About This Guide

We're an international couple planning to legally marry in Colorado: just the two of us, a marriage license, and no officiant or ceremony logistics to arrange. What we didn't expect was the paperwork, which turned out to be far more specific and far less documented than we'd hoped.

This guide is built for couples flying in from another country, not just driving in from Denver — the details that actually matter when you're planning that far out: whether your marriage will be recognized when you land back home, and what document, stamped by which office, you'll need to prove it.

So this is the guide we wish we'd found: the self-solemnization rules, the apostille process at the Colorado Secretary of State, national park fees for non-US visitors, what to do when your travel eSIM can't receive a text message from a government office. The boring, specific, load-bearing details.

A note on accuracy: we're not lawyers, and rules change. Always confirm current requirements with the relevant county clerk, the Colorado Secretary of State, and your own country's consulate before you travel.