License Agreement

This morning was a fiasco.. that may be an understatement..
We called Michael D and Kim to accompany us to get our marriage license - to meet us at 8am in the front of the Gwinnett Probate Court. I ensured we had all the documents we needed and headed out at the crack of dawn with Scott. By 8:15am, we were inside the building going through security. If you've never been to the Justice Building, it is as confusing as the airport but WITHOUT the signs!! Well when we finally found the vital records room we got in line waiting an extra 10 minutes. When we arrived at the window and handed our paperwork it was just another domino knocked over when the clerk told us she could not give us the license. She proceeded to tell me my name on the birth certificate did not match my drivers license. She said I needed to get my license changed or they could not process the license. I walked out of the room furious and called my daddy. The reason my name doesn't match is cultural - both dad's last name and mom's maiden name were added after my middle name. Though she couldn't comprehend that if you look at the information on the Birth Certificate and the paperwork I filled out it matches, as well as the Driver's License. Well we re-entered the vital records line and this time I asked to speak to a manager. We literally waited 30 minutes for her to show. I'm almost positive they were just waiting to see if we would leave. The manager proceeded to tell me that a judge in 2010 had mandated that all birth certificates match drivers licenses to get a marriage certificate. I asked her in response then why the DMV in the same county would not have put my complete name if I had to show them my birth certificate. She continued to deny my request. I told her that I was getting married in nine days and she rudely responded to either change my birth certificate, change my drivers license or go to another county.

I took the last piece of advice. Scott and I left, drove to Cobb County Probate Court and you wouldn't believe the difference. In total, including time it took to park, we spent 14 minutes! The ladies were very nice, and even with four other families there, they were very efficient in having us in and out as quickly as possible - no questions asked!

Lesson learned. Don't go to Gwinnett County Probate Court for Marriage Licenses!