Yesterday around lunchtime Al and I went to the San Mateo County Clerk's office to get our marriage license. All it took was a picture id, our addresses, our full names and birth states, the full names and birth states/countries of our parents, an assurance that we weren't currently married, a solemn oath (with right hand raised) that everything we'd written was true, and $78 in cash.

We had to wait for 30 minutes while they typed up the certificate, so we went outside and sat in the shade of the arbor adjacent to the traffic court building. Al bought two hot dogs and a Coke from a cart on the corner (run by two very polite skatepunks), and we relaxed on a stone bench and enjoyed the breeze. All in all, an extremely pleasant way to spend a lunch hour.

And of course, we now have a piece of paper in our hands that entitles us to get married. We're not legally married yet—the officiant and a witness have to sign the certificate, and the ceremony must be performed—but we're *licensed to marry*. Makes me feel a little James Bond-ish just saying that.

Posted by Lori at August 09, 2002 08:48 AM