From the Columbia, S.C., police blotter:
While on patrol at 5 p.m. Sunday, an officer found a package filled with a strange assortment of items lying in the road: a Bible, a sex manual, a marriage certificate and a packet of photos. Police tried to contact the people named on the marriage license but couldn’t reach them. [Link]
Gertrude Don Angelo née Mansfield had to remarry her husband of 59 years to prove that she no longer uses her maiden name.
The Don Angelos were joined in holy matrimony on Oct. 11, 1947, at St. Sylvester's Church in Brooklyn, N.Y., but the couple never obtained a certified state record of their union. They always had a certificate of marriage from the church, but that wasn't good enough when Gertrude, 76, tried to renew her driver's license late last year.
So after 59 years of marriage, the couple came to an awkward realization: They needed to be married once again, simply to get their hands on a state document. [Link]
Chris Adams thought he was marrying Gemma Mortell on Valentine's Day. But upon checking the marriage certificate after their honeymoon, he discovered that he had actually married his best man.
Gemma had mistakenly signed her name in the 'witness' space - and best man Paul Hickleston had put his signature where the bride's should have been.
Chef Chris said: "I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw what we'd done. I've known my best man for over 20 years and he's a great guy - but I don't want him as my missus." [Link]
From The Appleton (Wis.) Motor of Oct. 24, 1861:
A Forgetful Bridegroom.—A few days ago, a man applied to the proper authorities for a marriage certificate, but upon being questioned, he had forgotten the name of his intended. After some time spent in silent thought, he remarked that the lady was named for some city in Massachusetts, and he believed that it was "Worcester." But when the couple stood up before the clergyman, the lady, with a reproachful look at her careless lover, stated that her name was Somerville.
