I hope you have read all of the California regulations regarding marriages. It is really, really important that the officiate be authorized in the State of California to conduct the ceremony for you, and that you have at least one witness other than the officiate to sign the license. Otherwise, the local county will not recognize the marriage as being valid.
Hopefully, you have read all of the information:
http://www.cdph.ca.gov/certlic/birthdeathmar/pages/marriagelicenseinformation.aspxThere has been a lot of anecdotal information posted here (which might not be accurate); be certain of the facts and requirements before proceeding.
Have you contacted the Inyo County Clerk's office? They will be a better source of information for you than second-hand reports in this forum, however well intentioned.
Thanks Bob, and MarkS and saltydog for your comments as well on the marriage logistics.
I think we are planning on getting the license out of Fresno County, and their requirements are pretty minimal - the officiant can be a minister of any religious denomination, and I believe that members of the online "church" groups are acceptable, based on my readings elsewhere.
In terms of the permit for the actual ceremony, I did come across that park regulation in my readings - but I had a similar thought to saltydog, which is that surely this would apply more so to larger groups having more formal ceremonies that might take up public space, etc. We aren't opposed to the idea of a getting permit in theory, but if we are hiking from the west or trying to get a walk in day pass, we may not even know the exact date in advance. We will probably end up taking our chances, to be honest
Thanks for the heads up about the undercover rangers, we will have to keep an eye out for them!
Jennifer
