Getting married out of state

You can’t get married in MA unless you acquire the license in MA. I believe the same is true for NY- the license would only be good in NY.

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So even if we preformed the ceremony in MA but got legally married in NY it would not work?

View Quoted Comment You could get legally married in NY, but the ceremony in MA wouldn’t count for that so the MA ceremony would just be for show.

View Quoted Comment Exactly this. You would have to have a courthouse wedding in NY and only have a commitment ceremony or whatever you want to call in in MA.

Basically you would need to have something like a courthouse wedding in NY before or after your wedding in MA. Whatever happens in MA would not be able to apply to a license from NY.

I believe you have to get the license in the state and county you are marrying in.

Nope— you need the marriage license from the state you will get married in. I also live in NY and got married in MA. Luckily the MA marriage licenses are good for 60 days , so we were able to go and apply right around the 58 day mark, as it was the only weekday we were in state before the wedding (minus the under 3 day period before the wedding).

It IS possible in MA to petition the court to get around the waiting period , if you can’t make it there before 3 days in advance. I don’t know the exact specifics though other than “it can be done”

it is also possible in MA to apply for a marriage license in ANY town in MA — it doesn’t have to be the town or county you are having the wedding in, which may be helpful. (We applies where my parents live, and were able to have them pick up the license for us [with our permission])