New Howard County Courthouse Wedding
This article is current as of May 2024!
So you’re considering a Howard County Maryland courthouse wedding! Courthouse weddings are vastly more affordable than most weddings in 2024. They’re also classic and timeless. Many of my clients remember hearing stories of their grandparents or great-grandparents getting married at the courthouse, with a small luncheon afterwards or a party later on. Well, we’ve come full circle since COVID-19 began more than two years ago. The pandemic canceled or delayed many weddings, especially in 2020. Inflation is also out of control right now, which means booking 7-10 vendors and a Maryland wedding venue for your larger wedding can get very expensive.
Getting married at the courthouse (at least in Maryland) only costs $75. It’s $50 for the marriage license beforehand, and $25 on the day of the ceremony. The Howard County Circuit Courthouse’s wedding ceremonies are currently by appointment only, which is great for couples, because some of the other nearby courthouse (like the Anne Arundel County Courthouse in Annapolis) only take walk-ins and make timing harder to plan for. You can visit this page on the Maryland courts’ website to see how it all works - but the main info is this: “Marriage licenses can be obtained at 9250 Judicial Way, Suite 1900, Ellicott City, MD 21043. The telephone number is 410-313-5850. Applications for marriage licenses are not accepted after 4:00 p.m. The application process takes about 15 minutes.” I personally recommend scheduling a morning or early Friday afternoon wedding. There won’t be any weekend traffic starting yet, and couples can easily transition into dinner at a nice restaurant, an at-home catered meal, or a potluck with friends!
The new Howard County Courthouse wedding ceremony room seats about 20 people and has a wall of windows on the right side, so natural light is always available - yay! I was so happy to see this, because the previous ceremony room along Main Street Ellicott City had no natural light and an unappealing industrial office look. However, the old Howard County courthouse was surrounded by Historic Ellicott City and was very photogenic. But don’t knock the new courthouse until you see it. The lobby is STUNNING. The ceilings go up about 5 stories, everything is white and chrome, and there is a beautiful wall sculpture on the right side that is about 4 stories tall itself. I spent a while just staring at the lobby before photographing this wedding here, since it was my first one at the new courthouse location. (Scroll down if you want to get a glimpse of that right away.)
Masks are no longer required in the courthouse, although do wear one if you prefer. A security guard (they check everyone’s bag and have you walk through a metal detector before entering the lobby) told me that people have been taking wedding photos on the all-white steps inside the lobby, so it seems they’ll make a brief exception to this rule. The stairs are lined with white LED lights and make for a beautiful, clean setting for photos. Plus, all the white reflects light beautifully onto people’s faces. At this wedding, my clients opted for mostly outdoor photos, since it was a very warm February day, but I would not be concerned if photographing all indoors on a humid July afternoon or a freezing January morning, for example. Parking will also never be an issue, because they built a huge parking garage next to the building (and there’s a giant field of solar panels on the other side!).Parking is no longer paid and the garage is free and open to whomever visits. The only place photos are markedly discouraged throughout the wedding process is in the office where you check in, pay for the ceremony, and any marriage license copies.
If you want an even more scenic backdrop for photos than the surrounding grassy fields and trees outside the courthouse, Centennial Park is less than 5 minutes away when driving. I’ve photographed there many times and it’s gorgeous in any season, with a thick forest, sweeping lake views (with a sparkling sunset over the water from the east side of the park), and unmowed fields most times of year. I should say, though, that the lake photos at the end of this post are from Lake Elkhorn, another Columbia lake that is very close by.
Please reach out if you have any other questions about getting married at a courthouse in Maryland or if you’d like me photograph your wedding day! It’s never too late - I’ve been hired for courthouse weddings a few months in advance, up to the DAY BEFORE. Most of my courthouse wedding clients hire me for my base 1.5 hours of coverage and that’s all you need to document the arrival at the courthouse, the ceremony, family photos, and couple portraits. Some add on an hour to cover the beginning of their reception as well.
You’ll keep the overall cost of your wedding really low, have a fun and intimate day, and still get “official,” beautiful photos to document it all and remember it forever :) and now, please enjoy the first time I photographed at the new courthouse in 2022: Taryn and Sebastian’s wedding day!
