So, you know, aside from the whole wedding thing - with the vows and exchange of rings and the whole "woo hoo!!!" - we have no documented evidence of a legally binding marriage.
When we obtained our marriage license (pre-wedding) we also picked up the forms to receive copies of our marriage certificate. In the midst of the wedding craziness, I knew they'd easily get lost in the shuffle, so I tucked them into a prominent compartment of my travel bag. Two days after our wedding, while sitting at Logan airport, we filled out all necessary paperwork at 5am while waiting to depart for our honeymoon. Then we figured we could drop our marriage certificate request form in a mailbox off in between our connecting flights at the next airport. No go. There aren't any mailboxes in airports since 9/11. So the request form sat in my luggage for 10 days.
We returned to Chicago and I promptly put the paperwork in the mail. Each day after dropping the marriage certificate request in the mail, I eagerly checked to see if it arrived. To my surprise, we received a piece of mail from Providence City Hall quite promptly. However, it was a rejection letter.
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Our request for copies of our marriage certificate was rejected due to a failure to provide photo identification. (Side note: this was not an indicated requirement on the form.) The letter arrived on a Friday, so we were set back another 3 days before I could call City Hall and inquire about suitable submissions of identification. Fortunately, photocopies of our drivers licenses would suffice so I was able to get that handled efficiently and get our forms back in the mail.
Where does that leave us? Well, that takes us to today. Approximately one month out from our wedding and still no documented evidence of actually being married. Mr. Seashell and I have a running joke about "...not 'till I see it in writing!" that's starting to get a little old.
When did you receive a marriage certificate? When am I allowed to get antsy?
