How to get married at the Champaign County Courthouse in Urbana

Wedding

Aug 17

New for 2022! Phones are now allowed inside the courthouse!

PARKING: I usually park on Walnut street which juts straight out from the front doors of the courthouse, but there is also parking available in the lot immediately East of the building (SW corner of Main & Vine). Cost is $.50 per hour for the first 2 hours, and then $1 for additional hours. We are usually in and out in less than an hour! Parking fees ARE enforced M-F by the city of Urbana. There is also a parking garage just West of the courthouse, and varied street/meter parking within a block of the courthouse in a few different directions. (I like to use the Mobile Meter app myself!)

If you ever have a chance to attend a wedding at the courthouse, DO IT! To me, they invoke so many emotions -- romance, intimacy, candidness, humility, love... to name a few. They are almost always relaxed, heartfelt, emotional, and unfussy. Annie + Collin's weekday wedding story was all of these things and more. I will say yes to courthouse weddings 100x over and love it every single time. Often times I find myself tearful, and I typically have just met these two people!! I'm definitely looking forward to the next one in September. <3

Now, as far as logistics go... I have found that people sometimes have trouble getting info about weddings at the Champaign County Courthouse (though this link contains most of the info you need), so I thought I'd share what else I know. :)

1) Be sure to get your marriage license at least a day ahead of the day you plan to get married. You will get that from the Brookens Center in Urbana in the County Clerk's office (there is a fee involved and if I remember correctly you have to use cash or check).

2) At 11:30am the day of your wedding, you can enter the courthouse and proceed to the 2nd floor law library to pay the $10 fee (cash) and present your marriage license and IDs.

3) Do NOT bring your cell phone into the courthouse or they will make you take it back to your car. There are lockers across the street for rent at the sheriff's office as well.

4) Cameras are permitted for weddings only, and video is allowed. I have seen iPads brought in before to Skype/FaceTime family members, but I believe you need special permission for that.

5) You will have to go through a metal detector and empty all your pockets/remove belts, etc. I generally wear minimal jewelry and empty my pockets in my car before entering just to make things easier.

6) Weddings are called in before the judge in random order so you will wait until you are called. I use that time to do portraits of the couple in the hallways and group photos with friends and family.

7) Once the ceremony is over, we typically have a few minutes for more pictures outside the courthouse (My courthouse collection lasts for an hour from 11:30-12:30). It's a rounded out time spent together, and at the end of it you get a gallery of all the edited images from me (usually around 100-150 images). I've had some couples who've added an extra hour for portrait time at an alternate location, so that's always an option.

To schedule your own wedding photography at the Champaign County Courthouse, shoot me a message and let's chat! You can also text or call me at 217-737-0971.