New Jersey residency is not necessary to legally marry in the state. But New Yorkers and all out-of-state couples must say their “I do’s” in the town in which their permit was issued. Ms. Gregor said the legality of New Jersey weddings in general has been tripping people up since the coronavirus hit.
“Governor Murphy said, ‘There will be no weddings,’ and that got people confused,” she said. “But it’s a matter of semantics. He hasn’t said marriages are illegal.” The point is to keep people from gathering, not to prevent them from being wed, Ms. Gregor said.
Still, finding a picnic table setup like the one Ms. Gregor described may require stamina. She said Hoboken, Woodbridge and Jersey City were among the cities still issuing licenses as of the first week of April. But rules may be changing daily. On April 7, a representative in the Hoboken Department of Birth, Death and Marriage Certificates said licenses were being issued only to Hoboken residents.
For New Yorkers like Colby Chamberlain and Gemma Sharpe, who planned a non-urgent April 3 wedding and tried, unsuccessfully, to secure a license from several upstate New York cities after the Manhattan closure, traveling farther afield is also an option. Palm Springs, Calif., and Gatlinburg, Tenn., both cities in which ceremonies may be performed the same day the marriage license is secured, are still filling license applications. Elkton, Md., a city with a rich history of accommodating speedy marriages, is issuing licenses to resident and nonresident couples with emergencies.
Technology is also easing the strain for couples, desperate and otherwise. Linda Bobrin, the Register of Wills in Bucks County, Pa., started a pilot program last week to issue licenses through videoconference.
“Typically, couples would have to come in in-person,” she said. Given the unusual circumstances, she felt a need to adapt.