Minnesota residents getting married in Wisconsin (not allowed)

Can Minnesota residents get married in Wisconsin?

Question:

Dear Reverend Tomkin,

My fiancé and I both live in Minnesota but planned on getting married in Cable, Wisconsin at Telemark Resort.

Can we just get the normal MN marriage license and have our officiate sign it the day of or is there extra forms/things I need to complete in order to get married in Wisconsin but recognized in MN?

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Minnesota Groom


Answer:

Dear MG,

Wow, I try to answer all possible questions on my page about MN marriage licenses, but there are always different types of situations such as yours!

Unfortunately, to get married in Wisconsin, you can't use a Minnesota marriage license - you have to use one from Wisconsin. And Wisconsin regulations are absurdly strict - not only does one of you needs to have resided for at least 30 days in the Wisconsin, but you need to have resided in the county where you are applying. Note: While you do have to be a WI resident to get married in Wisconsin, I had this part about WI county residency requirements wrong. Per the e-mail below, the county residency requirement is not as strict as I thought it was.

I'm sorry, that's not the answer you wanted to hear, but at least you know know what you're dealing with!

Warm regards,

Rev. Tomkin Coleman
MN wedding officiant & planner


Follow-up!

Good afternoon, Rev. Tomkin,

I just wanted to forward on some information that I found out. It just applies to Wisconsin weddings, but I thought you might be interested. I've talked to the Bayfield county clerks office in WI and they gave me a little more insight about the rules.

You do have to be a Wisconsin resident to get married in Wisconsin, but it is not a requirement to live in the Wisconsin county that you want to get married in for 30 days. The wording is just confusing. She explained that if you are a current Wisconsin resident, and live in a specific county for 30 days or longer then it is required to get the marriage license in that county. However, if you haven't lived in that county for 30 days but lived in a different county in Wisconsin, then you have to file with the county that you previously lived in. I hope that makes sense.

Of course, this provision doesn't really apply to your Minnesota couples, but I thought they'd find it interesting.

Thanks for your help!