Virtual Marriage: Marrying Your Significant Other Online

In light of the coronavirus pandemic, virtual weddings have become legal. However, if you don’t do it properly, it might not be recognized in the state. In fact, different US states may have different legislation.
 

But most states will require you to have your officiant/witnesses physically present and they have to put their names in the entry for the registry of marriage. As for Ontario, they have made an exception as the officiant can be present via zoom or video conferencing instead.
 

Your officiant needs to have the ability to conduct the marriage ceremony as well. In the case of Matthews v Mutiso, the officiant did not have the ability to conduct the marriage ceremony. Hence, their marriage was null and void.  

Also, a marriage is only legal if it is conducted in the best interest of both parties, ie. a fiduciary relationship. For example, in the case of Debora v Debora(1998), the husband participated in a religious ceremony to marry his wife. Nonetheless, he wanted to get his widower’s pension and he requested for the civil marriage to be delayed.

The wife asserted that she had married the man in good faith and argued that the religious ceremony should be considered as the date of the marriage. Hence, she would have a higher payout from her ex-husband’s pensions if she had married him in “good faith”. Unfortunately, her argument was dismissed as the Ontario Court of Appeal understood that the religious ceremony did not provide a marriage license.

 The most important and crucial first step is to check that a virtual wedding is legally recognized in your country. You may be able to access your official government website regarding marriage laws and try to apply for a marriage license if possible. Afterward, you will talk to a staff member via video conferencing, and be present with your fiance. This applies to California and New York. 
 

Next, you have to get an Officiant for your online wedding. Whether it's your pastor or someone who specializes in wedding vows, it is great if you know someone. However, if you don’t know anybody, you can search for an officiant online and communicate with them through video conferencing to get a feel of whether the officiant is suitable for you. On the other hand, you can get your next of kin to help you with the ceremony. They will just have to pay a small fee and go through a simple procedure to become ordained.

So you have checked that virtual marriages are legal in your country, you have filled out the paperwork to get a marriage certificate, and you have found an officiant to conduct the ceremony. Usually, for a physical wedding, you would end up choosing a wedding package, with banquet tables, hairdo, and makeup all-inclusive. Due to the pandemic, you may have to turn to virtual wedding packages instead.

If you hate getting into the technicalities of Zoom and all the legal mambo Jambo or doing paperwork, look no further. Simply Eloped’s wedding package will help you out with getting a virtual officiant, provide advice for a marriage license, provide wedding planning assistance as well as technical assistance in case anything goes wrong, for the low price of $200. 

Wedfuly has a wedding package at a slightly steeper price of $800, and they will help you invite up to 1,000 guests virtually, and conduct your wedding ceremony. If you want the extra frills, you can top up $400 for virtual wedding photographers, $200 for virtual live music, and $75 for your personalized virtual backdrop. If you want to invite a local musician from your neighborhood bar, or Ed Sheeran to perform at your wedding, they can help out as well. 

Each & Every Detail has also been dutifully providing live streaming services before the pandemic hit, due to a family member or two living halfway across the globe. However, they are capitalizing on their experience to help newlyweds broadcast their weddings.

Wed On Web is a cheap alternative to hosting a lavish wedding at a hotel ballroom. Well, with the pandemic, it may be impossible in the near future. But if you are not ready to get married, you can have a virtual wedding ceremony with a virtual marriage certificate. In the eyes of the law, Wed On Web's wedding ceremony is considered bogus and it is not legally binding.

This online application is free of charge, it is and pretty easy and fuss-free to use. All you have to do is key in the names and email addresses of both you and your partner, and you have an option of whether to display the proposal in the registry. Afterward, you will be provided with a "code" for your wedding ceremony. Before you carry on, you will be greeted with a cheesy vow stating: "Do you promise to love and cherish (insert name), even if there is no WiFi and your phone battery is low?".

To proceed, just click, "Yes I do", and you will be presented with a virtual wedding certificate. On the other hand, if you click "No, I am not ready", you will be redirected to a site with a tagline stating: "Sometimes, we say no. Have a great day ", complete with a thumbs-up emoji.

So, you have decided to bite the bullet and host a virtual wedding on Zoom. What should you take note of? The technical aspects of hosting a wedding on Zoom, are vastly different from hosting a wedding in person. One major perk of using Zoom is that it allows you to host up to 1,000 guests. If you have 100 to 300 guests, you can use the pro plan or the business plan which costs $14.99 per month to $199.90(which requires at least 10 licenses) per month and cancel afterward. If you are hosting the max capacity of 1,000 guests, you are strongly encouraged to contact Zoom's sales team. Regardless, paying for Zoom's premium plan is highly recommended, which allows you to stream your wedding as long as possible unless your wedding ceremony is only 40 minutes long. Feeling nostalgic?  If you prefer a cozy and intimate affair, with less than 10 guests, you can consider using FaceTime instead.

Wanting to recreate the feeling of having separate tables at a wedding dinner? Breakout rooms present an opportunity for your guests to enjoy a more tight-knitted experience.

With a small wedding set up, you can easily stream the entire ceremony from your phone. Despite this, if you have more guests, you may want to look into getting at least two laptops(one used for streaming the ceremony and one to talk to guests) and three different cameras, and an app to help you switch camera angles. If you are not IT-savvy, you may want to consider hiring tech support for your wedding. Other arrangements such as hiring photographers, makeup artists, caterers, or florists would help to elevate your wedding experience and make it more memorable. 

1. At least one day before, check your audio and video settings, and conduct a soundcheck, making sure that both you and your guests will be able to hear each other clearly
2. Ensure that your internet connection is stable. An unstable internet connection may end up ruining the entire wedding experience.
3. If you want to make your wedding extra special, you could ask your guests to dress up according to wedding dress code themes, ie. Disney Princesses/Monochrome etc.
4. You could hire a wedding singer to sing remotely on Zoom
5. Source for wedding venues at least a few months in advance. Do you want to host your wedding ceremony in a garden, or in the comfort of your own home? You could buy fairy lights at very cheap prices to jazz up your balcony or your living room. 
6. Wedding invites can be sent out through email
7. You may be able to stick to traditional ceremonial rites/rituals, with a few modifications due to the pandemic, like organizing your first dance, or planned speeches by loved ones.
8. If you live in Florida, you could contact Fairfield Tropical Botanical Gardens if you are interested in hosting your wedding ceremony amidst lush greenery and blooming flowers.

If you are a stickler for details, perhaps, you could try organizing your wedding without engaging external help, except for a makeup artist or two, as well as a photographer. On the contrary, if you are worried about the nitty-gritty details, it is best to leave it to the professionals. Most of us will only have one wedding ceremony in our entire lifetime, and you do not want to have any regrets.