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Judge brightens wedding site
MR Chapel Feb14
Long County’s Chief Magistrate Judge Marie Middleton stands in front of the wedding arch she and some friends made for the weddings she performs at the courthouse. - photo by Photo by Mike Riddle
Long County Chief Magistrate Judge Marie Middleton has been performing marriage ceremonies for nearly 10 years.
“For 20 years, I worked with attorneys seeing people get divorced, now I get to see them when they first get together. I like that a whole lot better,” Middleton said.
She gets at least two to three couples married every week, Monday through Friday, between 8:30 and 4:30 at the Long County Probate Court.
“They come from all over; Liberty County, Wayne County, just about anywhere in this area,” said
Middleton noted, “I have always taken pictures of the people I marry; two prints. I would send them one, and I would put the other up on a bulletin board.”
She said she would have to take the photos down after a few months because the board would get full, but she would start filling it right back up again.
For years, the pictures simply had a drab off-white wall as the back ground; but with some help from a few friends, Middleton has been able to make the pictures much more special.
Jill and Sarah Gordon donated an arch, Morgan Lane provided some flowers, and with some lights and a little touch from Middleton, they created a lighted wedding arch and decorated the room where the marriages are performed.
“A lot of the people who come in here to get married can’t afford a big traditional wedding, so we try to make their wedding as special as we can” Middleton said.
She wants to decorate the room even more, and said if any one wanted to donate some flowers or wedding decorations, she would use them to make the room even prettier.
“I love doing the weddings. It’s always such a special day. All I ask is that they buy their license in Long County,” she said.
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