This year’s Pride “Bigger Than Texas” Festival will certainly be very special in light of last week’s historic ruling for marriage equality. To celebrate, Everlasting Elopements and Texas Wedding Ministers will perform a free mass wedding ceremony at 2:30 on the stage at Crockett Park during Pride celebrations.
Couples don’t need to have a marriage license to be able to participate if they aren’t able to obtain one beforehand. Texas Ministers will sign the license for free once couples do have a license. However, in order for couples to be officially married at the ceremony, they will need birth certificates, picture IDs, and $81 in cash to obtain a license from the County Clerk’s office ahead of time. The County Clerk’s office is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. This is a holiday week, though, so you’ll need to get to the courthouse today or tomorrow–they’re closed Friday for the July 4 holiday weekend. And if it’s tomorrow, get there early: You’ll need to find a civil-court judge to sign the 72-hour waiver, and it may be hard to find one late in the afternoon before a long weekend.
After the ceremony, officiants from Texas Wedding Ministers will sign marriage licenses and take photos.
Judge Ron Rangel and Reverend Audrie Henry, of Texas Wedding Ministers, will perform the ceremony and Reverend Rene Esparza, co-owner of Texas Wedding Ministers, will attend to translate the ceremony into Spanish.
