I performed a marriage officiation over the phone on a three-way call. I was in Washington state, the groom in New York state and the bride in London. Is there any way to proclaim this marriage legal? If so, what documentation do the bride and groom need to prove so?

Greetings to you my friend,

First of all, I am not a lawyer, so take what I say with a grain of salt.

First of all, I seriously doubt that what you did was a legal wedding. Typically even if a wedding is done by proxy over the phone, the officiant and at least one of the parties involved are in the same location. The officiant is a legal representative of the state, and has to be able to verify the identities of the people being married. Since you didn't see either of them, you have no sure way of knowing who you actually wed.

The most important problem though is in the wedding license. Was there one issued by New York State? It couldn't have been issued in London, because ULC ministers are not legally able to conduct a wedding in England. And to get a wedding license in New York State, both parties involved have to appear at the City or County clerks office to apply. Also, the wedding actually has to take place in New York State. Since you were in Washington State, I think an argument could be made that that whatever you did actually took place in Washington.

In short, there are some SERIOUS problems with what you did. Aside from the whole matter taking place over the phone, if no wedding license was issued beforehand, there is no legal wedding. You would probable do well is speaking to a lawyer about this.

In Christ's service,
Padre

Thanks for your advice Padre. I didn't figure this was a legal deal, not knowing too much about the laws invloved. To all parties concerned it was more of a profession of union to the spirits and law considered or not, a union was surely granted and love was shared. In the future we may plan to all get together in either New York or Washington state and square it all up in a recognised fashion or leave it as it is, arguing that isn't spirit recognition enough? Thanks again.

Greetings to you my friend,
While there is no doubt that a union of spirits took place, you always have to remember that marriage is not just a religious rite, but also is viewed as a civil contract that confirms rights and duties to both parties. For example, lets say that one of the parties you wed over the phone, but without the legal documents necessary to make it a legal wedding died. The survivor would not be entitled to any of the other persons estate (unless of course there was already a valid will in force naming that person as a beneficiary). Or one of them became very ill and was not able to make decisions regarding their own health care. The other person would have no legal standing to make decisions on the others behalf (unless they held a valid health care power of Attorney).

Now if the purely religious aspects of the wedding are good enough for the couple, well then that's really all that's needed. But to ensure all the legal rights are also in place, and to protect each others interests, either a legal wedding needs to happen, or the appropriate legal steps need to be taken (ie making a will and Health Care and Financial Powers of Attorney, and documents spelling out the ownership of personal property) need to be made to protect each persons interests and rights.

You should also be aware my friend that performing a wedding ceremony without having a valid license issued is in many states a crime, that could result in a hefty fine or even jail time for the officiant. Obviously it is ok to perform commitment ceremonies where everyone is aware that what is happening is not a legal wedding, but if you even hint that it is one, then you can be opening yourself up for some pretty serious legal ramifications.

In Christ's service,
Padre

ih pdd im soory to say but in the uk it won.t mean a thing legally speaking sorry my brother blessing to 1 and all