Milwaukee & Lake Geneva, Wisconsin

Officiant & Ceremony

In Milwaukee & Lake Geneva: Five are listed, so the category is thin — but the paperwork here is unusually kind, and much of what you will read online about it is out of date. Wisconsin rewrote these rules in 2022. You may now apply at any county clerk in the state, and the license is valid for a ceremony in any county, which is the opposite of what several county websites still say. That matters because the fee is set locally: the largest county charges $120 plus a card fee while three neighbors charge $110, and the license works everywhere regardless. The waiting period is three calendar days and the day you apply does not count, so the license issues on the fourth day. A clerk may waive it for no more than twenty-five dollars, at their discretion. It stays valid sixty days, and both of you must appear together, by appointment. Two adult witnesses must sign. Your officiant has three days to return the document. Whether an online ordination qualifies is not settled by any published source we could find — but the statute provides that a marriage is not void for want of authority in the officiant if you believed in good faith you were being married. Budget $200 to $800.

1 listing · checked August 2026

• Mail N Ship — Racine · mailnshipracine.com · (262) 681-1448

Churches and congregations

These are places of worship rather than for-hire officiants. Many will marry members of their own congregation, or couples willing to join and complete a marriage preparation course, and some will not marry non-members at all. Several also price the building, the clergy and the musician separately. Ask early what they require of you — policy varies widely between denominations, and between individual congregations of the same denomination.

• Pilgrim Evangelical Lutheran Church — Wauwatosa · pilgrimtosa.org · (414) 476-0735
• St Francis Borgia Catholic Church — Cedarburg · saintfrancisborgia.org · (262) 377-1070
• St Mary by the Lake Catholic Church — Racine · stmarybythelake.org · (262) 639-3616
• St. Matthew's Episcopal Church — Kenosha · stmatthewskenosha.org · (262) 654-8642

Details change constantly — confirm directly before booking. Something wrong? Update or remove a listing.