it is here:
http://www.baltimoreweddings.com/html/marriage_laws.html

According to the above sites, the following laws are true for all
Maryland Counties:
"- Legal Age for Marriage is 18 years old.
 - Under 18 needs parental consent. 
 - Residency is not required for bride or groom. 
 - Either bride or groom may apply for the license. 
 - Couple must marry within the county they register. 
 - If previously married you need a certificate of divorce or death. 
 - There is a two day waiting period to receive your 
   license and it remains valid for up to 6 months."

Fees range from $35 to $60, and one or more forms of ID /
documentation may be required, depending on the county.

Between these two pages, the address, phone number, and business hours
of the office for all Counties are included.

So... It sounds like you just have to take care of the paperwork at
the courthouse, then have your ceremony, officiated by the friend or
loved one of your own choosing.
"In Maryland, any adult can sign as clergy, as long as the couple who
are getting married agree that he is a clergy. The celebrant doesn't
have to be a resident, register in advance, or fulfil any other
requirements."
http://northernway.org/marriagelaws.html#MD 


Search Strategy

Maryland marriage laws
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=Maryland+marriage+laws

Maryland marriage ceremony officiants requirements
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=Maryland+marriage+ceremony+officiants+requirements&btnG=Google+Search&filter=0&num=100


Both Pinkfreud and I hope that this Answer has provided you with
exactly the information you needed to make your special day a perfect
day, and that the two of you will enjoy much happiness in your lives
together.

Best Wishes,

ace

---

Clarification of Answer by aceresearcher-ga on 27 Mar 2003 21:03 PST

hippychick,

It seems I did not get *quite* all the counties included in the links
I provided, so here is information which includes the rest of them:

From USMarriageLaws.com:
"Congratulations on your engagement! Here's what you need to know to
make the marriage legal in Maryland..."
http://usmarriagelaws.com/search/united_states/maryland/index.shtml


Before Rating my Answer, if you have ANY questions about the
information included here, please post a Request for Clarification,
and I will be delighted to see what I can do for you.

Regards,

ace

---

Request for Answer Clarification by hippychick-ga on 27 Mar 2003 22:50 PST

aceresearcher (and pinkfreud),

  First of all, thank you very much for the quick answer and the
informative sites.  Interesting law about anyone being able to sign
the marriage certificate as clergy.  Could you please follow up on
that a little?  Does the person who is signing as clergy have to be
present when we get the marriage license?  Does there have to be a
formal (written) agreement that this person is clergy?  I hate to make
you wade through more legal mumbo jumbo, but if you could find the
actual Maryland statute, that would ease my mind considerably.  My
partner said that the county clerk's office seemed somewhat confused
when he called, so having the law to point to would be particularly
reassuring.

 If you think this clarification is beyond the scope of the current
question, I can post it as another question.
~hippychick

---

Clarification of Answer by aceresearcher-ga on 28 Mar 2003 07:31 PST

hippychick,

Apparently, Maryland does not make legal code as easily available
online as many other states do. Let me check into this.

ace

---

Clarification of Answer by aceresearcher-ga on 28 Mar 2003 14:44 PST

Okay, hippychick, here's what I found for you.

Please bear in mind that I am not an attorney, nor am I a legal expert
(although sometimes those two DO coincide with each other!) ;-)

However, Researcher expertlaw-ga was nice enough to assist me. He
discovered the following information about Common Law Marriages and
the State of Maryland:
"it is firmly settled that Maryland does not permit common law
marriages to be formed within its borders." Panitz v Panitz, 144 Md.
App. 627; 799 A.2d 452 (2002))
So Common Law Marriage is "out" as far as being a viable option,
anyway.


The Maryland State Law applicable to marriages is here:
http://mlis.state.md.us/cgi-win/web_statutes.exe 

Pull down "Family Law" and click "Submit Query".

I am not able to link to the statutes directly; you will have to pull
them down on the subment and click "Submit Query" to see them:

§ 2-403  Text of Marriage Certificate
§ 2-406  Definition of authorized officiant
"(2) A marriage ceremony may be performed in this State by:
   (i)  any official of a religious order or body authorized 
        by the rules and customs of that order or body
        to perform a marriage ceremony;
  (ii)  any clerk;
 (iii)  any deputy clerk designated by the county administrative
        judge of the circuit court for the county; or
  (iv)  a judge."
§ 2-409  
"(a) Each marriage certificate shall contain: 
   (1) the name, signature, and title of the authorized 
       official who performs the marriage ceremony; or 
   (2) if the individuals are married in a Society of Friends
        marriage ceremony, the signatures of the individuals 
        and the attestation of the certificate by 2 overseers
        of the marriage ceremony. 
 (b)
   (1)  The authorized official who performs the marriage
        ceremony shall: 
     (i)  hand 1 marriage certificate to the individuals; and 
    (ii)  return, within 5 days from the date of the marriage
          ceremony, the other marriage certificate to the clerk
          who issued the license to which the certificates were
          attached, but if the authorized official who performs
          the marriage ceremony dies or resigns, some other
          individual shall return the certificate."
I do not see where the following statement is supported: 
"In Maryland, any adult can sign as clergy, as long as the couple who
are getting married agree that he is a clergy. The celebrant doesn't
have to be a resident, register in advance, or fulfil any other
requirements."
http://northernway.org/marriagelaws.html#MD 

This *could* be based on a judicial ruling (made at some point in
Maryland history) of what constitutes an "authorized official".
However, according to expertlaw, "this website appears to be
anticipating that nobody could challenge the validity of the marriage,
and due to the conflict with the express language of the statute, that
may be an unwise assumption"; he mentions the case of a woman whose
in-laws tried to invalidate her marriage after her husband
unexpectedly died of a heart attack, so as to exclude her from sharing
in his estate.

The suggestion of both expertlaw and myself to you is to not try for a
perhaps questionable interpretation of the law, possibly involving the
expense of an attorney and/or complications later on, should the
legality of the marriage ever be questioned.

Instead, I recommend that you do what I did: We actually had the JP
sign the official certificate before our wedding ceremony. She asked
if we wanted her to say anything, and we said no, that we would do
that at the ceremony. Then the JP came to the hotel to do the
ceremony, and we all signed a beautiful certificate I had done with
some AwardMaker computer program on beautiful fancy paper.

I know it's not terribly romantic, but I think you should just go to
the courthouse and sign the papers in front of the clerk/JP -- it is
likely they will merely ask both of you if you are willing to enter
the marriage, and if you are cognizant of the seriousness of the
commitment you are making.

Then proceed to have your ceremony in your desired form, with the
"officiant" of your choosing (or with no officiant, just repeating the
vows you have chosen to each other). Have a lovely computer-designed
(or hand-calligraphed certificate) there for your witnesses to sign.

My husband and I do not consider the time and place that the JP signed
the certificate our actual "wedding" -- it was just the legal
mumbo-jumbo part. Our real wedding was when we said our vows in front
of all our loved ones.

I hope that this additional information provides you with exactly what
you need to carry off your special day to perfection.

Best Wishes,

ace

Thanks very much!  You took me from start to finish with this
question, plus some free advice on the side.  Now I know when and how
to begin the wedding plans.  What more could I ask for? :-)

Greetings, hippychick!

When my husband and I got married a few years ago, we had a
short-but-sweet, 5-minute ceremony (in full white dress and tux
regalia) in a private meeting room at our reception hotel, with our
immediate families present, officiated over by a local female attorney
who was serving in the Vermont House of Representatives, and who
happened to be certified as a Justice of the Peace in our County. In
Vermont, all that is officially required is that the two being married
sign a certificate, which is then signed and filed by the JP.

We spoke non-religious vows (which I had read in a book a long time
ago and really liked), kissed, and walked to the back of the room,
where the hotel had set up a pyramid of champagne glasses on a table,
and the families were all served regular and non-alcoholic champagne,
along with an array of toasts by various family members. We thought it
was quite intimate and special. Then we joined 100 guests in a banquet
room for dinner and dancing.

So... if you can find a JP who would be willing to visit the site of
your choosing, this sort of thing might be a good option for you.

Best wishes to you and your partner for a long life together and much
happiness!

aceresearcher

I do not believe there is any state in which a legal marriage may be
performed by the bride and/or groom. Some kind of officiant is always
required. But I've found this interesting fact about marriage in
Maryland:

"In Maryland, any adult can sign as clergy, as long as the couple who
are getting married agree that he is a clergy. The celebrant doesn't
have to be a resident, register in advance, or fulfil any other
requirements."

http://northernway.org/marriagelaws.html#MD

Perhaps a dear friend would like to be declared a clergyperson for the
day?

My DH and I married in our crummy college apartment livingroom the day
before exams, officiated by a local judge, who, for $50, was willing
to come and perform a ceremony for us. Though in our case, we used the
"canned vows", presented by him, we could have just as well done the
ceremony ourselves, without his participation, once he'd acertained we
entered the marriage of our own free will. My parents had a similar
ceremony at their local courthouse. Most, if not all states require
only a verbal declaration of intent and signatures from the three
parties (officiant and "wedees"). A ceremony after the paperwork is
done can be performed by anyone. It's not the ceremony that makes it
legal... it's the red tape :)