Getting married as an LGBTQI couple in West Virginia, Maryland, Virginia or DC

I am a wedding photographer in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia and I want to photograph more LGBTQI weddings. That is the reason I sat down and wrote this. If you would rather skip the planning and just talk to me, that page is here.

What follows is the practical stuff. Four jurisdictions meet within about an hour of my house, the rules in each of them are genuinely different, and one of those differences will cost you two days if nobody mentions it.

The licence, four ways

Every one of these is the same licence any couple gets. Same form, same office, same fee. Marriage has been legal for same-sex couples in all fifty states since 2015 and there is no separate process anywhere on this list. What differs is the logistics, and the logistics differ a lot.

West Virginia

You apply at a county clerk's office. Both of you go, both bring photo ID. It is $56, or $36 if you have done a premarital education course. At eighteen or over the licence is issued on the spot with no waiting period, and it is good for 60 days.

Maryland

This is the one that catches people. The licence has to come from the Circuit Court Clerk in the county where the wedding is taking place, not where you live. Getting married in Frederick means going to Frederick. And it has to be bought at least 48 hours before the ceremony, so a same-day courthouse plan does not work in Maryland.

The good news is that only one of you has to turn up, the application takes about fifteen minutes, there is no blood test and no witness requirement, and the licence stays valid for six months. The fee runs somewhere between $35 and $75 depending on the county. You will both need Social Security numbers on the application, though they do not print on the licence.

Virginia

Both of you go, together, in person. There is no proxy and no remote option. But you can use any circuit court clerk in the state regardless of where the wedding is, there is no waiting period and no residency requirement, and the licence is issued the same day. Around $30 to $33 depending on the locality. Valid 60 days, and the wedding has to happen inside Virginia.

Washington DC

The Marriage Bureau is in the Moultrie Courthouse at 500 Indiana Avenue NW, room JM-690. $45, no waiting period, and the licence can be issued the same day you apply as long as the application is complete and you can name your officiant.

One thing worth knowing: DC waives $35 of that $45 if you bring your original DC Domestic Partnership Certificate to the application. If you registered as domestic partners back when that was the option available to you, dig the certificate out before you go.

Fees and hours move around, and clerk offices keep their own schedules. Ring the specific office before you drive there.

Where you can actually do this around here

These are venues I have photographed weddings at myself, rather than a list copied off a directory.

• The Bavarian Inn, Shepherdstown WV. A European-style inn on the bluff over the Potomac. Getting ready, ceremony, tent reception and the sparkler exit all happen on one property, which removes a lot of driving from the day.
• Harpers Ferry Brewing, Harpers Ferry WV. Long views over the water gap, and a room that does not need much doing to it.
• Hillbrook Inn, Summit Point WV. A historic inn on its own wooded grounds. You can take the whole property so your family stays in the house, and they run a separate cottage set up for elopements.
• The Shenandoah, Martinsburg WV. A five-storey Georgian Revival hotel from 1926 in the middle of downtown. Tall arched windows, chandeliers, and quiet panelled rooms off the main floor.
• Zigbone Farm Retreat, Sabillasville MD. Barn and grounds, and enough room to spread a whole weekend out rather than compressing it into one afternoon.
• Union Mills, Frederick MD. Open ground and old buildings, easy to move a crowd around.
• The Athenaeum, Alexandria VA. A columned Greek Revival gallery in Old Town. Completely different register from everything else on this list.

There is more detail on the region in my Shepherdstown venues guide and on the Martinsburg and Harpers Ferry pages.

What I would do

Work backwards from the licence. Maryland's 48 hours and its county rule are the only hard constraints on this list, so if you are getting married in Maryland, sort that first and let everything else follow. Everywhere else you can be more relaxed about it.

Then pick the place before the date if you have a place in mind, and the date before the place if you do not. Around here the venues go first for October Saturdays and almost nothing else.

And then tell me about it. I want to photograph your wedding, and if you have got this far down the page you probably have a fair idea of how I would go about it. Send me your date, or just email me at aaron@aaronmayphoto.com.

Common questions

Do same-sex couples need a different marriage licence in West Virginia?

No. It is the same licence, the same county clerk, the same fee and the same form as any other couple. Same-sex marriage has been legal in all fifty states since 2015 and West Virginia issues one marriage licence to everybody.

Which of West Virginia, Maryland, Virginia and DC is easiest to get married in?

DC and Virginia have no waiting period, so you can apply and marry the same day. West Virginia also issues immediately at eighteen or over. Maryland is the outlier: the licence has to be bought at least 48 hours before the ceremony, and it has to come from the county where the wedding is actually happening.

Can we get the licence in one state and marry in another?

No. The licence is only good in the jurisdiction that issued it. Within Virginia you can use any circuit court clerk in the state and marry anywhere in Virginia, but a Virginia licence will not work for a wedding in West Virginia or Maryland.

Does a DC domestic partnership change anything?

It can save you money. DC waives $35 of the $45 marriage licence fee if you bring your original DC Domestic Partnership Certificate when you apply. Worth digging out if you registered before marriage was available to you.