Hi All,
Hoping to get some feedback on what a civil ceremony is actually like in Manhattan.
For instance--are there long waiting times? How early should people expect to arrive?
Basically, when calls have been made to the Court they've been very unhelpful and downright rude--and that's when you can finally get a call thru. Ideally it would be great to have the Wedding ceremony in the afternoon but we're not sure if people typically wait hours and it's the kind of thing you have to arrive at the 'crack of dawn' for...

For those of you that have been to them--how did you like it/not like it? What should we expect?
By the way, the Civil Ceremony will be on a Thursday.

Thanks for all your help and insight.

Huh ?

The ceremony is at the Municipal building I believe. So to reiterate--in a nutshell asking how these civil ceremonies are there... (How long is the wait time, etc.)

Ceremony is fast. Some days of the week are less busy than others. Lunch time is the worst time. If you want it in the afternoon, best to go in the afternoon. Do you realize that you have the choice of which borough of Manhattan to use? I know some people that have decide Brooklyn looked nicer and less busy. Others thought the idea of riding the Staten Island ferry over to Staten Island and doing it there would be nicer. Bottom line, having a ceremony elsewhere will be nicer if you can afford the cost of an officiant.
Why not consider hiring an officiant and doing the ceremony in Central Park. If you're less than 20 people, you don't need a license to use most of the park. I've attended a ceremony at the Ladies Pavillion in Central Park done by this man--he will do a civil ceremony if that's what you want.
http://www.revles.com/

Thanks Mclaurie for your reply. Generally how long is the wait time from the time you arrive at the Municipal bldg to the time the ceremony can finally start? Just afraid of being shut out if we arrive 'too late' but don't want to arrive ridiculously early if there's no need to either.

Manhattan works out easiest. And it's being done without fuss in the Municipal bldg for now and a big elaborate wedding at a later date. The civil ceremony will be on a Thursday.

What do you think?

According to info here http://manhattan.about.com/od/cityli...orkwedding.htm
arrive no later than 3:15pm. I'd say arrive an hour before you want the ceremony.

Have you got your marriage license yet? Can;t you check out these other details in person when you go for the license?

The licence is already in hand but the questions weren't pushed at the time. So relying on your insight.

I was most concerned about a 'cut off' time. If they get super backed up, what's the latest a person could arrive...that sort of thing. I didn't know if it's the kind of thing people sit around for hours for. Thanks Mclaurie for letting me know more of a time frame. An hour wait is not so bad.

I'm not guaranteeing an hour. In case you missed it in my previous post, I believe the cut off time for arriving is 3:15 pm.

According to the official website

"A New York State marriage license is valid for 60 days (except for active military personnel for whom the validity runs for 180 days) and can only be used in the State of New York. A blood test is not required to obtain a marriage license in the State of New York."

The above advice is sound. However, it applies only if both of you are over eighteen. If not, the rules are different. You will need current valid forms of ID. I believe that you also need to bring a witness over eighteen with ID but I am not too sure about that.

The one civil ceremony I attended at Manhatan's Municipal Building took about 20 seconds. This was 15 years ago, so perhaps things are different now.

Our group: bride, groom, 2 witnesses. We were called from the incredibly ugly waiting room into the tiny "chapel." As we walked into the room and headed toward a bench to put down our coats, the official said, "Lynn? John?"

We all looked up from our coats and the official said, "Do you Lynn take John to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

We all went scurrying across the room and into position to be there in time for Lynn to say "I do."

"Do you John take Lynn to be your lawfully wedded wife?"

"I do."

"By the authority of the State of New York, I now pronounce you husband and wife" and the official practically ran out of the room.

We all burst out laughing. Then we took a minute or two to take "formal" pictures in front of the little stained-glass window in the chapel.

I suspect much of how the ceremony feels depends on the officiant you have.