Napa & Sonoma, California

Officiant & Ceremony

In Napa & Sonoma: Five are listed, so the category is thin — and the paperwork deserves more of your attention than the shortage does. California issues two kinds of marriage license and most couples never hear about the second. A public license requires at least one witness present at the ceremony to sign it, and the record is public: anyone may buy a copy. A confidential license requires no witness at all and nobody signs it, and only the two of you may ever buy a copy — but you must already be living together as spouses and sign an affidavit saying so. In Sonoma County a public license runs eighty-two dollars and a confidential one ninety-eight; Napa County sets its own fees, so confirm those directly. The other thing worth knowing is that you can have a friend or relative sworn in for the day as a deputy commissioner of civil marriages, for a hundred thirty-three dollars, and they can then legally marry you. That is a cleaner answer than an online ordination, and one the county itself stands behind. Budget $350 to $1,200.

1 listing · checked August 2026

• Your Ceremony Matters — Sonoma · yourceremonymatters.com

Churches and congregations

These are places of worship rather than for-hire officiants. Many will marry members of their own congregation, or couples willing to join and complete a marriage preparation course, and some will not marry non-members at all. Several also price the building, the clergy and the musician separately. Ask early what they require of you — policy varies widely between denominations, and between individual congregations of the same denomination.

• Calvary Chapel Petaluma — Petaluma · calvarypetaluma.org · (707) 766-1567
• Calvary Chapel The Rock — Santa Rosa · cctherock.org · (707) 843-5015
• Grace Episcopal Church — St Helena · grace-episcopal.org · (707) 963-4157
• Saint Eugene Cathedral — Santa Rosa · steugenes.com · (707) 542-6984

Details change constantly — confirm directly before booking. Something wrong? Update or remove a listing.