Lucy Devine
A couple were left horrified after discovering they aren't officially married after their officiant didn't send off their marriage certificate following the wedding.
@maddyboucherxxx took to TikTok where she explained they had only discovered what had happened after they tried to find the certificate, but couldn't locate it anywhere.
Maddy appears in the video holding a glass of what appears to be prosecco or champagne. She explains: "We are not married. We spent $30,000 not for a wedding but for a f****** social gathering. Now we have to go to the courthouse and get married."
Maddy explained she only realised when she tried to sign her partner up to be part of her Tricare health insurance and needed her marriage certificate to do so.
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While she initially thought she had lost the document, her partner came across the licence which still had the certificate attached.
Turns out, it hadn't been sent off by the officiant, and had expired nine days prior.
"This is the portion that the officiant was supposed to send to the probate court to legitimise our marriage. It expired nine days ago," she said.
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Maddy explained it was her grandpa who was the officiant at the wedding, but in a later clip added that he wasn't to blame.
"My grandpa's not really to blame here. I mean it was his sole responsibility however, it was his first time officiating a wedding. He had no idea, we're not mad. It's just a miscommunication," she said.
Luckily, Maddy also explained that despite the licence having expired, the courthouse had granted them an exception and processed the document, legalising the marriage.
"The reason we freaked out so much is that we do have to add him to the insurance quickly because of the enrolment dates and we weren't legally married but now we are, so hopefully we can get that figured out," she added.
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Other TikTokers were shocked by the videos, but some explained they had also been through a similar experience.
One person wrote: "My parents officiant was a priest who was retiring and it was his last wedding. They found out 17 years later it was never sent in."
While another said: "Same thing happened my husband with his ex wife. They went to get divorced after 20 years just to learn the minister never turned in the cert and they were never legally married."