Welcome to a short & sweet saturday episode of Joyful Wedding Planning. I’m your host and wedding planner, Emily Decloux, and today we’re looking at what you should be putting on your signing table at your wedding.
Your signing table is used during the ceremony, when your marriage becomes legal and official in the eyeballs of the LAW. It’s a staple at every wedding, really, unless you’re not planning on making your marriage legal with the government, in which case if you like the idea of signing a love contract, you could write one up with your fiance that reflects your relationship and your promise to one another.
So what should be on your signing table at your wedding?
First, the paperwork. You’re going to get your marriage license from the province you’ll be getting married in (if you’re getting married in Ontario you can get this from your municipality). To do that, you’ll fill out an application, and book an appointment at city hall, and pay $160 in Toronto to get the license. Once they give you the license, you’ll have 90 days from that day to use it and get married.
At your ceremony, your officiant will handle all the details, you will just need to provide witnesses for both yourself and your fiance.
So that’s the paperwork!
The other very important part of your signing table is – you guessed it – a working pen. It can honestly be any pen you’d like! As long as it works! Make sure that if you’re buying a fancy pen, it actually writes properly before your ceremony begins. There are so many different options for a pen too, and it really makes for a lovely sentimental souvenir! I carried mine over into my baby’s baby book.
Other things you might include could be a vase for any flowers that might make their way up and down the aisle with you – although I’d recommend not putting any water in this vase. Just use it as a holder for now! You could also include a picture of you and your fiance, pictures of loved ones that have passed on that you’d like to include in your wedding, or any other decorative elements that fit your theme.
At the end of the day, as long as you have your paperwork and a working pen, you’re in great shape to get your marriage legally recognized!
Alright, that’s it for me today, if you have any questions about planning your wedding that you think I should cover on this podcast, email me at [email protected]! Or if you’ve hit a point in your planning process where you feel like you’d rather have someone else take the reins on your wedding day so that you can just enjoy it, you can learn more about how I help DIY couples with Day Of Coordination here.
Until next time, keep it joyful!
Get your marriage license in Toronto here: https://www.toronto.ca/services-payments/venues-facilities-bookings/getting-married/step-1-applying-for-a-marriage-licence