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Price of civil marriage ceremonies to increase 80%
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More from County NewsStarting July 1, it will cost nearly twice as much to tie the knot in that spur-of-the-romantic-moment atmosphere of the Ventura County Clerk's Office.
The price of a civil marriage ceremony will go from $25 to $45 — an 80 percent increase — under an ordinance adopted Tuesday by the county Board of Supervisors. The cost of a marriage license is $97 and will remain unchanged.
"I think it's still a bargain," County Clerk Phil Schmit said after the ordinance was adopted.
The Clerk's Office also sells wedding rings for $8.25 each, disposable cameras for $7.25 and framed photos for $7.25.
Those prices won't change.
The county began performing civil ceremonies again in 2004, after about a 15-year lapse.
Schmit said his office performs about 1,600 weddings every year. Most occur in a small "Wedding Room" in the Clerk's Office, which is on the first floor of the county Government Center on Victoria Avenue in Ventura.
It's usually just a few couples a day, but on Valentine's Day dozens of people line up to get married.
The $25 fee has been the same since the wedding service came back in 2004.
Schmit said the price had to go up because some of the weddings were costing his office money. If a couple arrives without a witness, a second employee has to be on hand as an official witness, and that doubles the personnel cost, Schmit said.
"The fee was originally based on one staff member, and a lot of people come in without witnesses, so it was getting pretty expensive," he said.
CORRECTION: A graphic in Sunday's Business section contained incorrect information. The graphic on how much Ventura County residents spend on weddings on average should have shown that 13 percent of those polled spent more than $56,000.
Posted by ed.fitzhenry on June 22, 2007 at 2:26 p.m. (Suggest removal)
To make things fair, wouldn't it be wise to increase the fee for filing as a state-registered domestic partner, which is $35, to equal the $142 that hetero sexual couples pay to enjoy the economic benefits of marriage?
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