From Left to right: Jordan Z. Marks, San Diego County Assessor-Recorder-County Clerk (ARCC) and Andrew Potter, Executive Officer, Clerk of the Board of Supervisors. (Photo courtesy of ARCC)

Love is in the air, and in the bureaucracy, Saturday as more than 150 couples will be married by San Diego County’s Assessor/Recorder/County Clerk’s office as part of special Valentine’s Day ceremonies.

Last year, Cupid’s holiday landed on a Friday and the ARCC conducted 100 weddings over five offices. Employees get in on the holiday spirit as well.

“They’re excited,” said Recorder/County Clerk Assistant Division Chief Denisse Levy. “Usually, they’ll wear festive attire, do a potluck. They come in and work on a volunteer basis so we have a team that loves marriages and celebrating couples.”

ARCC offices are typically closed on Saturdays, but Assessor/Recorder/County Clerk Jordan Z. Marks decided to open his office’s most popular location at the historic County Administration Center in Downtown San Diego. Marriage rooms and outdoor arbors offer a view of San Diego Bay.

“Our team loves being part of your love story,” Marks said. “While most government offices are closed on Saturdays, we are opening our doors and providing more opportunity for couples to celebrate love on Valentine’s Day.”

All other ARCC offices and services will be closed Saturday.

Appointments for Valentine’s Day opened on Dec. 27 and all 82 appointments were gone by Jan. 20. The county then raised the number of appointments to 120 and they were quickly filled too. Finally, the office expanded bookings to 165. As of Friday, only seven appointments remained.

To marry all those happy couples takes quite an effort, so the county will have dozens of employees ready to issue marriage licenses, act as marriage officiants and offer marriage certificates on the spot instead of the usual seven to 10 day wait.

Additionally, a craft club will offer couples free heart-shaped mementos, vendors will donate treats and mocktails, and the indoor coffee kiosk will sell flowers, Valentine’s Day-themed coffee and treats.

Continuing a heart-shaped tradition, county staff coordinated with the Larry Himmel Foundation to give away 20 free weddings. Ten will be first- come, first-served. Another ten will be given away on the radio.

The office is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and staff will attempt to accommodate walk-ins.

County employees are ready to handle 15 to 20 weddings an hour.

“I tell myself to have fun… I have a great team that always pulls through and it’s a happy day,” Levy said. “Getting married is really special and I’m glad I get to be a part of that.”

San Diego County’s ARCC office issues nearly 25,000 marriage licenses and conducts more than 12,000 weddings each year. A marriage license is $129 and a civil ceremony performed by county staff is $107. Ceremonies are available in English or Spanish.

The few remaining appointments can be booked online at sdarcc.gov/marriages or by calling 619-237-0502.

–City News Service

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