“I now pronounce you married,” is often heard now in the San Luis Obispo County Clerk-Recorder’s Office after it started offering express marriage ceremonies at its counter.
Clerk-Recorder’s Office Public Information Officer Erin Clausen said that this specific service started on July 1 and has been a hit after having more than 400,000 views on a recent Facebook post and performing 21 ceremonies in its first 30 days.
“It really seems to be well received, and it did get a lot of attention across all of our social media platforms and accounts because I think people just find it interesting and happy and fun,” she said. “Then people start talking about their experiences. I think it’s more common than a lot of people think that people get married this way, and a lot of people have had very good experiences for one reason or another.”
For many years, Clausen said, the SLO County Clerk-Recorder’s Office, located in the County Government Center at 1055 Monterey, has been issuing marriage licenses and performing marriage ceremonies—which, as of a year ago, could even take place on the building’s rooftop—but the services require a reservation. The county’s new express marriages don’t require any notice, just two people in love and ready to be wed.
“It limits the number of people you can bring along, but you can still bring along three people,” Clausen said. “And you know, if you don’t have a license, you can actually get your license and then get married immediately following that without an appointment.”
What does this service offer the public? The opportunity to express love in a more affordable way.
“A lot of people like to do it because it saves them money, and they have a party later. Or somebody was saying that her daughter or son had gotten married, and his wife was from another country, so they got married this way, and then they went and had a big thing in her home country,” Clausen said. “So, there’s so many different ways and reasons people get married with us and skip the much larger event, but we welcome them all, and we have so much fun.”
A wedding ceremony and reception can cost thousands of dollars—according to wedding website service Joy, the average wedding cost in California stands at $36,068. But getting a license and having a ceremony at the Clerk-Recorder’s Office costs around $200, Clausen said. It’s about $105 for a marriage license, $58 for the counter ceremony, and $31 if the couple needs a county witness—although the couple can bring their own. It’s an additional $9 if the ceremony is booked for the rooftop.
“If you’re looking to save money for your first place together or want to do a celebratory something—a honeymoon or whatever—it can be a nice way to save,” Clausen said.
Couples don’t necessarily need to be from SLO County to use the service, and since going viral on Facebook, the office has heard from people as far as Bakersfield commending the speedy ceremonies.
The couple featured on the Clerk-Recorder’s Office’s Facebook post was thrilled too, Clausen said.
“The mother of the groom commented, and she was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I love seeing this picture. They just told us last night that they got married, and this is the only image we have. I just ordered a 16-by-20 canvas of it,’ which was hysterical,” she said. “Then the bride DMed us the next day and was like, ‘Do you happen to have any other pictures? I know you took a couple of them,’ and I was able to get her the little video clip of their kiss and everything. It was really fun, super cute. And she goes, ‘To think we were just going to do this little wedding, just the two of us. And now 400,000 people have seen it.'”
For more information on weddings at the SLO County Clerk-Recorder’s Office visit: slocounty.ca.gov/departments/clerk-recorder/marriage.
Fast fact
• The Cal Poly Cat Program needs more volunteers after experiencing a shortage during the summer break and is unable to accept any more cats and kittens. Its current max capacity is 45 animals. During the school year, it’s typically 80 to 100. For more information on adoption or volunteering, visit: calpolycatprogram.org. Δ
Reach Staff Writer Libbey Hanson at lhanson@newtimesslo.com.
Note: This story has been updated to clarify the SLO Clerk-Recorder’s Office is located in the County Government Center, not the SLO County Courthouse.
This article appears in Aug 14-24, 2025.