WASHINGTON — With the clock ticking on Congress' time to pass a budget and avert a shutdown, some betrothed couples in D.C. are left rethinking their wedding plans.
Carolyn Corcoran and her now-husband called out of work Friday to ensure their marriage would happen.
“Republicans didn’t seem like they were going to be able to get a budget through, so here we are,” Corcoran said from DC Superior Court.
But those who didn't make it to the courthouse before it closed at 4 p.m. could be out of luck, if the government shuts down on Sunday. That's because the DC Marriage Bureau receives federal funding, so all District courthouse weddings will be paused until it can reopen.
Corcoran couldn’t let that happen.
"[My husband's] visiting D.C., so we’d have to wait until the next time we’re in the same place," she said of the couple's urgency to get married Friday.
Marriage Bureau staff members have been reaching out to those who have weddings scheduled with the court over the next three weeks. Corcoran said the courthouse was packed, with about 30 couples also saying "I do."
DC Courts wants to remind people that regardless of a shutdown, they will remain open. Trials, pre-trials, hearings, jury summons, divorces and everything except marriages will still be open and functioning.
Marriage licenses in Virginia and Maryland should not be affected by a shutdown.