Your Marriage Records

For millions of Americans, the day they got married remains the happiest day of their lives, but it is also a time filled with a flurry of activity and often times accurate record keeping isn’t part of the plan. There is shopping to do, events to plan and a honeymoon to enjoy and sometimes, your marriage record gets lost in the shuffle.

If you are planning a wedding now or if you are already married and you are pretty sure your official marriage document hasn’t made it this far, you may want to consider ordering a new copy. It is an essential piece of paper that has many essential uses over your lifetime.

Before we look at the reasons why you need to always have a copy of your marriage record, let’s look at what information is contained in one. First, there is a section outlining the basic information for both people involved in the marriage. You’ll see spaces for your names, date of birth, location of birth and the names of both of your parents.

You will also find a space for the date that the marriage certificate was filed, the certification section and then, depending on your state, the sex of the people involved. All told, the average document is only one page, but it can be an incredibly useful item.

One of the major reasons that most people find themselves scrambling to get a copy of their own marriage record is because they are getting a divorce and they want to get remarried.

In most states, to file for a new marriage certificate, you will need a copy of your old one plus a copy of your certified divorce decree. Of course, no one wants to enter into a marriage while thinking ahead to a possible second one, but it always helps to be organized should something happen.

Another reason why many people request marriage records, and the marriage records of their relatives, is so they can create an up to date and accurate family tree. Most family trees not only have a space for the names of your ancestors, but also their personal information, as well.

To ensure that your family tree is as complete as possible, many folks turn to marriage records and their wealth of information. You can also save a lot of money this way since you won’t need to rely on online sites that trace your tree for you.

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