Reply To: could anyone marry us?
Most states don’t recognize common law marriages.
I like Sapphiremind’s idea as well. My cousin needed to be legally married by a certain date because his job would pay to relocate a spouse, but not a girlfriend/fiancee. So they had a tiny legally recognized ceremony with just themselves, witnesses and an officiant. Then they had a big party with more ceremonial vows later on when families and friends could all be there. (That was also lovely.)