Santa Barbara & the Central Coast, California

Officiant & Ceremony

In Santa Barbara & the Central Coast: California issues two different marriage licenses and you choose between them. A public license requires at least one witness present who signs, and the record is public. A confidential license, under Family Code sections 500 to 536, requires no witness at all and the record is sealed, so only the two of you can order a copy. For a ceremony on a bluff or in an oak grove with nobody else there, that is the license the state wrote for exactly that situation. Do not assume it is the cheaper of the two: each county clerk sets its own fees and the ordering is not consistent across California, so ask the office you will actually use. Expect roughly $80 to $100 either way. There is no waiting period and no blood test, the license is valid 90 days, and it is valid anywhere in California. That last point matters here more than almost anywhere, because this region spans three counties with three separate clerks: take the license out wherever is easiest to reach and marry in any of the others. This list runs short because officiants remain a word-of-mouth market.

2 listings · checked August 2026

• Nanette McIntyre — Santa Barbara · ceremoniesbynanette.com · (805) 452-0056
• Tellos Services — Oxnard · tellosservices.com · (805) 228-9443

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.

• All Saints By the Sea Church — Santa Barbara · allsaintsbythesea.org · (805) 969-4771
• Bethany Chapel — Oxnard · bethanychapeloxnard.com · (805) 485-3167
• Unity of Santa Barbara — Santa Barbara · unitysb.org · (805) 966-2239

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