Starting Out Miles Ahead

Van Nuys has never been so romantic.

With their wedding day approaching next month, Dennis Johnson and Kimberley Roussell had little spare time to get a marriage license.

Wednesday morning, bride- and groom-to-be woke up early and prepared to drive from their Encino home to the Los Angeles County registrar-recorder’s main office in Norwalk--a dreaded 70-mile round trip.

While a groggy Johnson was on the phone getting information and directions, the woman mentioned something incredible.

“We called and the lady said there’s a new office in Van Nuys,” Johnson said.

At that, they both yelled out, “No way!”

The giddy couple were first in line at opening day of the Van Nuys district office of the county registrar-recorder. The introduction of a new registrar branch, besides making marriage licenses more accessible, marks the first time that San Fernando Valley residents will have access to vital records since budget cuts in 1991 forced the department to consolidate operations in Norwalk.

At Wednesday’s dedication of the new office at 14340 Sylvan St., Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky explained that he worked to establish a location in Van Nuys after receiving numerous complaints about the distance to Norwalk.

“I was eager to end this insane commute to Norwalk to get a marriage license,” Yaroslavsky said. “It’s not just another office. It’s symbolic because it means the beginning of restoring services to the people in the Valley.”

County Clerk Conny McCormack, however, saw the Valley office as part of the department’s goal to serve people within a 20-mile radius. Aside from the main office in Norwalk, Van Nuys becomes the registrar’s fifth district office. The registrar will open another office at Los Angeles International Airport early next year.

Forrest Einarson and Jean Cook, both 72, were cutting it close in getting their license. Their wedding in Chatsworth is two weeks away.

“We were happily surprised,” Cook said.

“This is a big achievement,” said Einarson. “You can get a dog license in the Valley, but not a marriage license.”

McCormack said Van Nuys will have the largest district office, providing marriage licenses, vital records such as birth and death certificates, real estate records, notary oaths, voter and polling information, real property deed recording and filing of fictitious business names. Marriage ceremonies can be performed on Fridays by appointment.

The registrar-recorder’s department, where such records as birth and death certificates are stored, took over issuing marriage licenses and conducting civil wedding services in 1993 when it merged with the county clerk’s office.

Some 80,000 couples apply for marriage licenses in Los Angeles County each year. Of those, about 9,000 brides and grooms forgo the big shindig and schedule a 15-minute wedding ceremony at one of the modest chapels at the registrar offices in Norwalk and East L.A., and beginning Friday, in Van Nuys.

About 25 to 30 couples marry at the Norwalk office every day, officials said, and about the same number wed on Fridays in East Los Angeles.

The “chapel” is little more than a small room, yet still tender to the heart. For the $25 fee, a couple can exchange marital vows under an arched trellis. The flowers are fake and the ceremony must run no longer than 15 minutes. But hey, it is only $25.

Surrounded by the crowds at the Norwalk office, getting a marriage license can feel like a trip to the DMV. But, for Johnson, 38, and Roussell, 32, at the new Van Nuys office, it was a sweet affair. They waited about 10 minutes, which seemed to fly by as they munched on opening-day muffins and reminisced about their courtship.

Roussell wasn’t sure about him at first.

“When I met him, I told him my name was Lisa,’ she said. “I thought he was going to be one of those L.A. club guys.”

“We started talking about marriage over some pancakes. I remember that because I thought the two went together. Pancakes and marriage,” he said.

Like a horse and carriage.

Their wedding date is Oct. 17.