Getting the Piece of Paper

Ever wonder what a marriage license looks like these days? Here's ours (as yet unwitnessed, unofficiated, and unnotarized; click to enlarge):

You wouldn't believe the hoops that the Dane County Clerk's office makes you jump thru to get one of these. It's not just the 120 bux (cash only, no checks, credit cards, PayPal, etc.), you have to both apply together and in person; have lined up a date, place, time, and officiant for the ceremony; provide photo ID and Social Security number; prove that you've lived at your current address for at least 30 days; and produce a government-inspected, -signed, -sealed, and -certified copy of a birth certificate of somebody with your name. And more.

Anyone who thinks that "marriage is a sacred institution ordained by God" must never have had to do this trained-monkey act, because there's nothing sacred about it.