Licensed to Get Married
I took today off work to take care of a bunch of wedding-related errands, including picking up our marriage license at Toronto's City Hall. We were originally going to get the license in Ottawa but the City of Ottawa charges a fee of $145 compared to the City of Toronto 's fee at $130. I'm not sure what is the reason for the $15 difference; but with wedding costs starting to add up, every penny counts and it is important to save where we can.
I arrived at City Hall in the afternoon and quickly found the Registry Services office. There was a small line-up so I had to wait but not too long. While I was waiting, I couldn't help but notice there were a lot of same-sex couples getting marriage licenses, including one couple who came from the US. I thought that was really nice. Anyway, after a few minutes, it was my turn. I dealt with a very serious-looking clerk. He reviewed my form, checked the IDs and then informed me that the marriage license was $400. I said, "Excuse me? Are you pulling my leg?" Then he replied (still with a very serious look), "Yes." I still wasn't sure whether he was joking. I asked, "It's $130, right?". And he replied, "Yes." If he had said no, then I would have just simply walked out and gone back to Ottawa. What a weirdo.
5 comments:
Actually, marriage license is only $100 in Markham...
Man.. I feel ripped off now... our marriage feels more like the $100 kind :P
I still don't understand why there is a difference in marriage license fee...especially since it's a provincial document. So, instead of saving $15, we overspent $30...Argh!
I'm not sure about Toronto, but I got mine from Markham, but was told that at the end, you don't really have a legal document. You'll have to send in another form, with an additional fee, to get something legal. Talk about ripoff.
You're right, Victor. After the actual wedding, we have to send in another form and fee for the actual marriage certificate. What real purpose does a marriage license serve anyway?
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