FaceTime Marriage Ceremonies Now Legal In New York Amid Pandemic

COVID-19 has affected the lives of so many people around the world – so much that people are now advised to stay away from others to practice what is called “social distancing.” This includes avoiding mass gatherings, standing a certain distance away from another person in the supermarket, and avoiding touching another person physically.

Social distancing meant many things to people, including the inability for a man to marry a woman physically. Weddings traditionally required the bride and the groom to stand beside each other in front of a solemnizing officer. COVID-19 meant these ceremonies had to be canceled.

New York state residents who were hoping to get married during this time can do so via use of video conferencing apps and platforms such as FaceTime, Zoom and more, Apple Insider reported. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo tweeted that he signed an Executive Order allowing New Yorkers to obtain marriage licenses remotely, and to allow clerks to solemnize wedding ceremonies via said apps.

Executive Order 202.20 allows the following to be done during the COVID-19 pandemic:

First, those who wish to marry during this time will be allowed to acquire marriage licenses without the need to present themselves physically. This will be allowed “during the period of time that there exists a declared emergency in New York State.”

Second, those who fail to marry and have their marriage licenses expire during this time will be given the privilege to acquire a second marriage license. The Executive Order will “waive the fees necessary to obtain” the second license.

Third, those who have marriage licenses and wish to marry can do so via use of video conferencing apps. The online ceremony will require the bride and the groom to have direct interaction with the town or city clerk, and the witness or solemnizing officer. The couple to be wed should also be able to comply with other requirements stipulated in the Executive Order.

The new E.O. 202.20 should make it easier for people, particularly men and women in love with each other, weather the problems brought about by COVID-19 and the social distancing regulations in place against it.