In normal circumstances, to get married in Cook County, Chicago, IL, you needed to qualify for and obtain a marriage license and be married by an ordained officiant.

We still aren’t in normal circumstances and you wouldn’t be here if you weren’t confused and desperately trying to figure out your options for marriage right now, either as a couple or an officiant or planner. While we don’t have a crystal ball to predict how all this shakes out, we do have a step by step guide for you to get married during this crazy time.

Officiant

Option one is to hire an officiant that gets you. Your style, religion, vibe, whatever is important to you. As an ordained wedding planner, I am proud to offer you a uniquely qualified experience especially in the case of elopements where you might not have a large vendor team and you might not have the luxury of time. There are other great reasons to hire professional officiants, too, they might be gifted writers, speakers, a local celebrity or larger than life personality.

Confirm their ordination and ask any questions you have about the process of marriage licenses, ceremony scripting, ceremony acts and any other details you’re curious about.

If you’re considering getting married at the Cook County Chicago City Hall please note the new schedule of offerings as of 1/1/22:

Monday - Zoom weddings only by appointment
Tuesday - Zoom weddings only by appointment
Wednesday - In person weddings 9-11am, 2-3pm; no appointment needed
Thursday - In person weddings 9-11am, 2-3pm; no appointment needed
Friday - In person weddings 9-11am, 2-3pm; no appointment needed
Saturday - In person weddings by appointment, mornings only

Additionally, each couple is limited to two guests and masks must be worn indoors (some Judges may allow the couple to unmask if vaccinated).

Call 312-603-5560 to make an appointment with a Cook County Chicago City Hall Judge.

Option two is to have someone close to you become ordained. There are several ways to go about this and I’m going to give my best recommendation based on my experience.

Designate your Officiant-to-be. Ask them in a personal way if they are willing to become ordained and perform your ceremony. You might choose a parent, sibling, friend or mentor. Your pick might be based on sentimental reasons, however, it’s important to keep in mind that they might not be comfortable with speaking in front of groups or being part of the spotlight. I offer consultations for these officiants-to-be to help put them at ease and walk them through the process so they can then guide you through your ceremony.

Once your officiant-to-be agrees to this honor, they should get ordained! Everyone has seen that Friends episode, the one where Joey tries to get ordained?

Talking to officiants-to-be, now. There’s no reason to wait, get ordained as soon as you can.

Register for a free account at themonastery.com and look for your confirmation email. That’s it, you’re ordained with the Universal Life Church! You can opt to purchase the tangible credentials like certificate, badge, even parking sticker but it’s not required. It is important that you keep at least your digital credentials on hand as proof in case your couple or local authority asks to confirm it.

Additionally, check out the resources that themonastery.com offers including guides on ceremony performance, marriage laws and more. Also consider picking up a book like The Wedding Officiant’s Guide: How to Write and Conduct a Perfect Ceremony or choose from many others.

Marriage License

In normal circumstances, your officiant wouldn’t get involved in the marriage license application process, however, once again, things are anything but normal right now.

As Illinois and Chicago’s shelter-in-place persists, state and city offices are closed to the public. Normally I would advise my couples to take a half day off of work, go down to the Office of Vital Records and get in line to apply for their marriage license.

To qualify, you must both be at least 18 years old or 16 with consent of both parents, not blood relatives and not legally married to anyone else. You can start your pre-application online or in person.

Once applying in person, you must both appear in person at a City Clerk’s office and provide a sworn consent of marriage after providing valid identification. If you intend to change any names, it’s important to mention and start this process while filling out the marriage license.

Marriage licenses are issued while you wait and are valid after a 24 hour period until 60 days from the date of application.

After the ceremony, your officiant should complete the marriage license promptly. You may print your own names for the photo opportunity and to receive closure because you have already signed at the county clerk’s office or virtually. Your officiant may also print your names on your behalf. Your officiant should then sign their name and complete the address portion. Be careful about using a black ink pen and containing your information within the provided boxes.

Signed licenses are due back to the Office of Vital Records within 10 days of the ceremony.

Marriage License Relief

On May 1, 2020, Governor Pritzker published Executive Order 2020-36 loosening many of the restrictions around marriage license applications and ceremonies while socially distancing. Now the application process is entirely virtual. You can apply for an emergency virtual marriage license application appointment for yourself or on behalf of your couple, as their officiant.

This has been consistently extended on a month-by-month basis and is still active as of 12/9/21. If your wedding is coming up, fill out the form and submit it as soon as possible. The office is processing many requests each day and they’re awarding appointment slots within 10 days of the desired wedding date based on availability. I applied for one couple ahead of their July date and received an appointment scheduled for 7 days before their wedding and another received an appointment scheduled for only 2 days before their wedding date.

It is important to note that as part of the Executive Order, the 24 hour hold period before a marriage license becomes valid is waived, as is the strict 10 day return period post-ceremony.

Once you’ve submitted the request, watch your email over the next 2-3 business days for your acceptance or refusal notice. In both cases I received acceptance responses three business days later and around 6:00pm at night.

Your email may look like this:

Your request to apply for a Marriage License is approved.

[license application link]

We have received an overwhelming number of requests for marriages and all of our available slots for the month of [month] have been filled and we are currently scheduling available appointment slots in [following month]. We are working with a limited staff during this COVID-19 pandemic. We apologize for the inconvenience and are doing our best to schedule all appointment requests as soon as possible.

You must complete your online marriage application prior to your scheduled appointment.

Your Online Marriage License appointment is scheduled for: [date and time]

Our office management will contact you at your scheduled time at the number you provided in your questionnaire at which time a link will be sent to you during the call to join a Zoom video meeting.
You must have your IDs present during the call.
The Officiant is not required to be present during the call.
Your payment is required at the time of your scheduled appointment.
The marriage application and the marriage license will be emailed to you during your scheduled appointment.
The marriage application has to be signed by both parties and emailed back to our office during your scheduled appointment.
The marriage application and the marriage license with the wet/ink signatures must be returned to our office after your ceremony and mailed to the following address: Cook County Clerk Bureau of Vital Records P.O. Box 641070 Chicago, IL 60664 Attention: Marriage License Dept.
Requests for a marriage certificate must be mailed to our office, at the address above (Attention: Mail Tracking Dept.) along with a check or money order payable to Cook County Clerk for $15 ($4 for additional copies).

Before your appointment, it’s important to note all the elements mentioned in the approval email and to have each piece ready to go. The Executive Order stipulates that two-way audio-video technology must be set up between the parties and the county clerk, that your connection is solid enough and video clear enough for the county clerk to inspect your identification live, and that you attest that your physical location is currently in the State of Illinois and you are applying in the county you intend to marry in, for example, Cook County. As you prepare for your appointment, confirm that you have the appointment plus 15 minutes of prep time booked on the calendar. Make sure all appropriate photo identification is handy, that your officiant is on the call if they submitted on your behalf (appointment information will be sent to the submitter directly and they’ll have to share it with you) or that you have it in writing that your officiant is available for your date.

Fill out the application form before the appointment and have a credit card ready to pay the $60 application fee on the call. MasterCard, Visa, Discover and American Express as well as debit cards are accepted. You can expect a transaction fee under $2.00. Don’t forget to test your technology beforehand, making sure your wifi, zoom, computer camera, printer and scanner or phone camera are all working properly.

The application pages look like this:

Legal Ceremony Requirements

Looking back, virtual weddings were not legally acknowledged in Illinois. This is also currently allowed under the Executive Order. It requires that two-way audio-video technology facilitates a direct connection between you and your officiant, that all parties should have proper photo identification on hand in case it is requested, that the marrying parties are physically located within the county they intend to marry, that the marriage license is signed and filled out per the county clerk’s instructions and that it is returned to the county clerk as soon as possible.

Marriage Licenses normally expire at 60 days, however, they are protected and extended through the Governor’s Disaster Proclamations. Illinois does not require witnesses for marriage ceremonies and you won’t find a spot for them to sign on your marriage license.

When it comes to your ceremony and the actual act of marrying, there are legal minimum acts that must be satisfied.

The Declaration of Intent

This is the part that often sounds like this:“Do you _______, take ______ to be your ___________?” (lawfully wedded wife, husband etc)“I do.”

Pronouncement

This part may go like this:“By the power vested in me by the State of Illinois, I now pronounce you _______ and _______ (Mr./Mrs. & Mr./Mrs., married, joined in marriage etc)

You and your officiant can take 30 seconds to perform these pieces, finalize the marriage license and call it a day or you can script a ceremony around it that is personal and meaningful to you.

Once you’ve received confirmation that your marriage license has been returned to the county clerk’s office (I recommend taking a photo as receipt of dropping it off in person or by mail), mark your calendar for about two weeks out and set a reminder to order your marriage certificate. This is what you get to frame or file away. It’s cheaper to get two copies at first, than it is to order one after the wedding and another one down the road if the original is lost or destroyed.

To recap, you will need the following to be married in Chicago:

Ordained Officiant
Marriage License
Declaration of Intent
Pronouncement
Submission of the signed Marriage License to the county clerk

I challenge you to consider marrying legally even if you’re putting off your party. Your date might hold significance to you and it will make for an amazing first anniversary if you choose to push your public wedding to 2021.

At the end of this process, you will be legally married in Cook County, Chicago, IL. If you have any further questions about the marriage process or have questions about elopements, officiating, full or micro weddings, you can reach out to Rebecca of Something Profound Weddings at rebecca@somethingprofoundweddings.com or www.somethingprofoundweddings.com.