8.4Witness Requirements
Two witnesses, 18 years of age or older, other than the officiating magistrate must be present at the ceremony. MCL 551.9 (requiring presence of two witnesses); MCL 551.103(2) (requiring witnesses to be at least 18 years of age). Both of these witnesses must sign the marriage license indicating they witnessed the parties marrying declare to take each other as “husband and wife.” MCL 551.9 (requirement to be present and witness vow); MCL 551.103(2) (requirement to sign).
Committee Tip:
Note that MCL 551.9, which still requires a declaration that the parties take each other as “husband and wife” has not been amended since the United States Supreme Court’s decision holding that the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution requires a state to license a marriage between two people of the same sex. Obergefell v Hodges, 576 US 644, 675-676 (2015). Accordingly, appropriate alternative language may be used. It is recommended that the magistrate ask the couple how they prefer to be addressed during the ceremony and pronounced at the end of the ceremony. Often, a couple will ask for suggestions, some examples include: married; husband and wife; wife and wife; husband and husband; spouses for life; wives for life; and, husbands for life.