“If you build it, they will come.”  It’s a famous movie misquote we have all heard numerous times. But never did we think it would represent an innovative idea created during the COVID-19 pandemic when the state was shuttered at a time when county services still needed to be provided.

But that’s exactly what happened in Orange County when the County Clerk-Recorder’s Office was faced with the challenge of how to continue performing marriage ceremonies while protecting the health of both staff and the public.

Despite the ongoing spread of COVID-19, the demand for marriage services was still in high demand. For many residents, delaying marriage until the pandemic ended was not an option. Getting married was a necessity in order to add a spouse to health insurance coverage or to secure other needed benefits obtainable through marriage.

Clerk-Recorder Hugh Nguyen had other plans than putting marriage ceremonies on hold.  And so the day the state closed down, the Clerk-Recorder began searching for an empty box office setting and location that would provide social distancing while allowing marriage ceremonies to continue.