The Goderich Signal-Star, 1987-02-25, Page 24'Page 12 Showicase '37
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9SPHOTOG ;„, PHY
101 Newgate St., Goderich 524-4848
Photographs capture
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fresh for years.
* weddings
* family portraits
* video
framing
A ake to
Enchant your.
Receptiop
From Bartliff's
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Let our
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We also
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Remember — when you buy Bartliff's,
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'BARTll
Bakery' G,GRe,staurant
"A tradition in Huron County since 1902"
,ALBERT ST., CLINTON 48 2-97 27
',Ir.,. 4,
40,..„e" 0,14 . airzewist
Ar4
Karen Sturdy, justice of the peace for Huron County, has performed about 200 civil mar
riage ceremonies since 1980 in this courtroom at the Huron County CourtHouse in Goderich
(photo by Lou -Ann Hope)
Wh w are you
doing this Fri a
••
By LOU -ANN HOPE
The time is 2 pm It is a bright and •
sunny Friday'afternoon and you and your ,
fiance are standing quietly.together in a
room located on the second floor •of a pro-
minent Goderich building. Nearby are a •
few family members and close friends.
Before you stands a woman clad in a
black robe and holding a small, black
book. Suddenly, the stillness of the room
is broken by her voice.
"We .have come together today in the
presence of these witnesses to unite this
man and this woman in matrimony, an
institution encouraged by the laws of o,ur
country to foster the happiness, welfare
and Propagation of mankind;"„..the woman
says.
She is Karen Sturdy, justice of,the
peace .for Huron County and those words
are .the beginning of your marriage' •
ceremony currently taking place in.Court
Room 2 of the Huron County Courthouse.
Sturdy estimates that she has married
abotit 200 couples since she began to per- '
form 'civil wedding cermonies in 1980.
"There were not that many when I
started but it gradually escalated."
Unlike the traditional church wedding
where the couple has a choice between
having their wedding bans.announced in
the church for the required three weeks
or buying a marriage license ($35) and ,
paying for the marriage registration
.($35), couples being married in a civil
ceremony have no choice. They must •
purchasea marriage license and pay. the
registration fee.
"Canada is not like the United States
Where you can get a marriage license one
minute and be married the next" Sturdy
says."After getting a marriage license •
(for which you require proof of legal age
-18- or parental consent and proof of ab-
solute divorce) there is a three day • -
waiting period before it can be used and
the license is only good for three months. .
If it's not used before it expires, it has to
be 'renewed." •
A second difference between civil
ceremonies and church weddings is pre-
marital instraction. , Many churches re-
quire couples to have some form of pre-
marital counselling before they ran be
married in the church. With civil
ceremonies, there is no instruction.,
And while wedding rehearsals are com-
monly held the, night prior to the church
weddings, there is no practice run-
through for a civil ceremony.
Another difference between a church
• wedding and civil ceremony is the time
element. Church weddings.are often
booked months in advance and are usual-
ly held Friday evenings or' on Saturdays.
Not so with civil ,ceremonies.
"Although justices of the peace in the
larger cities, such as London,. Toronto
and Kitchener, might perform
.ceremonies any day of the week at any
time, I unly perform marriages on „Fri-
day afternoons because it is a good day
for me," Sturdy says,.
She requires people to book in advance.
In booking a wedding she sets one hour
aside although the actual service takes
L. only 10 minutes. The extra time isiallow-
ed for photographs. ' -
She does recall one time when she was
awakened at midnight by a caller who
Wanted her to perform a wedding:
had it in his head thafhe wanted
to be married within the next couple of .
hours. I told him to take an aspirin and
call me the next day if -he still wanted to
get married. "never heard from him
again," she retails. . •
• Sturdy says she has alSo been asked to
perform wedding ceremonies at cottages,
and in people's backyards. However, the
ceremonies in Huron County take place
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