Anchorage Weddings
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Anchorage (officially called the Municipality of Anchorage [MOA]) is a consolidated city-borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. With an estimated 279,671 municipal residents in 2007 (359,180 residents within the Metropolitan Statistical Area), it is Alaska's largest city and constitutes more than 40 percent of the state's total population. Anchorage has been named All-America City four times, in 1956, 1965, 1984/85, and 2002, by the National Civic League.
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Anchorage Weddings
Traditions
Why Anchorage?
Marriage License Requirements
Tests
No blood test or physical exam is required.
Residency
Residents and nonresidents are eligible to apply for a marriage license.
Age
Both parties must be 18 years of age or older to marry without parental consent. A birth certificate may be required to show proof of age. EXCEPTION: Persons who are less than 18 years of age and who are members of the armed forces of the United States while on active duty will not be required to provide parental consent. Military papers will be required to show proof of active duty status.
Persons ages 16 and 17 must submit a parental consent form signed by both parents with their application. If one parent is sole custodian of the minor, a divorce decree stating custody rights or a death certificate must be presented as well. Alaska law does not permit those under the age of 16 to marry without a court order.
If either party is under eighteen, contact the Alaska Bureau of Vital Statistics at (907) 465-3391 for additional instructions before completing the application.
Location
An Alaskan marriage license is valid only for marriages performed in Alaska or in Alaska State waters.
Waiting Period
There is a three (3) business day waiting period that begins once a mailed or faxed application is received by the issuing office. This means that you must wait at least three full business days after the application is submitted before you can pick up the license and the marriage ceremony can be performed.
License Expiration
The license is valid for three (3) months from the date of issuance. The marriage must be performed before the three-month expiration of the license or the license will no longer be valid. Refunds and extensions cannot be granted.
Marriage by Proxy
Proxy marriages (where someone stands in for the other party) are not permitted in Alaska. The two parties must be present before the two witnesses and the officiant in order for the ceremony to be performed.
Divorced Applicants
All divorces must be final and filed with the courts in the state granted. If either party has been married previously, the beginning and ending dates of all previous marriages must be listed on the application. Submitting a copy of a divorce decree is only required if the divorce or dissolution occurred less than sixty days prior to applying for the marriage license..
Alaska County Clerk's Office
Anchorage District Recorder Anchorage, AK 907. 269. 0990
How To Get There
Get in
Anchorage is served by most major American airlines. Air travel is the cheapest and most efficient form of transportation in and out of the state. Non-stop flights are available from Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Minneapolis, Chicago, and Taipei year-round, and more locations in the summer. Many arriving and departing out-of-state flights are late-night "red-eyes," but there are often many daytime flights to and from Seattle. Anchorage recently completed extensive remodeling and construction at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport to help accommodate the upsurge in tourism (unofficial sources have estimated the numbers for 2004 at some four million tourists arriving in Alaska between May and September).
Anchorage is also accessible from the contiguous U.S. (locally referred to as "the Lower 48") and Canada via road. The Alaska Highway starts in northern British Columbia and terminates in Fairbanks. You can either get to Anchorage via the Parks Highway from Fairbanks or the Glenn Highway from Tok (the first major Alaskan town after crossing the Canadian border). The Seward Highway serves traffic entering Anchorage from the Kenai Peninsula to the south and its Alaska Marine Highway System terminals.
Make sure to pick up a copy of The Milepost, which is widely regarded as the premiere road guide for western Canada and Alaska. Most roads in these regions have small white posts every mile or so indicating the number of miles from the start of the road. The Milepost has extremely detailed route descriptions of all of the roads, pointing out everything from scenic viewpoints and campgrounds down to the names of small creeks the roads pass over. If you're flying in to Anchorage and then driving around the state, wait and pick up a copy of The Milepost at one of the local Costcos or WalMarts--the price there is around half of list price.
Many cruise lines provide transportation from their terminals to Anchorage and may even include tours or your return air travel out of the state.
Get around
While not nearly comparable to the size of major world cities, the developed part of the Municipality of Anchorage (the city itself is several thousand square miles, but much of it is uninhabited and mountainous) is fairly spread out and not very walkable--with the exception of the compact downtown area.
Most of Anchorage is built on a grid system laid out by originally by the railroad: numbered streets run east-west, starting at First Avenue in the extreme north of the city (at the Port and train depot) and ending up in the mid-hundreds at the south edge of town. Lettered streets run north-south, starting at A Street in the middle of downtown and going up to the west; east of A Street, the street names begin with sequential letters and are named after Alaskan cities and towns (Barrow, Cordova, Denali, etc.). This makes finding yourself on a map fairly easy, although the system gets less coherent outside of the downtown area. Note that the Seward Highway becomes Gambell and Ingra streets, while the Glenn Highway becomes 5th and 6th Avenues.
You'll often hear Anchorageites use the following terms when describing areas of town - these areas were originally separate communities that merged as the city grew:
- Downtown--the historic core of the city located at the northwestern tip next to the waterfront; home to most of the tourist activities, gift stores, hotels, and the railroad depot
- Midtown--the largely commercial area immediately south of Downtown roughly between 15th Avenue and Tudor Road
- South Anchorage--Dimond Boulevard and south. Largely suburban and residential with some major commercial development west of the Seward Highway.
- West Anchorage--the area along the water southwest of Downtown, encompassing the historic Bootlegger's Cove residential area and the famous Earthquake Park
- Spenard--smashed between Midtown and West Anchorage and spilling over and overlapping the boundaries a bit, it was formerly a separate city and catered to the more, er, racy aspects of Anchorage living. It's still a bit of a red-light district. Be careful at night. (The airport is at the extreme west end of the Anchorage peninsula and abuts the southwestern edge of Spenard.)
- East Anchorage--everything east of the Seward Highway and north of Tudor Road. Mostly residential.
- Hillside--part of South Anchorage, it's everything east of the Seward Highway and south of Abbott Road. Completely residential, and most homes there are ritzier ($350k and up to over $1.5M, where the average home is about $220k). Anchorageites think of the Hillside like Angelenos do of Beverly Hills--if you own a home there, you must be doing well, even if the trees (or your snowmachine trailer) blocks your view of the lesser people below). Above the Hillside homes is the immense Chugach State Park, popular for easily accessible hiking. (The most-hiked mountain in Alaska, Flattop Mountain, is fairly easily accessed via the Glen Alps parking area at the top of Upper Huffman Road.)
- Eagle River, Chugiak, Peters Creek--bedroom suburbs north of the city. Residential only, but provide access to the State Park, especially the Eklutna lake.
- Bird, Indian, Girdwood--small communities south of the city. Very small, tourist service oriented.
Anchorage's public transportation system does not cover the entire city, and some areas of town have less frequent bus service than others. As such, most people who want to travel in and around Anchorage rent a car.
Anchorage's Ted Stevens International Airport is serviced by all of the major national rental car chains as well as a number of independents. A few companies have off-airport locations. Renting from these locations avoids the 11-12% airport concession recovery fee. If you're arriving in the summer, plan ahead, as most rental companies are pretty much sold out from mid-June through the end of August. In the summer, cars are often not available without reservations, and even if they are, be prepared to pay top-dollar for them, especially four-wheel-drive vehicles. Here are some of the car rental companies serving the Anchorage Airport:
- Alamo
- Avis
- Budget
- Dollar
- Enterprise
- E-Z Rent-A-Car Anchorage Airport
- Hertz
- National
- Thrifty
Two main taxi companies serve the Anchorage area: Alaska Yellow Cab and Checker Cab; another company called Aurora Taxi seems to be making a growing appearance. The airport maintains a taxi stand on the arrivals level. As of late 2007, the municipality-set rate for all taxis is $2.00 for the flag drop and $2.00 per mile; the time-based rate is $.50 per minute. The average fare to downtown runs about $15 one way.
Many hotels offer also courtesy shuttle vans that stop at the airport near the taxi stand. Several courtesy phone banks are located inside the baggage claim areas.
If you're determined to save money, you can use the PeopleMover, Anchorage's bus system. As of late 2007, fares are $1.75 per trip or $4 for a day pass. Most bus routes have one bus in each direction per hour, but some routes increase it to two buses per hour during peak times. Buses are frequently late. Route 7 of the PeopleMover, Anchorage's bus system, has a stop located at the far south end of the airport taxi stand area. Every hour, there is one bus going downtown and one bus going to the Dimond Center mall in south Anchorage. If you're riding the bus to the airport, note that only one out of two trips on Route 7 stops at the airport, so look for the airplane icon on the bus route display.
Anchorage features an extremely well-developed bike trail system, with over 200 miles of developed trails (120 of which are paved) winding their way throughout the city's parks and three green belts. The popular Tony Knowles Coastal Trail parallels the waterfront from Downtown to Kincaid Park near the airport. Several companies offer bike rentals and trail tours. In the winter, many of the trails are groomed and used as ski trails.
Be cautious during any time of the year for, relative to areas outside of Anchorage, drivers may tend to be aggressive--even in the winter-time. During the summer months, the roads are usually in bad condition from all the wear and tear of the winter with tremendous ruts in the road caused by studded tires; try and stay out of those to avoid tearing the road (or your car's alignment) up any more. In the winter, roads can be totally covered in ice, snow, and black ice--an invisible ice that's extremely dangerous--although heavier-trafficked roads can actually be surprisingly dry if it hasn't snowed in awhile. Especially if you're not used to driving in winter conditions, drive the speed limit (or slower) in the winter and stay in the right-hand lanes unless passing. Tip: If it's snowing, no matter what time of the day, have your headlights on! (Also note the Seward Highway south of Anchorage requires headlights to be on at all times.)
Stay safe
Anchorage is a very safe city for its size. The murder rate is very low. That's not to say that crime doesn't occur though. In the major tourist areas such as downtown, you should keep close eye on your possessions. Pickpockets exist everywhere. Certain areas in the north east of the city (Mountain View, north of the Glenn Highway and east of Merrill Field airport) and central (Fairview,6th to 15th avenue, east of Ingra) have higher crime than other spots. Also areas around the airport like Spenard are known for increased drug activity and prostitution. In earlier times, the downtown area around 4th avenue was pretty unsavory but a concerted effort over the last eight years has pretty much shut it down.
A constant problem is car break-ins at State Park parking lots. Do not leave valuables of any kind visible.
Generally, if you aren't looking for crime, you won't find it.
Get out
There are only two roads out of Anchorage, the Seward Highway which goes south to the Kenai Peninsula, and the Glenn Highway which goes northeast to Glennallen and continues as the Tok Cutoff to Tok where it ends at the Alaska Highway. The Glenn Highway junctions with the George Parks Highway about 40 miles north of Anchorage, continuing northwest to Denali National Park and Fairbanks. Driving from Anchorage to Fairbanks usually takes 6-8 hours (356 miles) and driving from Anchorage to Seattle, WA usually takes at least 3 days.
The Alaska Railroad offers daily service between Anchorage/Seward, Anchorage/Whittier, and Anchorage/Fairbanks during the summer. The Anchorage/Fairbanks run (Aurora) offers flag drop service - it is the only railroad in the U.S. that will pick you up if you flag the train from the side of the tracks.
There are numerous small plane flying services which have scheduled flights to small villages, or the capacity to charter flights to different villages. For travel to villages outside of the Southcentral region it is usually cheaper to take a regular commercial flight to the the appropriate regional hub (Bethel, Unalakleet, Dillingham, Unalaska, Kotzebue, Nome, Barrow, Fairbanks, or Juneau) and arrange to fly from there to your destination.
Insider Tips
Best Time to Go
Climate
Anchorage, AK Weather
Anchorage, AK climate is cool during summer when temperatures tend to be in the 50's and extremely cold during winter when temperatures tend to be in the 10's.
The warmest month of the year is July with an average maximum temperature of 65.10 degrees Fahrenheit, while the coldest month of the year is January with an average minimum temperature of 7.10 degrees Fahrenheit.
Temperature variations between night and day tend to be fairly limited during summer with a difference that can reach 13 degrees Fahrenheit, and fairly limited during winter with an average difference of 15 degrees Fahrenheit.
The annual average precipitation at Anchorage is 15.29 Inches. Rainfall in is fairly evenly distributed throughout the year. The wettest month of the year is September with an average rainfall of 2.70 Inches.
Normal Climate
Normal Temperatures
(ELMENDORF AFB Weather station, 4.00 miles from Anchorage) Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Annual Max °F 20.8 24.6 32.8 43.6 54.8 62.0 65.1 63.5 54.8 39.4 26.5 22.3 42.5 Mean °F 14.0 16.9 24.6 36.1 47.0 54.8 58.7 56.7 48.2 33.5 20.4 15.9 35.6 Min °F 7.1 9.1 16.4 28.5 39.1 47.6 52.3 49.9 41.6 27.6 14.2 9.5 28.6
Normal Precipitation
(ELMENDORF AFB Weather station, 4.00 miles from Anchorage) Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Annual Inch 0.70 0.76 0.60 0.42 0.60 1.05 1.80 2.59 2.70 1.96 1.01 1.10 15.29