How to Officiate a Wedding in Spokane, Washington

For years, us Seattleites looked down our noses at Spokane, but a few years ago, something changed. Our friends started moving out there because unlike Seattle, it’s possible to work AND have a life at the same time without being a millionaire. Spokane has everything that real estate marketers use to sell Seattle to rich tech yuppies – namely soul and spirit. 

So, if you’ve been asked to officiate a wedding in this kick-ass town, or are planning your wedding in Spokane, then you are in for a treat.

Our goal here is to familiarize you with the bureaucratic stuff, like the steps needed to apply for, fill out, sign and submit marriage licenses. We also provide tips for wedding officiants and couples. AMM has lots of ordained ministers in the Spokane area, and we are excited to have you join our movement.

Step 1: Get Ordained with American Marriage Ministries

The Revised Code of Washington § RCW 26.04.050 states that "...any regularly licensed or ordained minister or any priest of any church or religious denomination..." are authorized to solemnize marriages. 

If you have been asked and have agreed to officiating a wedding the first thing you need to do is get ordained with AMM. Our ordination is free, takes only a few minutes, and meets § RCW 26.04.050, giving you the legal ability to officiate wedding ceremonies. 

Minister Registration in Spokane -- Ministers are not required to register with the Spokane County Auditor's office or the Spokane Municipal government before officiating weddings. Washington state law does not require ministers to register with any government office before or after performing marriage. That being said, we advise that you keep proof of your ordination for your own records. It is good practice to keep your ministry credentials on hand in case you are asked to produce them for the couple.

Step 2: Prepare for the Ceremony in Spokane

Getting ordained as an AMM minister is the easy part. Your next step is to prepare for the wedding ceremony. If you will be officiating your first wedding, have no fear! Our wedding training pages are a great resource for learning everything you need to know to perform your first wedding ceremony. 

Our Wedding Officiant training covers everything from explaining the structure of a wedding ceremony, step-by-step instructions on how to write a wedding ceremony script, sample wedding ceremony scripts, and more.

Step 3: Officiate the Wedding and Complete the Marriage License

By this point you should be well prepared to conduct the wedding ceremony. Your one legal responsibility is to complete your section of the couple's marriage license. Spokane county requires couples to wait for three days after being granted the wedding license, so make sure to apply in advance.

 
After the wedding ceremony, the couple, the officiant, and two witnesses must sign the marriage license. For more details on filling in the individual fields such as “type of ceremony,” please consult our guide on how to complete a marriage license. 

Once the marriage license is properly completed it needs to be returned to Spokane County Auditor's office within 30 days of the ceremony. Failure to return the license within this timeframe could result in a possible charges of misdemeanor and a fine of up to $300. The officiant can deliver the completed license to any King County Community Service Centers in person, or use a self-addressed envelope to send it to the appropriate county office (instructions will be included with the license). 

Once the completed marriage license is returned, you have performed all of your functions as the wedding officiant. 

The Spokane County Auditor’s office hours are: Monday through Thursday - 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Friday - 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. This is where you apply for your marriage license.

Recording & Marriage Licenses: 509-477-2271

Fees: The application fee is $59. A certified copy fee is $3. The total is $62, cash, check or credit/debit card. 

The couple must complete an application and both parties must sign the application before a notary public or deputy Auditor. The application requires the following personal information:

• Applicant's name – make sure to have a valid picture ID
• Applicant's social security number, current and past residence, birth place and birth name.
• Parental information: Name of mother and father; state or country of birth (if born outside the United States); the maiden name of each party's mother. Special care should be made to provide the correct spelling of names.

Waiting Period & Ceremony: The marriage license will be given to the parties upon application. The ceremony must occur in the State of Washington and be performed between 3 and 63 days of application. This means you must apply for the license at least three days before the wedding ceremony.
 

The Basics

Spokane has changed a lot over the last decade, from a small town to a regional hotspot boasting the sort of amenities you might find in a much bigger city, for half the price. When it comes to planning weddings, this city offers not a great selection of traditional venues like churches, wedding halls, and event spaces. Plus, there’s always the great outdoors, which Western Washington has in spades!

Starting with the traditional spaces, we’ve heard great things about the Historic Fox Theater, but that’s on the expensive side. If your wedding ceremony and reception are more intimate, there are dozens of cute hotels, lodges, and camps like Camp Fire Camp Dart-Lo, where you can exchange your vows under a canopy of pines in one of the camp’s many secluded groves and gardens. 

Want to cut costs further? You’re in luck. Spokane has no shortage of scenic municipal parks that allow guests to reserve pavilions and spaces out in the open that are perfect for wedding ceremonies. That’s honestly more our style anyway, because saving thousands on venue costs takes a lot of the financial stress out of wedding planning, and frees your bandwidth up for important stuff like communicating your shared love for each other to your guests.

Weather

Since Spokane is pretty far north and the weather can get downright cold, windy or stormy depending on the season. The summers are short, warm, dry, and mostly clear and the winters are very cold and mostly cloudy. Spring can get pretty rainy and the cold can come back without much warning well into April. The takeaway?  The best time of year to plan a wedding in Spokane, especially outdoors, is from early July to mid-August.