Home / License On The Wedding Day
On The Day
The License On Your Wedding Day
Six months out to the morning after, a photographer's plan for the one piece of paper that makes it legal.
Six To Three Months Out
Pick your county, book a premarital course if you want the $40 discount, and find your divorce decree or order a certified copy if you need one.
Two Months Out
Book the probate court appointment where one is required. Chatham, DeKalb, Glynn and Effingham require them.
A Few Weeks Out
Go to the court together, check every name and date on the license before you leave, and store it flat in a folder.
The Day Before
Give the license to the one person responsible for it, with a good pen. Tell your officiant and your photographer where the signing will happen.
The Ceremony
The officiant marries you, then completes the license, the date, county, city, signature, printed name and address. I photograph the signing, your hands, the pen and your faces.
Within 30 Days
The license goes back to the probate court. Order your certified copies and start any name change.
From A Photographer
Why The Signing Matters In Photographs
Most wedding days move fast. The signing is the one quiet moment where you sit down together, often with a parent or best friend leaning over your shoulder. It is a great frame. I like a table near a window or under the oaks, the license flat, the rings nearby.
Plan five minutes for it in the timeline. I build every wedding timeline from the sunset, and the signing usually fits right after the recessional, before portraits.
Keep It Safe
Do Not Lose The License
The license is the legal document, so treat it like a passport. Keep it in a folder, out of the getting ready room, and away from champagne. If anything goes wrong, call the probate court that issued it before the ceremony. See after the wedding for what happens next.
Common Problems
What Goes Wrong And How To Avoid It
- A divorce decree that is a photocopy, not a certified copy. Order the certified copy weeks ahead.
- An online application that was never printed. Fulton and Cobb want it printed and in hand.
- No appointment where one is required. Chatham turns walk ins away with a link to book, and DeKalb will not let you in without one.
- The wrong form of payment. Liberty is cash only, and several courts refuse personal checks.
- A license left in a hotel room. Give it to one responsible person the day before.
- An officiant who forgets to mail it. Ask them to tell you when it is in the mail.
Questions
Questions Couples Ask
When should we get our Georgia marriage license?
As soon as your date and venue are set. Several courts say the license does not expire, and appointment calendars fill up in busy wedding months.
Who holds the license on the wedding day?
Pick one person, usually the planner, a parent or the officiant, and hand it over the day before so it is not in a suitcase.
When do we sign it?
Your officiant completes it after the ceremony. Most couples do it right after the recessional or during cocktail hour.
Will you photograph the signing?
Yes. I treat it like the ring details, close and unhurried. Tell me where and when when you check your date.
