Which fun wedding innovations will follow ‘Hitched at the Honda Center’?

In 2021, Orange County Clerk-Recorder Hugh Nguyen was contemplating a simple solution to the impossibly long wait times for marriage license appointments and ceremonies in his county, when he had a sudden flash of brilliance – a drive-up extravaganza ! 

 

Working closely with the SoCal community, Nguyen and the Clerk-Recorder’s Office created ‘Hitched at the Honda Center’ – a unique program that allowed couples to drive up to the center, wait safely in their cars, and then fill out forms or get hitched at outdoor booths.

 

It was a huge success. 

 

The Office issued 16,838 marriage licenses and performed 8,252 marriage ceremonies in those 9 months, a stunning feat by any measure, and one that recently won them the 2021 Innovation Award from the California State Association of Counties (CSAC) in the Disaster and Emergency Response/Management category. (via Yahoo!News)

 

Get the full scoop in Ashley Ludwig’s article for Yahoo News

 

 

      

Couples pose for 'Just Married' photos at the Honda Center

via the OC Clerk-Recorder's Office

 

 

What new innovations will the wedding industry see in 2022? 

 

Wedding professionals, and incredible clerks like Hugh Nguyen, love what we do, and we love our couples. We’re great at coming up with creative solutions that help happy families have incredible weddings… no matter what the circumstances might be.

 

And as Covid cases climb once again, fueled by the new variant du jour, circumstances call for renewed creativity! 

 

We can’t wait to see more drive-thru, drive-in, and drive-up events this year – possibly at cool vintage drive in theaters or delightfully decked-out parking lots. 

 

• A drive-thru wedding at Dunkin’ Donuts this Valentine’s? A sign of the times.
• Love on Wheels: How to Plan a Drive-In Wedding

 

Pop-up wedding celebrations, micro-chapels, and mass weddings held in parks and public events spaces leave plenty of room for creativity, and elopements offer small-scale adventure with big feels.

 

• Vegas-style weddings are popping up everywhere - Will you officiate one?
• Mass Weddings Might Be the Biggest Trend in 2022
• Elope With a Dreamy, Teeny-Tiny, Covid-Era Ceremony

 

Add in a few sumptuous sequel weddings, tech-savvy virtual ceremonies and metaverse weddings… the possibilities are endless! 

 

• Sequel Weddings: What to Expect From a Couple’s Second Ceremony
• Officiate a Virtual Wedding Like a Pro!
• Is Augmented Reality the Next Stop for Destination Weddings?

 

So, although the ongoing pandemic means that circumstances still aren’t what we want them to be, we’re thrilled to see couples and wedding officiants prove that love (still) isn’t canceled!

 

 

What are you looking forward to this year?

 

 

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• Are These 4 Wedding Ceremony Trends Here to Stay, Or Will They Fade Away Post-Pandemic?

 

• Wolf Cuts to Sweater Vests - What’s New in Wedding Fashion for 2022?

 

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