Alaska Marriage Licenses

[poohs4me]

For those of you getting married on an Alaskan Cruise, how do you get the license? Are you flying in early? We are currently traveling round trip out of vancouver and I am not sure how to get a license? Any ideas?

[vannagreen]

Hi.... I am just starting planning my wedding in Alaska too and found that you can apply for the license online or by fax....then you just pick up license the morning of the reception.

 

The AK vital statistics office has the locations they can be picked up in Juneau.

 

http://www.hss.state.ak.us/dph/bvs/marriagel/default.htm

[poohs4me]

I thought about that, but I am concerned there will not be enough time in Juneau. How do you foresee your day?

[vannagreen]

Hi,

 

My plan for the day, I hope....since I havent actually booked it yet... is that on the day we arrive (as early as possible) we would take a taxi to the vital statistics office to pick up the license and come right back to the ship. I looked up the address to the vital statistics office and found it was only a few miles away from the ship. (10-15 min)

 

I would also really like to make sure that everyone in our group is able to spend the day sightseeing (since most prob. will only be there once in a lifetime) so... I was going to request a very late afternoon wedding back on this ship (while ship is still in port). This way my husband to be and his brothers could spend the day together, and in the afternoon I could go with my sister (maid of honor) to get hair done etc...with out haveing to feel rushed. Then after the ceremony we could all have dinner at one of the restaurants....maybe Cagneys?

 

If that dosent work out, I also found from reading other posts on this site that there are really affordable wedding coordinators (not offered by the cruise) who will arrange to pick you up in a limo from the ship, and drive you to the vital statistics office, and then give you a city tour on the way to the wedding ceremony of your chioce...that is my option B. It seems to be really nice too... so I wouldnt worry too much. Just make sure that the office will have someone there to give you the paperwork in-case your ship arrives on a weekend. I heard they will arrange for that if requested in advance.

 

http://www.alaskaweddings.net/

 

This is the link to a wedding site i found from someones review... they will pick you up in the limo and take you to the vital statistics office... But if you are planning a wedding on the ship, Im sure a taxi would be easy to catch and less expensive.

 

good luck!!!

[poohs4me]

Thank you for the information I already contact them and I did not even think about asking them about actually helping me get the license. That would be great if we could swing by there on our way wherever. We also have not booked anything, we are just in the talking phase and this whole license thing was throughing me for a loop.

 

Good luck with your choices as well.

[popsters_13]

Hey there! When are you getting married? we're sailing NCL star in July and doing the Juneau thing too.

 

I didn't know you could fax in the marriage license app. I thought it had to be notarized down in the lower 48 (wherever we are) and then mailed.

 

are you planning on a shipboard wedding or off in Juneau somewhere?

[poohs4me]

We are still talking about getting married offtthe ship, but we have only begun to look at stuff. It would be in September.

[vannagreen]

Hi again.. I am planning on a July 09 cruise..either on NCL Star or Pearl...but wont know until the cruises publish the sched. for 09!

 

Would love to hear how your both of your weddings go!

 

As for the wedding licence application...according to the AK State web site you have two options:

 

1. Fill out the application... with both you and your future husband signatures witnessed by a notary public (in lower 48)....then either mail or fax the full application along with the fee to the Juneau office.

 

or..

 

2. You can also mail the application and fee to Juneau and leave the application UN-signed...then sign it when you pick it up the day of... either way should work since both people have to be there to pick it up anyway.

 

 

As for locations..the off site locations look beautiful too! But the NCL chapel also looks cute....as long as the party is small...blue is my finace favorite color.

[vannagreen]

Hi again.. I am planning on a July 09 cruise..either on NCL Star or Pearl...but wont know until the cruises publish the sched. for 09!

 

Would love to hear how your both of your weddings go!

 

As for the wedding licence application...according to the AK State web site you have two options:

 

1. Fill out the application... with both you and your future husband signatures witnessed by a notary public (in lower 48)....then either mail or fax the full application along with the fee to the Juneau office.

 

or..

 

2. You can also mail the application and fee to Juneau and leave the application UN-signed...then sign it when you pick it up the day of... either way should work since both people have to be there to pick it up anyway.

 

 

As for locations..the off site locations look beautiful too! But the NCL chapel also looks cute....as long as the party is small...blue is my finace favorite color.

[vannagreen]

sorry for the dbl post

[H2O babe]

Thanks for this link - we are getting married on Eagle Glacier in Juneau on July 4th and need to get our marriage license taken care of now. The fourth is a Saturday and also a national holiday so they are going to mail it to us and we'll bring it with us. Coastal Helicopters is arranging our ceremony. We trekked with Northstar several years ago and decided that a glacier wedding is for us!!!

 

Best of luck to all you other brides!

K.

[qiora]

I read the instruction from the Alaska Vital Stat office and it says that we both the bride and groom have to pick up the license on our own. Is that correct? I was going to send my brother to pick it up to allow me to have time to do my hair. But if we need to pick it up ourselves, I may need to postpone it.

 

We arrive the port at 2pm and the cruise will leave Juneau at 10pm. Do you have any suggestion what time I should have the ceremony?

 

Thanks.

[H2O babe]

Hi qiora,

 

It is my understanding that both the bride and groom have to go to the courthouse to pick up the license because you both have to sign in front of a notary.

 

To have ours mailed to us we had to both sign in front of a notary here in MN and then send a copy of our cruise itinerary showing we'd be in Juneau on Saturday, the 4th of July. Since the courthouse is closed on Saturdays and holidays they mailed it to us and we'll bring it up with us.

 

I wouldn't think your brother could go and pick up the license for you unless you've already had it notarized. Let me know what you find out.

 

Where are you getting married? We arrive in port at 7:00 a.m. and are there until 11:00 p.m. so we have plenty of time choices to pick from.

K.