LV Brides - Certified Marriage Certificate Question

[LindainCT]

I'm assuming that the brides who got married in Vegas eventually sent in for the certified copy of their marriage certificate...

I sent my check and the form they gave me at the courthouse 40 days ago and my check still hasn't been cashed and obviously I haven't recv'd my certified marriage certificate!

I remember the girl saying it would take about 30 days. I'm getting worried! Did you get yours and how long did it take??

graemlins/confused1.gif

[Skyy]

Linda,

I was just married in Vegas on October 4th and sent my form back on the 8th so I can't help you out. When I get it I'll be sure to check back to see if you got yours.

I'm in CT, also.

Skyy

[LindainCT]

Hi Skyy! We got married on Aug. 30 and I sent it in as soon as we returned home. If/when I get it, I'll post a message too.

[vegasbound]

I opted to order my certified copy online. I received the copies within a week.

Here's the website:
http://www.co.clark.nv.us/recorder/mar_srch.htm

[Skyy]

Vegasbound,

Thanks for the link. It said due to system maintainence copies can't be ordered at this time. I'll check again later.

Skyy

[vegasbride2003]

it took us like 10-12 weeks to get ours. We mailed ours about a week or two once we came home, because we had receptions and stuff like that here to do also.

On the other hand, my friends got married there one month before us, and they went to the courthouse and paid or whatever and theirs only took like 8 weeks to get

[WhereToNext?]

We got married on October 2 and within a week of being home we got stuff from a document service that guarantees they'll have your certificate sent out to you within 24 hours of them receiving it. They do charge a fee (not too bad of a fee). But they're big selling point is that you can get your certificates sooner. I'm not sure if I'm allowed to post their contact information here but if I can, let me know and it may be an option for other people. I haven't decided which option to use. When we go back to Vegas in November we may just go to the courthouse in person, order them and pay for them and wait for them to arrive.

[HoyaHeel]

Where to--you can always send an email or private message with the information. Or post it if people are interested and you don't work for them. We try to avoid total self-promotion here--but telling someone else about a service you used and enjoyed is what we're all about.

[LindainCT]

I got that same letter that offers the marriage certificate quicker, but it was more expensive so I opted not to use them. Plus I wasn't sure if they were legite or not.

I guess I'll wait till the end of the month and see what happens. :rolleyes:

[HoyaHeel]

You know when you're in a car accident and two days later you start getting letters from lawyers? Sounds like this document service also has staff that comb marriage licenses for addresses and send that letter out afterwards offering to expedite the certificate.

[LindainCT]

yeah, probably.

[WhereToNext?]

Originally posted by HoyaHeel:
Sounds like this document service also has staff that comb marriage licenses for addresses and send that letter out afterwards offering to expedite the certificate. It definitely looks like that. However, I'm not sure they aren't a legit business. Someone must have realized that the court house takes forever and if they had people willing to do the leg work, they could offer the service for a fee. Here's the web site for the company that contacted me. What does anyone else think? http://www.nvdocumentretrieval.com/

[ken2v]

One thing I'd do is check that website vegasbound posted just to make sure your officiate recorded the document. By law officiates have 10 days to submit your marriage cert to the county. Now I imagine it might take a few days for it to show up in the records, but you, Linda and Skyy should be in the system by now.

The judge who presided over our ceremony -- in CA -- is a family friend and I was joking with him before the wedding that he not screw up the legal part of the ceremony. He said it was a misdemeanor if he screwed up the cert for instance. We'll, it took forever for the cert to get back to us then lo and behold it shows up in the mail, with a scratch out and correction, and a receipt attached where Charlie paid the fine. Too funny.

[doctor_al]

Originally posted by ken2v:
...then lo and behold it shows up in the mail, with a scratch out and correction,... Scratched out "that golfntravel jerk". Not a legal alias (at that time).
graemlins/peace.gif

[HoyaHeel]

Ha--in NC we submitted our certificate ourselves (had 2 weeks to do it, barely got back from the honeymoon in time ;) )

What I would recommend--as with any business, if you're interested in a company that expedites your certificate--see if there have been any complaints with the local Better Business Bureau. May or may not be helpful but at least it's a start....

[LindainCT]

Well, checked my checking account online... My check still hasn't cleared!

I"ll wait until the end of the month and I'll give them a call.... graemlins/blink.gif

[Vegas Tonya]

You can go here and check to see if you are in the system.

http://sandgate.co.clark.nv.us/recMarriage/marrName.htm

I was married there in 1992 and I recall it taking about 2 months before we got ours back. I was told they attach the checks to the request and they don't submit it until they print the certificate then they will issue a receipt and deposit your check.

[LindainCT]

Thanks everyone for your comments.

I checked and we are in the system. I also e-mailed them the other day and received a quick response that they are only up to requests that came in on September 10th (mine probably got there a few days later).

But, our license was filed so we are legal!

I guess alot of people get married there! graemlins/biggthumpup.gif

[Vegas Tonya]

You are right Linda. Alot of people get married there. I think I read an article it averaged out to about 150 marriages per day.

At least you are legal... ;)

[susie]

i was really worried after reading the previous messages, and I couldn't order over the internet as I expected to do when I got home (UK)- but I sent my international check on 26th Oct, and my certificates arrived today (9th Nov) so I am very pleased!

[ken2v]

Originally posted by Vegas Tonya:
You are right Linda. Alot of people get married there. I think I read an article it averaged out to about 150 marriages per day.

At least you are legal... ;) Actually, it's 320+/day on average. 4,998 couples were married on Valentine's Day!

[WhereToNext?]

Here's the update on our marriage certificate. We got married on October 2, 2004. I didn't order the certificate through the mail or online. My husband and I were in Vegas this week from November 23 to November 27. On November 24 we went to the Recorder's office (near the outlet mall). We walked right up to Dalene (delightful woman) and ordered four copies of our marriage certificate. She charged us $40 and printed them and certified them on the spot. No wait; no hassle. So if you plan to be in Vegas anytime after your wedding, I'd suggest you go visit Dalene.

One other thing...they have two kinds of certificates. They're both marriage certificates but they suggest you get a certain type for passport changeover. It looks like an official court form versus a certificate like the one you'd expect to see. Same price. We got three regular certificates and one for the passport. And Dalene said that if you go in person to social security and anywhere else that needs to see the certificate, they won't keep it. So if you don't want to buy several certificates, go to the offices you need to and you don't have to surrender the form.

[Skyy]

Thanks for the tip, Where. Clark County just cashed our check for the cert. (married on Oct. 4th, 2004) so I'm assuming my certificate should be in my mailbox any day now.

[WhereToNext?]

One other thing I forgot to add. Dalene told us that you only have to wait 2 days after your wedding to get copies of the certificate. So if you're staying in Vegas past your wedding date you could get your certificates before you leave town.

[Skyy]

Finally got the certificate in the mail yesterday. When changing over names where did you go first, Social Security or DMV? Does it matter?

[HoyaHeel]

When I changed my name (no Vegas connection, just after marriage) I went to Social Security first. With a new social security card everything was easier. My name change was a little more complicated since I took one of my maiden names as my middle name--so my name changed a lot. Some places won't change more than your last name without more documentation than a marriage certificate, but I took all my old documentation (legal name change, birth certificate, marriage certificate) to Social Security and it was a cinch. I don't think it really matters for most people though--I just did it that way for convenience for me. It was nice getting a new drivers license right after my honeymoon when I still had a tan ;)

[Coaster Kikky]

Gee, and I specifically did NOT take my husband's last name so I wouldn't have to stand in lines at Motor Vehicles and Social Security etc. LOL

That, and I wanted one of us to have a name they could pronounce at restaurants when they called our table smile.gif

[Skyy]

Had to take my hubby's last name, it's much cuter than my current one ;)

[HoyaHeel]

I live in a small town in the South. I was going to be called by my husband's last name whether or not I took it legally, I figured I might as well do it. Plus, I hadn't published anything yet with my maiden name--so now I use both names for professional purposes. Plus, my biological father got pissed off when I took my stepfather's last name when I was younger, so now I have a name that won't upset either of them to use ;)