Many couples choose to exchange marriage vows on Valentine’s Day

By Sonny Turner
sonny@athensnews-courier.com

February 13, 2007 11:06 pm

— There won’t be any bells ringing or long walks down the aisle when they say their “I dos” on Valentine’s Day today, but several couples are expected to come before Limestone County Probate Judge Mike Davis to tie the knot at the courthouse.
“Since I’ve been in office the past 24 years, I have no idea how many couples I have married,” Davis said Tuesday. “But I know I’ve performed thousands of weddings at the courthouse, and Valentine’s Day is usually one of my big days.”
Usually on Valentine’s Day, about a dozen couples seek to marry in a courthouse ceremony. The judge can’t say for sure how many because he doesn’t take appointments.
“They just walk in and we will perform the ceremony,” Davis said.
Over the years, he has seen some memorable ones.
“I could write a book on the types of people I’ve married over the years,” the judge said. “But I do take every wedding seriously. I give it the dignity it rightfully deserves. We try to make the experience good; one the individuals will not forget.”
Some of the weddings he’s performed have been “dillies,” he said.
“Several years ago, we had a couple come in and neither one could speak a lick of English,” he said. “They were from Illinois and they wanted to get married on the courthouse steps. It took us a while, but we finally got it done.
“Then there was this time when I was performing a wedding and when I got ready to announce the couple as husband and wife, I forgot the guy’s last name,” Davis said. “I had to lean down low between them and ask him, very quietly, his last name. It worked and we got it finished.”
Davis recently performed a ceremony in front of his 5-year-old grandson. Afterwards, the grandson had questions.
“The lady had blue hair and a lot of body piercing and the guy had a bunch of tattoos. There must of have been 40 to 50 people there, and when it was over, the guy pulled off his shirt to reveal a T-shirt with the words, “I just made a mistake, I just got married.”
When everyone had gone, Davis’ grandson asked, “Pop, what was that?”
Because Athens is the first city off Interstate 65 in Alabama and because Alabama is considered an easy state to obtain a marriage license, couples flock to the courthouse to get married.
When he took office in 1983, Davis had 500 couples come before him to be married that year.
“I don’t go much outside of the courthouse to perform a wedding now, but I used to,” he said. “Most of the weddings we do now are in my office or on the steps of the courthouse.”
The fee to be married at the courthouse is $59, which includes the license, marriage certificate and the ceremony before the judge. Proceeds from the wedding go to the county.
“Outside of June, Valentine’s Day usually is our busiest time,” Davis said. “We performed about a dozen a year ago and we expect at least that many this Valentine’s Day.”

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