Has anyone been married by a justice of peace and if so what all goes on during this ceremony?

Question

I want to know how should you dress and if you exchange rings or not.

Answer 1

i got married by a justice of peace. it depends on how it is for example are there going to be alot of people is it only you 2 , me and my husband did exchange rings but you have to let the jstice of peace know
so basically its the same thing as getting married by a priest etc.

Answer 2

Standard wedding ceremony, dress how you want, as dressy or casual. Rings are exchanged if wanted. My first marriage was by a justice of the peace in Pasagula MS.

Answer 3

I was married by a justice of the peace and yes you do exchange rings and repeat vows. I wore a dress, you can wear whatever you want, it is your day.

Answer 4

I was married by a judge. We dressed up, nothing fancy, I wore a white dress, he wore black pants with a white shirt, we exchanged rings, and the judge had a very nice passage he read and we did traditional vows.

Answer 5

dress any which way you want. except sweats it takes less then 15 minutes. you can exchange rings or opt out.. basic vows..."do you take this man blah blah blah....( i almost passed out and started crying so i can't quite remember everything i repeated) judge gives a run down of your obligations as husband and wife, you repeat the vows and you stand under a rail of flowers. that's about it. and you have to have two witnesses.

Answer 6

it's your wedding (it's best if you dress decent)- there is no dress code- and if you have rings you will exchange them --it's a ceremony, but at the county clecks office

Answer 7

My wife and I were married by a justice of the peace and it was wonderful. It was the two of us, the judge, and two witnesses (which sign the marriage certificate).

I didn't wear my tuxedo and my wife didn't wear a wedding dress, but we did dress up a little. I think. I might have been wearing a hawaiian shirt... that's not the point.

We did have rings and exchanged them as part of the ceremony.

We had the option of providing our own vows, but the judge had his version ready. We loved them! The judge's vows were the most real and honest of any marriage ceremony I've seen. I quote:

Welcome. We are here today to witness and to celebrate a marriage. ______ and ______ are bringing the fullness of their hearts, as a treasure, to share with one another. They bring that particular personality and spirit which is uniquely their own, and out of which will grow the reality of life together.

Who gives his blessing upon this marriage? (Witnesses speak up.)

Happiness in marriage must be created. In the art of marriage, the little things are the big things…
- It is remembering to say I love you at least once a day perhaps not always in words but in the way you look at each other or touch.
- It is at no time taking the other for granted, the courtship should continue throughout your lives together.
- It is never growing too old to hold hands.
- It is never going to sleep angry.
- It is having a mutual sense of values and common objectives.
- It is standing together to face the world.
- It is forming a circle which gathers in the whole family and the family of friends.
- It is speaking words of appreciation and demonstrating gratitude in thoughtful ways.
- It is doing things for each other, not in the attitude of duty or sacrifice, but in the spirit of joy.
- It is not expecting the husband to wear a halo or the wife to have the wings of an angel.
- It is cultivating flexibility, patience, understanding and a sense of humor.
- It is having the capacity to forgive and forget.
- It is giving each other an atmosphere in which to grow.
- It is finding room for the spirit in a common search for the good and beautiful.
- It is establishing a relationship in which the independence is equal, the dependence is mutual, and the obligation is reciprocal.
- It is not marrying the right partner, it is being the right partner.

The vows which you ______ and you ______ will exchange will serve as a verbal representation of the love you pledge to each other, for it is not the words which you will speak today which will bond you together as one, but the inner sense of love and commitment that each of you feel within your soul.

Please repeat after me:
I ______ take you ______ to be my wife, friend and lover. I will be yours in plenty and in want, in sickness and in health, in failure and in triumph. Together we will dream, play and experience. When you stumble, I will restore you. Throughout my life, I promise to cherish and respect you, to comfort and encourage you, and to stay with you as long as we both live.

Please repeat after me:
I ______ take you ______ to be my husband, friend and lover. I will be yours in plenty and in want, in sickness and in health, in failure and in triumph. Together we will dream, play and experience. When you stumble, I will restore you. Throughout my life, I promise to cherish and respect you, to comfort and encourage you, and to stay with you as long as we both live.

(ring exchange)

I give you this symbol of my love, knowing love is precious and fragile, yet strong. I give you this sign of my love, an ever-present symbol of the vows we have made this day. I give you this ring as I give you my love.

(closing statement)

______ and ______, cherish each living moment together, savor every breath and grow with each experience, so that the attitude of celebration will stay with you for all of your days.

With the words from an old Apache wedding blessing, I would like to bless this wedding.
Now you will feel no rain, for each of you will be shelter to one another.
Now you will feel no cold, for each of you will be warmth to the other.
Now there is no loneliness for you, now there is no more loneliness.
Now you are two persons, but there is one life before you.
Go now to your place to enter into the days of your togetherness.
And may your days be good and long upon the Earth.

Each of you have pledged your truth, one to the other, by giving and receiving your love. It becomes my pleasure to make complete the union of your lives. I now give you into the keeping of each other in the highest and noblest relationship recognized by society and the laws under which we live. By virtue of the authority in me vested, and in accordance with the laws of the State of California, I now pronounce you husband and wife.

You may now kiss the bride.

Ladies and gentleman, I now present Mr. and Mrs. ______ and ______, husband and wife.

Answer 8

Dress how you want and invite who you want.

Rings? yes.

Answer 9

In most states, once you fill out the paperwork, you are technically married.

How romantic.