It’s easy to get caught up in all the excitement surrounding an upcoming wedding. There are so many exciting choices to make, including the guest list, the wedding colors, the members of the wedding party, and even the flowers. Even still, there are a few key legal steps that must also be made to ensure there are no hiccups leading up to your special day. In this blog, we cover the critical differences between a virtual marriage certificate and an online marriage certificate to ensure the right legal foundation is in place when it’s time to begin your forever together.
What is a Virtual Marriage Certificate?
The most important thing to understand about virtual marriage certificates is that they are not legally recognized documents. Instead, they are certificates that have been made up to commemorate a virtual marriage. They may bear a lot of sentimental significance, but they simply serve as a memento rather than a representation of a legal marriage union.
Virtual Marriage Certificate vs. Legal Online Marriage Certificate
Although virtual marriage certificates hold no legal validity, it’s worth keeping in mind that there are legal online methods you can follow as you seek out a legitimate avenue toward the documentation of your marriage. Rather than focusing on a virtual marriage certificate, you’ll want to look into obtaining a legal online marriage certificate.
A legal online marriage certificate refers to the official paper document which shows proof of legal marriage according to the jurisdiction where it was issued.
Couples who get legally married online receive a real marriage certificate from the county or state where they were legally married, the same way that couples do when they are married in person. There is often no difference between the marriage certificate that couples receive for an in-person legal marriage and the certificate for a legal online marriage. Many jurisdictions offer a digital certificate in addition to mailing a traditional paper hard copy certificate after the marriage takes place.
Virtual Wedding Certificate
Ultimately, we hope this blog has allowed you to gain a firm understanding of the following critical points:
- Virtual marriage certificates are not legally binding and instead serve as a memento from a virtual marriage.
- Online marriage certificates are legal documents that are printed by the appropriate jurisdiction after the marriage.
Most often, virtual marriage certificates are tied to virtual marriages that take place via video game platforms including VRChat, Rec Room, and Animal Crossing. As the ceremonies conclude, a digital certificate is provided as a means to commemorate the ceremony. The barrier to entry for such ceremonies is decreasing all the time with the rapid growth in the utilization of VR headsets across the country. As such, many individuals researching legal online marriages often enter the rabbit hole of virtual marriages by mistake.
At Online Marriage, we do not deal with commemorative virtual wedding certificates. All the ceremonies we hold result in legally recognized marriages. As such, all Online Marriage packages include at least one certified copy of your marriage certificate, which gets mailed to you after the service is complete. We can also help you order additional copies if you need them!
Are You Ready to Get Married Online? Let’s Make it Happen!
We approach online marriage with speed, legality, and privacy chiefly in mind. With our guidance, the journey toward your legal online marriage is as simple as following these four steps:
- Book your online marriage date with a legal online marriage officiant.
- Before your online marriage, you must apply for your marriage license online and pay the associated application fee (we can provide instructions if you get lost along the way).
- Attend your legal marriage ceremony online via web conference.
- Receive a hard copy of your legally valid marriage license in the mail within a few weeks of the ceremony.
With Online Marriage, you can get married online legally and securely, in a short amount of time. Our Get Married Online package allows couples to be legally married in the United States from anywhere in the world via web video conference, even if they aren’t in the same location. Our signature legal online marriage package offers the best options based on your unique circumstances and preferences. Simply answer a few questions, and we’ll take care of the rest! Get started by filling out this quick form or give us a call at (202)-810-2201.