How to get married in Louisiana: license, courthouse and real costs

Louisiana weddings peak October through April, when humidity drops and outdoor French Quarter ceremonies become comfortable. May through September is hot and humid outdoors with frequent afternoon thunderstorms, so many couples move to evening ceremonies or indoor receptions. Carnival season and Mardi Gras bring parades and heavy hotel demand to New Orleans, so check the parade calendar before locking a date in that stretch. Hurricane season for the coast runs June 1 through November 30, and the National Hurricane Center puts most activity between mid-August and mid-October.

Louisiana law (R.S. 9:241) sets a 24-hour wait between the license being issued and the ceremony. A judge or justice of the peace authorized to perform the marriage may waive it for serious and meritorious reasons under R.S. 9:242(A), and in Orleans Parish, judges of the First or Second City Court can waive it for Louisiana residents on weekdays. The license expires 30 days after issuance and can be used anywhere in Louisiana but not outside the state. Fees are set by each parish: Orleans and Lafayette list $27.50, while Plaquemines lists $35 including one certified copy. Two witnesses of full age must be present at the ceremony.

A second line is a New Orleans tradition in which the bridal party and guests parade behind a brass band, waving handkerchiefs or decorated parasols. At weddings it often opens the reception or carries the party from the ceremony to the reception. Band packages and lengths vary, so ask each band what its wedding second line includes, and if you want the parade to leave the venue and move along a public street, confirm early with your band or planner what that route requires. Some French Quarter venues spread the evening across several spaces: the Historic BK House & Gardens on Chartres Street features a couple who married in its Rose Garden, ate dinner in the house and danced in the courtyard, a layout that leaves room for a short procession between stages.

It is a real planning factor for summer and fall dates. The Atlantic hurricane season officially runs June 1 to November 30, and the National Hurricane Center says the peak falls around September 10, with most activity between mid-August and mid-October. Couples booking in that window should read each venue's contract for weather, relocation and rescheduling terms, ask vendors how they handle a storm postponement, and look into event insurance and what it covers for named storms before paying large deposits. October through April avoids the peak of the season and brings more comfortable outdoor temperatures.

Covenant Marriage is a legally distinct option chosen when the couple applies for the license. Couples complete premarital counseling with a priest, minister, rabbi, clerk of the Religious Society of Friends, any clergyman or a marriage counselor, then sign a declaration of intent that includes a recitation, an affidavit and the counselor's attestation, all notarized, and receive the Attorney General's informational pamphlet. Divorce grounds are narrower: adultery, a felony conviction with a sentence of death or hard labor, abandonment for one year, physical or sexual abuse of the spouse or a child, living apart for two years, or living apart for one year after a judgment of separation from bed and board (18 months when there are minor children). It appeals to couples who want a more binding marital framework for religious or personal reasons, and married couples can convert an existing marriage by filing with the official who issued their original license, according to the Lafayette Parish Clerk of Court. The standard marriage remains available and requires no counseling.