The wedding ceremony creates a very deep bound – spiritual as well as physical – between two people and, socially speaking, between two families. Our society also requires this union to be legalized through some legal documents.

If you are planning to get married then you’ll find the following wedding legal aspects checklist and tips helpful.

• Prenuptial (premarital) agreement (optional)
• Post nuptial agreement (optional)
• Marriage license (payment fee) – you need it before the ceremony
• Marriage certificate (more like a remembrance)
• Name change (optional)
• Mutual and married will
• Proof of termination of any prior marriages by death, divorce or annulment
• Ceremony with witnesses and a person recognized by the state (priest, rabbi, judge)
• 1 or 2 witnesses might have to sign the marriage certificate (depending on state)

Tip #1: You can apply for your marriage license at the local town / city clerk’s office. Sometimes you even have to file in the county where you plan to get married. State and county marriage license requirementes may differ from each other. You should check all legal requirements with your local marriage license office or county clerk. For general marriage license requirements you can find a state by state chart at: www.foreverwed1.com.

Depending on the country you live in there are many options to choose from when changing names after marriage: take your maid’s name, hyphenate your name, make your maiden name as middle name…
If you decide to change your name you need to know that it is a complex process that can take quite some time and involves several bureaucratic hurdles.

Here you have a checklist with some points you need to know and the different institutions that you’ll have to contact for changing your names.

• Check out your local City Hall requirements (before the wedding)
• Decide whether you want your maid’s name, hyphenate etc.
• Ask for several legal marriage certificates (not copies but real ones)

If you are worried that anything could go wrong on your wedding day, you can contract wedding insurances for many parts of the wedding (almost everything can be insured). This way, you can enjoy your wedding day without worrying all the time about what would happen if, for instance, someone broke something.

Don’t feel overwhelmed by all the ideas pointed out here. Just pick the ones that best suit your dream wedding.

• Cancellation / rearrangement
• Extreme weather
• Alcohol-related accidents
• Ceremonial attire
• Flowers
• Cake
• Cars & transport
• Gifts
• Rings
• Photos & video
• Failure of suppliers