SYDNEY — The impact of COVID-19 might be halting some things in Cape Breton but apparently not people wanting to say, ‘I do.’
Glenn Tutty, deputy issuer of marriage licenses for Nova Scotia, said through the crisis he has still been getting calls from people looking to obtain a marriage license.
“I get one or two a week,” he said. “Some people already had the plans in place and are seeing what the rules are and if they still can.”
Normally people wanting a license would see Tutty or visit Access Nova Scotia.
Between May 2019 and January 2020 he issued 50, but then the COVID-19 crisis hit.
“All deputy issuers were told to stop issuing them until we are directed otherwise,” he said.
During this period Tutty says people can still obtain a license but have to contact Vital Statistics in Halifax, who would set things up with Access Nova Scotia in Sydney.
“They have to go through all the safety features and so on to get them in to do a marriage license,” he said.
Gary Andrea, a spokesperson for Service Nova Scotia, said people can still get a marriage license at this time. A license is valid for three months and can be obtained up to the day before the wedding.
Andrea said if the participants are not displaying COVID-19 symptoms, their wedding is planned for the next eight weeks and the wedding only includes five people (the couple, officiant, and two witnesses) in accordance with public health directives, they will be scheduled for an appointment to make an application for a marriage licence.
If anyone’s wedding had to be cancelled due to COVID, they’d be allowed to exchange their marriage licence for free once they’ve decided on a date. The exchange of marriage licences is permitted until Dec. 31, 2021. The cost of a marriage certificate is $132.70.
Anyone wishing to inquire about a licence can call 902-424-4381 or 1-877-848-2578.
However, after Tutty takes off his marriage licence issuer hat, he often puts on his Justice of the Peace one.
A JP for more than 15 years, Tutty said often people will just want a quick ceremony in his office which has included everything from a bride and groom in full wedding attire to a couple in sweatpants.
“A lot of times I’ll use staff here for witnesses,” he said.
Tutty has married people on his boat on the Mira, on a sandbar and even under a special tree two miles in the woods.
Many secretly marry in his office and then go south for a destination wedding.
“Then they would pretend to get married but they don’t have to follow all the rules down there,” he said, adding no one knows and they save a lot of money at the same time.
Many ceremonies are unforgettable for Tutty, including a man 90-years old and his bride, in her 80s.
“They were together almost 50 years and he thought it was about time he married her.”
