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Yesterday, we took a long, hard look at the bizarre origins of wedding traditions. For today’s follow-up, we traveled state to state in search of the most curious courtship regulations that are still on the books. As for the question of whether or not these laws of love should actually be enforced—well, we leave that up to you and your “better half” to decide.
• In South Carolina, if a man over 16 proposes marriage to an unwed woman without actually intending to marry her, he’s guilty of a misdemeanor under the Offenses Against Morality and Decency. Don’t get too jazzed, though, ladies. You can’t bring the sleaze ball up on charges unless you can get someone to corroborate your story that he proposed as a means of seduction. Not to mention, the whole thing is null and void if the accused man can prove that at the time of the alleged seduction the woman in question was behaving “lewd and unchaste.” (That’s legalese we all can understand.)
• In North Carolina, it’s against the law to “pretend” to be married when registering for a hotel room. So next time the unknowing clerk hands you and your bedtime buddy the room keys and says, “Enjoy your stay, Mr. and Mrs. Guest,” you may want to swallow the awkwardness and correct him, or risk suffering the consequence of a Class 2 misdemeanor. On the other hand, if the couple checking into the honeymoon suite is legitimately hitched but can’t “close the deal” due to one or both parties being sexually impotent, the marriage can be declared null and void. One has to wonder, though: should the advent of Levitra and Viagra make this law null and void?
• In Montana, a couple can marry even if neither of them is present. This miracle marriage is done by way of a “double proxy” ceremony. Particularly popular with soldiers deployed overseas who wish to get married without coming home on leave, this type of marriage is arranged through a lawyer, who then hires two proxies (anyone with a free afternoon and a desire for some extra cash) to come sit before the judge, recite the vows and sign the marriage license on behalf of the absent bride and groom. Also potentially an option for the ultra-lazy couple that can’t even be bothered to elope and would prefer to have someone else do the “I do-ing” for them while they relax in front of the TiVo. Actually, that doesn’t sound so bad at all.
• For several embarrassing months in late 2007 and early 2008, Arkansas state law mistakenly allowed persons of any age, even twee toddlers, to marry as long as they had parental consent. The gaff was made when a minimum age requirement was accidentally left out of an amended marriage law aimed at establishing eighteen as the legal age of non-parental consented marriage. The law was finally corrected in April of 2008, meaning Suri Cruise and Shiloh Jolie-Pitt are once again off the market until further notice.
• There is some serious girl power going on down in Alabama, where women are entitled to keep any and all possessions that they acquired prior to the marriage in the event of a divorce, but no such allowance is made for the man. So while angry exes might go 45 rounds arguing over who gets to keep his original vinyl record collection, the five rooms full of Pottery Barn furniture she brought into the marriage will be off the table. He might get to keep the big screen in the end, but she’ll dare him to try and enjoy watching the big game without a plush Pearce Sectional Sofa in Oatmeal ultra-suede cushioning his backside. Mwah ha ha ha!
• In New Orleans, Louisiana, it is illegal for anyone claiming to be a palm reader, fortune teller, mystic healer or any other magic-possessing hoodwinker to offer up marriage services (they are also not allowed to proclaim their ability to contact your dead or lost relatives, locate buried treasure or predict the outcome of a lawsuit, just for starters). Too bad though, it really would have been convenient to have a one stop shop for a marriage, a séance, and a chakra cleansing.
Does your state have any strange wedding laws our readers should know about when planning their nuptials?
Jenn Thompson is a freelance writer for publications including Charlotte Magazine, Weddings Unveiled, and The Atlantan. For the next few days, she’ll be sharing her wedding knowledge with us. Superstar researcher Kathleen Pierce helped dig these weird laws up.
Yesterday: bizarre origins of wedding traditions. Tomorrow: wedding customs from around the world.
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Shhh…super secret special for blog readers.
Comments (14)
Comment
In the UK, you can’t be legally married in the open air — venues (whether church or civil) need to have a permanent roof. That’s not to say that plenty of people don’t have humanist ceremonies in the great outdoors (British weather permitting), but they’ll also have to have a secondary ceremony in a registry office to be legally wed.
posted by Andrew Green on 6-24-2008 at 11:50 am
@Andrew:
We Catholics have the same problem. Even if you’re married by a priest, if it is not in a church, it doesn’t count. Meaning anyone wanting a pretty outdoor/in a house ceremony, has to do the double thing too. :-(
Lucky for me I have a priest for a cousin, so I don’t have to worry about booking one!
posted by nutmeag on 6-24-2008 at 12:14 pm
In Texas, the Rule of Thumb still applies. A man can beat his wife as long as he doesn’t use an object larger than his thumb.
Also, if a couple introduces themselves as husband and wife three times, they are considered legally married.
posted by nikki on 6-24-2008 at 12:16 pm
To add to nutmeag’s comment:
Catholics can get permission to have a ceremony somewhere other than a church (although it still must be indoors) if they recieve a dispensation from the local Bishop that either the groom or bride’s non-Catholic family will be very uncomfortable in a Catholic Church.
posted by Mavis on 6-24-2008 at 2:40 pm
Just wondering if the word “twee” in the article was a typo or the misuse of a word. The definition of twee at www.askoxford.com is:
twee
• adjective (tweer, tweest) Brit. excessively or affectedly quaint, pretty, or sentimental.
Your article states:
“For several embarrassing months in late 2007 and early 2008, Arkansas state law mistakenly allowed persons of any age, even twee toddlers, to marry as long as they had parental consent. ”
Just curious. I will just sit here picking my nits now.
posted by Cynthia on 6-24-2008 at 2:52 pm
In that Oxford definition, it says the origin was the mispronunciation of the word ’sweet.’
So add “maybe I’m being overly critical” to your list of possibilities.
posted by Tamara on 6-24-2008 at 3:06 pm
In response to Nikki’s comment, I’ve lived in Texas for a long time and as far back as I can remember, spousal abuse has never been legal.
Also, the origin of the phrase “rule of thumb”, was never used to refer to a man beating his wife, my name links to a website that says more about that.
posted by William on 6-24-2008 at 4:24 pm
In Alabama, interracial marriage is still illegal.
posted by Oneka on 6-24-2008 at 4:37 pm
In Colorado, it costs $10 to get married.
And you can do it in a DMV with no witnesses or officiates. Actually, you get the form then go outside and get married in the parking lot just outside the DMV doors because they will not let you officially do it under their roof. Then you go back in and get the stamp of approval.
Or you can just live together and call yourself married and (tada) you are.
posted by Nicole on 6-24-2008 at 5:59 pm
Cheers to William for having more patience than I have. Jeers to Nikki for perhaps the dumbest, most naive comment I’ve ever read on mentalfloss. Double cheers to mental floss for being interesting every time I stop by!
posted by Brandon on 6-24-2008 at 6:55 pm
Oneka, that was repelled in 2000 (and was rendered null and void by Loving v. Virginia anyway).
posted by Lynn on 6-25-2008 at 10:12 am
I apologize for not more thoroughly investigating the information I found on a news station website a while ago. A minor correction would’ve sufficed. I was just thinking of how nice it is that people in the comment sections on mental_floss refrain from attacking each other and instead engage in constructive conversation. I’m guess you probably aren’t a teacher, Brandon. William, thank you for referring me to a more informative site than the one I obtained my original information from. I greatly appreciate it.
posted by nikki on 6-25-2008 at 3:04 pm
Loving v. Virginia, thats such an interesting story. You should read the obit for Mrs. Loving who died recently. Loving day was just a few weeks ago actually…
posted by Sarah on 6-27-2008 at 10:46 pm
Hi, Mavis:
Do you perchance have a site containing details on Catholic Wedding-Masses held outside the Church? My fiancée and I are Catholic, but one of our families would be pretty uncomfortable. Whether or not it’s a viable option, it’d be great to know more!
Thanks and take care!
Pablo
posted by Pablo on 6-28-2008 at 8:52 pm