Contact: Mark Church, Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder & Chief Elections Officer
Alternate: Jim Irizarry, Asst. Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder & Asst. Chief Elections Officer
(Redwood City, CA) The San Mateo County Clerk’s Office at 555 County Center in Redwood City will extend its calendar hours on February 14th to perform civil ceremonies for couples wanting to marry on Valentine’s Day. The County Clerk’s Office will perform a ceremony every hour from 8:00 a.m. to 5 p.m.
“Valentine’s Day is the most popular wedding day of the year — every year,” according to Mark Church, San Mateo County’s elected Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder and Chief Elections Officer. “It is a very special day, and we will be extending our calendar hours to accommodate the increased demand for wedding ceremonies,” stated Church.
The County Clerk’s daily average of weddings is four per day, and that number can double on Valentine’s Day. In previous years, reservations reached up to twenty-one weddings performed on Valentine’s Day, and we are fully booked for the 2022 celebration.
In order to mitigate exposure and comply with the COVID-19 provisions, this year we are only accepting hourly appointment compared with the previous years’ every half hour schedule.
San Mateo County offers a 25-minute civil wedding ceremony which provides unique amenities not normally found in a standard rented location. For an additional fee of $50, the County Clerk’s Office provides a webcast service, so that the ceremony can be seen electronically by invited loved ones viewing from anywhere in the world. Online guests will receive an e-mail invitation with instructions for a live viewing of the ceremony. The fee for the webcast includes a DVD of the wedding ceremony. A long stem red rose will also be presented to all couples who wed on these three days.
Ceremony reservations are required in advance including the officiant for the ceremony. Couples can make prior arrangements with the County Clerk for the ceremony to be performed by a person of their choice — a friend, family member, or colleague — who must be an ordained officiant or deputized by the County Clerk. The chapel is located in Redwood City’s County Center, on the first floor of the 555 Building. Maximum of two witnesses are allowed inside the County chapel to witness the ceremony.
Hopeful couples are reminded that a marriage license is required for a wedding to be performed. The license application may be completed in the County Clerk’s office or be submitted online (in-office public terminals are available). The couple must appear in person in front of the county clerk and provide a valid government-issued ID. The marriage license application process takes about 30 minutes and costs $79 for public or $80 for confidential, plus $17 for a certified copy.
To schedule your special Valentine’s Day ceremony, please visit the County Clerk’s website at apps.smcacre.org/marsched/schedule.aspx.