Marriage on paper-no wedding.. can you do it if you are in different states?

Question

ok my fiancee is in the navy at great lakes naval base in IL and me and our son live in florida. he will only be stationed up there for 3 months and we want to get married assap so all the military paper work goes through so by the time hes stationed somewhere else we can go with him.. anyways my friend told me that all her husband had to do was tell his command and they gave him paper work to fill out and they mailed it to her and she just had to send her liscense and that was is basically..

has anyone else done that? or has anyone else gotten married when you wernt in the same state ?

Answer 1

There is always a wedding or it isn't legal.  An officiant and witnesses have to view a vow of acceptance of the marriage.  No way around it.  You can just get married at the courthouse. Even a busy courthouse can usually accommodate you within 24 hours. Yes, what the friend said is correct, but if you aren't married, your license IS NOT VALID.

Answer 2

I think that this is called marrriage by proxy.  Check with your local court house (whoever records marriages), they may help you.

Answer 3

hey im in the same situation minus the kid.... im in ma, and he in ait in ga... im filing for the marriage license this week. and since your fiance is in the military you can file with out him. you just need to have his information... but here in ma you also have to say vows so when he has leave for labor day we are getting married by a justice of the peace so the license can be a certificate.

i hope this helped!

Answer 4

As has been mentioned the type of wedding you are asking about is called a proxy.  They aren't legal in most of the US (and more importantly in either of the states that you and your future husband are), that being said even if you were in those states most other states won't acknowledge it as valid.  So the most simple solution would be to get married either in Florida or Michigan.  You'll need to check into the requirements for those states.  It will probably take longer than you wished but it is smarter to ensure that the marriage is acknowledged everywhere avoiding future legal issues.

Answer 5

Proxy marriages are legal only in about 4 states; BUT sometimes they allow it in the military especially if the person is going to be shipped overseas.

Have your fiance talk to someone in charge and get this underway.  You can't do it.  They will give him (& you) all the particulars that must be followed.  Remember, you're dealing with the military.....it will be a process that must be followed to the letter.

The only other choices are to wait til he gets a leave or you make a trip to where he is and marry him.