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Licenses & Rules for Destination Weddings

Legalese. Legal low-down. Rules and regs. Whatever you call them, they’re essential if you want the destination wedding of your dreams. Get the skinny on rules, regulations, and any necessary paperwork needed before getting married away-from-home.

From Alabama to Wyoming, WeddingWire has aggregated and summarized the marriage laws of every state. Identification, age, residency, wait time, blood test, witness, etc. requirements vary. Be sure to know the rules to make sure everything runs smoothly on your big day! Note, WeddingWire is a good starting point for your research but this article is dated 2019. Once you've settled on your wedding destiantion, we recommend checking individual state government websites to confirm their rules and regulations. Each state's Department of Health typically handles licenses for marriages and civil unions and maintains a website such as this one for Hawaii.

Planning to get married outside the U.S.? This post will point you in the right direction to learn whether your marriage abroad will be valid.