Best county to get married in courthouse in Georgia - waiting period

August 9, 2014 12:06 PM

I was told that in Georgia I can get married in any county I want since I am a resident (fiance is Japanese and immigrating here on K visa). I was wondering which courthouse might have the lowest waiting period? We want to get married as soon as possible after she arrives here. I am in Atlanta area so closer is better. Any other advice is welcome as well.
posted by locussst to Law & Government (10 answers total)

Here's information about Dekalb County. They do ceremonies Wednesday and Friday afternoons, first come, first served.

In Fulton County, they do marriages by appointment.

If you want to schlep to Lawrenceville, Gwinnett does weddings on Monday, Tuesday and Friday afternoon.

I'd roll the dice and go to the closest office on the day they're doing weddings.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 1:02 PM on August 9, 2014

You do not have to be a resident of Alabama to get married in Alabama. Though some counties in Alabama require a three day wait for non-residents and there is a waiting period if you are divorced.

When I was growing up in Columbus, Georgia, it was kind of common knowledge that if you wanted a quickie marriage, you could just go next door to Phenix City and take care of it basically same day, as I understand it.

So one option is to slip across the border to Alabama. It is kind of the Las Vegas of Georgia in terms of quickie weddings.
posted by Michele in California at 1:23 PM on August 9, 2014

There's no waiting period in Georgia anymore between the license and the ceremony. I think the OP is asking which courthouse is most efficient for getting the license.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 1:38 PM on August 9, 2014 [1 favorite]

Ringgold, seat of Catoosa County, is an hour and a half up 75 and is kind of known for their same day weddings. Dolly Parton was married there. I personally was married in the Fulton County Courthouse. They really do it Friday mornings regularly, it was kinda awesome, though I don't think you can manage same day weddings. This article Talks about Rinngold and Fulton.

Here is another article about the lovely Judge Pinkie Toomer conducts Fulton courthouse weddings.
posted by stormygrey at 1:44 PM on August 9, 2014

Whichever county you pick, be sure to leave enough time in the day to get the marriage license and then have someone do the ceremony. If you choose Dekalb County, you can get your license from this office. Woo, Georgia!
posted by deludingmyself at 2:36 PM on August 9, 2014 [1 favorite]

We got married at the DeKalb County courthouse on a Wednesday (3 years and a week ago). We had heard the line is longer on Friday because of folks preparing for weekend weddings. We were in line behind about 3 couples to get the license and then again in line behind those same couples to get married. It took maybe 2 hours from walking into the Office of Handgun and Marriage Licenses to walking out.

We walked over to Leon's afterwards for a snack, and they gave us free champagne.
posted by hydropsyche at 3:21 PM on August 9, 2014 [2 favorites]

I got married in Columbus Georgia nearly 30 years ago. My recollection is that I needed a blood test first and we had to wait for the results. I have an aunt who got married in Phenix City "same day" -- ie decided that morning "let's get hitched" and got hitched that day. As I understand, the main difference was that Alabama did not require the blood test.

I have no idea if any of that has changed. But, for me, the delay on getting married was first getting the blood test and getting those results back. Once I had the blood test results, I went to the courthouse, paid for the license and a judge married us right then and there. So I wasn't thinking of any waiting requirement re the license per se.
posted by Michele in California at 4:11 PM on August 9, 2014

No blood test, no waiting period.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 4:26 PM on August 9, 2014 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: can you get your license from a different county than that in which you get married or do you have to have your marriage performed in the same county? Thanks.

And yes I was asking about the license but info on the marriage itself is useful too.
posted by locussst at 9:53 PM on August 12, 2014

According to the Fulton Co. website:
Where to Apply: (a) If one or both persons to be married are residents of Georgia you may apply for a marriage license in any county in Georgia.
(b) If neither bride nor groom are residents of Georgia you must then apply for the marriage license in the county where the ceremony is to be held.

Since you are a GA resident, it sounds like you can just go to whichever county is most convenient.
posted by hydropsyche at 6:08 AM on August 13, 2014 [1 favorite]