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Wacky Wedding Laws
Walking down the aisle hasn't always been just about the happily ever after...
People tend to think that the laws related to weddings in the United States are one-size-fits-all, but they are actually governed by each individual state and sometimes even differ from county to county, says Elise Mac Adam, the IndieEtiquette columnist for Indiebride.com and author of "Something New: Wedding Etiquette for Rule Breakers, Traditionalists, and Everyone In Between" (Simon Spotlight Entertainment, 2008).
Every state has a wide range of rules that regulate the minimum age of the bride and groom, whether cousins may marry, mandatory blood tests, waiting periods before marriage or after divorce, when and where the wedding can take place, who can officiate and much, much kookier stuff.
Here's a round-up of some of our great country's quirkier love-related legislation - but you better watch out. These laws are still enforceable, so you may not want to share them with your future spouse ...
Indecent Proposal?
According to the Offenses Against Morality and Decency listed in the South Carolina Code of Laws, any man over the age of 16 who proposes to an unmarried woman in order to seduce her but without actually intending to marry her, is guilty of a misdemeanor and can be fined or imprisoned, uncovers Sharon Naylor, author of 35 wedding books, including "The Bride's Survival Guide" (Adams Media, 2009). However, in order to convict in the first place, there must be a witness who can corroborate that this method of seduction took place, and the woman must prove that at the time of the seduction she was in no way behaving "lewd and unchaste." If there is in fact a witness and the woman was conducting herself like an angel, the defendant can simply marry her and the case will be dropped.
He should consider himself lucky. In Michigan the devious fellow would be guilty of a felony. The duped girl gets one year from the time of the seduction to press charges.
But what if both the man and the woman are interested in hooking up without having to get hitched? They better not check into a hotel in North Carolina, warns Mac Adam. According to General Statute § 14-186, under Offenses Against Public Morality and Decency, "Any man and woman found occupying the same bedroom in any hotel, public inn or boardinghouse for any immoral purpose" is guilty of a Class 2 misdemeanor. And you better not try claiming that you are husband and wife because they're on to you. The statute also stipulates that the same punishment is meted out to couples who falsely register or otherwise represent themselves as married to finagle a shared room.
Time Is On Your Side
On the opposite side of the spectrum, maybe a couple does want to get married, but they're really, really busy. Lucky for them, four states in the United States allow proxy marriages i.e. someone, usually an attorney, stands in for the bride or groom. While California, Colorado and Texas require that one of the real parties must appear before the civil authorities, Montana is the only state that allows a double-proxy marriage in which neither party need show up, says Naylor. However, each of these states varies on residency requirements and whether proxy marriages are limited to members of the armed forces. It's also worth noting that Iowa doesn't recognize any proxy marriage at all.
Age Ain't Nothin' But A Number
But what if you aren't even able to talk, let alone contest your marriage? In 2007, a law was passed in Arkansas that stated, "In order for a person who is younger than eighteen (18) years of age and who is not pregnant to obtain a marriage license, the person must provide the county clerk with evidence of parental consent to the marriage." Thanks to a mistaken "not" before pregnant, instead of establishing 18 as the minimum age for marriage as they had intended, lawmakers removed the minimum age to marry entirely. "In other words, anyone who was not pregnant could marry at any age as long as they had parental permission, even toddlers," says Naylor. The law was repealed by the governor in April 2008.
The Internet abounds with bizarre, outdated and ridiculous laws related to weddings and marriage. Some of them are likely nothing more than urban legend (apparently, in Oblong, Ill., it's punishable by law to make love while hunting or fishing on your wedding day), but there's no way to know for sure unless you read through the stacks and stacks of statutes yourself.
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