Cheers to getting married in Michigan! So now that you have decided to get married in Michigan, you may be wondering just how do I do this? Have no fear, you are not alone in your questions and wondering how to get married in Michigan. 

It's actually not that difficult to marry in Michigan. The state of Michigan requires you to apply for and obtain a marriage certificate. If you reside in Michigan you will apply for your marriage license in the county that you live in. If you live out of state you will apply for your marriage license in the county you wish to get married in. Each Michigan County Clerk's office runs a little differently so it is best to visit their website or local office in person to ask what their requirements for applying for a marriage license are. Most of Michigan County Clerk's require each couple to complete an application and to supply them photo ID, social security card, original birth certificate or certified copy and proof of residency. Some Michigan County Clerk's office's have a 3 day waiting period, most in fact! So, once you apply for your marriage license you must return 3 days later to actually pick up the license. And perhaps most importantly, the license is only valid for 30 days so once you've got the license in hand you must get married in 30 days or it expires. 

Now that you have your marriage license you will want to hire a professional wedding Officiant or Minister to assist with the marriage. However you choose to marry you must have two witnesses over 18 years old present during your wedding ceremony as they must witness your I Do's and then sign the marriage license as well. 

You've got your license, you've got your Minister now get hitched! You can have any sort of ceremony you like, elopement, intimate or grandiose, it's really up to you, the possibilities are endless. 

Once you have had your marriage ceremony your Officiant or Wedding Minister will complete the marriage license and sign it, and then ask the two of you to sign and well as your witnesses. The Officiant or Wedding Minister is responsible for filing the marriage license for you. They have 10 days to return the license to the County Clerk's office on your behalf. 

And lastly, you will need to make one more trip back to your local County Clerk's office to request the legal copy of your marriage license. It does not come to you automatically, you must request the certified legal copy yourself. Some County Clerk's offices will allow you to request this online, thus saving you the trip in person. 

So let's review how to get married in Michigan: 

1 - Apply for and obtain your Michigan Marriage License from your local County Clerk's office. 

2- Hire a professional Wedding Officiant or Minister to perform your wedding ceremony. 

3- Get hitched!

4- Sign your marriage license. 

5- Request your legal copy of your marriage license. 

6- Live happily ever after. 

Hiring the right wedding Officiant is a really important decision. Your wedding Officiant will help to set the tone for your wedding celebration. Your wedding Officiant is in charge of writing your entire ceremony and performing your wedding ceremony with emotion and feeling and love. Don't take the decision of hiring your wedding Officiant lightly. 

So, how the heck does one go about hiring a wedding Officiant? 

A good place to start is visiting two top performing websites THE KNOT and WEDDING WIRE 

These two websites have a great list of wedding Officiants local to Michigan. And best of all they have reviews from other couples, so you can read real reviews of their services and get a feel for which wedding Officiants you may want to interview. 

Yes, that's right, up next you should interview your top 3 wedding Officiant choices. Now, of course you're going to have to email them first to check availability for your wedding date, once that's settled I highly suggest you set a date to meet with them in person. You want to have a little moment of chatting in person to see if you...1 - like their personality, trust me their in a lot fo your photos and spend that intimate moment of saying I DO with you, so do they fit your feeling and vibe? 2- do you like their speaking voice? Your wedding Officiant is responsible for reading your wedding ceremony and you want to feel comforted and moved by their speaking voice. 

During the interview you will want to discuss what they will do for your wedding ceremony, here's some topics to discuss: 

Will they write the entire ceremony? 
Will they email the ceremony to you so you can review it and make changes? 
Will they do some sort of rehearsal of the ceremony with you? 
Will they arrive early on your wedding day to greet guests and you and make sure everything is ready to go? 
What is their fee and what does it include, are there any extra charges? 
What do they wear the day of the wedding? 
Are they flexible with the ceremony, will they allow you to make it your own? 

Trust your gut! Go with the wedding Officiant who speaks to you in a way that makes you happy, that reassures you they are in charge and will allow you to have a stress free wedding day. 

To book with Nichole email her at nicholebert@gmail.com 

It's a magical moment, standing up there looking at each other and entering into marriage with so much love and joy in your hearts. The person you choose to officiate your wedding is an important choice, one that should be made with the same thought as hiring a photographer or musician. 

The officiant is charged with writing your ceremony, putting words to your love story and reciting that ceremony with love and emotion, drawing your guests into the moment and making them feel the excitement and hope that you have. 

I want to share with you a story about the first wedding I officiated. My sister was getting married and had a hard time finding someone who was just right for her day, so I stepped up to the moment and volunteered to do the ceremony. You see, if Joey on Friends could marry his friends for sure I could do this! 

So, we wrote the ceremony short and sweet just what they wanted. On the day of the wedding I walked my sister down the aisle with my mom and then turned to begin the ceremony and....I....began balling! I'm crying, my sister's crying heck our whole family was crying, it was horrible!! We laugh now but so many emotions that day intruded on what should of been her magical moment. 

I can also tell you of all the phone calls I get of couples telling me the friend they asked to perform the ceremony has backed out...it's a big responsibility and not everyone is comfortable with public speaking or writing. 

So I say this with all the love I have in my heart, choose your officiant wisely, they will set the tone for your wedding day and you want it to be flawless. 

Every Day by David Levithan“This is what love does: It makes you want to rewrite the world. It makes you want to choose the characters, build the scenery, guide the plot. The person you love sits across from you, and you want to do everything in your power to make it possible, endlessly possible. And when it’s just the two of you, alone in a room, you can pretend that this is how it is, this is how it will be.”