June is Pride Month, but it’s SO important to me–all year long–that my clients know that this is a safe and loving space for ALL couples who wish to get married in Vermont. When you contact me to talk about planning your wedding, you will be valued and respected–no matter who you are or who you love, you are welcome here because love is love. Your wedding deserves to be celebrated!
Here’s A Rundown of The Process of Getting Married in Vermont
- An eligible couple (18 years or older) must submit an application for a license in the Vermont town/city where one of the parties lives. Out-of-state couples can go to any town/city clerk. The couple must pay the applicable fee and will receive a marriage license from the clerk.
- The couple must have the marriage solemnized (i.e., have a ceremony) within 60 days of filing the application.
- Once the ceremony has been performed, the person who performed it (i.e., your officiant) has 10 days to send the license back to the city/town where it was issued.
- The city/town clerk will then file the original and the couple can receive an official certificate of their marriage.
Anyone can get married in Vermont! And all are welcome here! You’ll find more details on How To Get Married In Vermont here!
While talking to a friend this week, I realized that I did my first LGBTQ+ wedding 20 years ago! Back in 2000, when Civil Unions became legal in Vermont, it was truly a victory and I was so honored to design wedding flowers for clients and friends who’d waited so long to get married.
Nine years later, after nearly 15 years of relentless work, Vermont Freedom to Marry succeeded in reaching its goal of marriage equality and Vermont became the first state to obtain marriage rights for LGBTQ+ couples through a legislative process rather than a court case. (The implementation date of the “Marriage Act” was September 1, 2009. (source))
Finally, fifteen years after civil unions became legal in Vermont, on June 26, 2015, the United States Supreme Court ruled that it was unconstitutional to prevent same-sex couples from marrying, and so now every state must allow same-sex couples to marry and must respect the marriages of same-sex couples, regardless of where the couple gets married. Finally.
The fight for equity is not over and we will continue to advocate for inclusion and representation of LGBTQIA+ couples throughout the wedding and event industry.
You might also like:
Learn about Wedding and Event Vendor Alliance here.
Click to see Dillon and Scott’s wedding flowers at The Coach Barn here.
