predating a marriage license in California

Factual Questions
21

I don’t understand all this fuss about consulting a lawyer and stuff.

Find a judge, get two friends to be witnesses. Go to the courthouse over lunch, have everyone sign the form, and then treat your friends to a decent lunch (<$35).

It’s really not that big of a deal, as long as it hasn’t been a long time since your wedding. Most officiants prefer to get the legal stuff done right after/before the ceremony so you won’t have to meet up with them again. Other than that, you got married on the day you think you got married. Nobody’s going to care that your license is a few days off.

Unless, of course, it’s been more than a few days, but even then, you have no other recourse than to just get it done ASAP so a few weeks doesn’t turn into a few months (which could raise eyebrows later).

22

The fuss is because whatever paperwork they’ve already done might arguably be considered fraudulent, which is not something they want. Whether it would be fraudulent, and what to do about it if it is, is a question for a professional acting in a professional capacity. In other words, a lawyer.

23

The marriage doesn’t begin on the date of the license’s issue; it begins on the date indicated on the marriage certificate signed by the officiant. Now, it can happen that the marriage is contracted on the same date of the license’s issue; however, the point is that its beginning is stipulated by the certificate, not the license. IOW, license = permission; certificate = action. (Please forgive the bad pun.)