County Seeks Volunteers to Marry Couples

Los Angeles County is looking for more volunteers to launch couples on eternal voyages of wedded bliss—or at the least start them on the first few months of marriage.

Volunteers will see heavy workloads Tuesday, when Valentine's Day will prompt hundreds of men and women to tie the knot in civil ceremonies at seven L.A. County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk offices.

Couples can get married by the volunteers within minutes of purchasing $90 marriage licenses and paying $25 for the ceremony. Those ceremonies will be performed by a cadre of volunteers.

The county's "Volunteer Deputy Marriage Commissioner" program allows "citizens from all walks of life the opportunity to volunteer in public service while saving taxpayers money," according to Portia Sanders, the manager at the clerk's Public Records Division.

Volunteers have been used since 1997 to perform civil weddings at the seven county offices where marriage licenses are sold. The volunteers allow clerks to keep selling marriage licenses and perform other official tasks.

"We are looking forward to Valentine's Day as our busiest day of the year for weddings," said County Registrar-Recorder Dean Logan.

Ceremonies will be held without appointment at any of the seven branch offices listed online.