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Personal: Getting Married

Today, over 50,000 honeymooners still travel to Niagara Falls each year! Niagara Falls (Ontario or New York) offers the ultimate setting for the most romantic day of your lives. The "Honeymoon Capital" remains quite popular with the newly married and the romantically inclined, who wish to tie the knot or renew their marital vows under our famed rainbow.

How do we get married in Niagara Falls, ON?
Apply for your $75 dollars (Canadian) Marriage license at:

Niagara Falls City Hall
4310 Queen Street, 905-356-7521
8:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Monday to Friday

Each person needs to fill out an application form and provide birth certificates and at least two pieces of identification, like a driver's licence and a passport. 16 & 17 year-olds may also be married, but they require parental consent. Once the marriage license is issued in Canada, the couple may be married immediately (there's a 24 hour wait in the US).

If, a member of the couple is divorced, it gets a little more complicated: The member previously married in Canada must produce a certificate of divorce. If you were previously divorced outside of Canada, a divorce certificate from the State/Country where you were previously married. The couple must take their marriage applications and certificates of previous divorce to a Canadian lawyer, who will write a letter of opinion as to the status of their previous marriage to the Registrar Generals Office located in Thunder Bay, Ontario (about 500 miles by air, but usually done by fax or overnight courier). Best to do this in advance! Once authorization for marriage is returned, the couple may return to City Hall with such authorization and obtain their marriage license.

In Ontario, same-sex couples may now get legally married.

How do we get married in Niagara Falls, NY?
Apply in person, TOGETHER, for the $40 (US) marriage licence at the City Clerk's Office, at least 24 hours prior to the planned time of the wedding:

745 Main St., Niagara Falls, NY 14302.
Mon-Fri 9am-12 noon and 1-4pm,
(716) 286-4393 or (716) 286-4396

Applicants must also provide identification. For a first marriage for people over 18, provide your driver's license. For first marriages for people under 18, a copy of your birth certificate and photo ID. If this is a second marriage for either party, you also need to produce a copy of your divorce decree, or death certificate.

In New York State, there is a twenty-four (24) hour mandatory period following the issuance of a marriage license before the marriages can take place, but the licence is good for 60 days. Any minister or judge can marry you. Here is contact information for area judges:

• Niagara Falls City Court Judges
  Call (716) 286-4513 for availability
  
  
• Town of Lewiston
  Justice Thomas J. Sheeran, (716) 754-8216, (716) 282-7205
  Justice Hugh Gee, (716) 754-4138
  
  
• Town of Niagara
  Justice John P. Teixeira, (716) 297-2193 (home)
  Justice James J. Faso, (716) 297-2150 or (716) 297-8757 (home)
  

• The Wayside Chapel, Niagara Parkway, NOTL, is the only authentic Miniature Chapel of its kind in the entire Niagara area
• Gazebo in Niagara-On-The-Lake overlooking Lake Ontario and Old Fort Niagara (905-468-4261 for rental info)
• Oakes Garden Theatre with the American Falls in the background (1-877-642-7275 rental fee: C$300.00)
• Queenston Chapel, half way between Niagara Falls and Niagara-On-The-Lake
• Atop the Minolta Tower
• Aboard the Maid of the Mist
• Rainbow House Bed & Breakfast and Wedding Chapel (423 Rainbow Blvd. South Niagara Falls, NY 14303, 1-800-724-3536 or 716-282-1135)
• Wedding Arbour at the Botanical Gardens ($300 rental, 1-877-642-7275)
• Willow Pond at the Botanical Gardens ($300 rental, 1-877-642-7275)
• Greenhouse Garden,
• Mather Arch, Fort Erie ($250 rental, 1-877-642-7275)

• Butterfly Conservatory
• School of Horticulture
• Niagara Parks Greenhouse for indoor photos ($300 rental, 1-877-642-7275)
• Horseshoe Falls

• Niagara Falls State Park

• MONTEBELLO PARK, downtown, features a rose garden, an ornamental fountain and band shell.
• JAYCEE GARDENS, hidden just beyond the bustle of Ontario Street, on the shores of Martindale Pond, offers a wide array of fall flowers. Remnants of the Third Welland Canal are preserved in the park in the form of a lock, and provide an ideal backdrop for wedding photographs.
• HAPPY ROLPH’S BIRD SANCTUARY, located along the shores of Lake Ontario, provides a tranquil setting for wedding photographs.
• MORNINGSTAR MILL, located on DeCew Road, features an historic mill, a restored turn of the century farmhouse and a stone bridge plus a waterfall.
• THE CAROUSEL, looking for a different wedding photo background? The Carousel at Port Dalhousie at Lakeside Park is available to rent. For information call 905-688-5601 extension 3107.