Anyone can marry you in California!

Yes, that is right. I just attended a lovely wedding in Chico California (which turn out to be directly north of Sacrament, although not close...I always thought that it was somewhere near Fresno, although I have no idea why). Anyhow, Chico is actually a very nice little community, seemingly built on two diffrent industrys, students at Cal State Chico, and amands. For you uninitiated with local Chico dialects that is how the local farmers pronounce almond. I really didn't believe it when they first told me, but apparently they really do. Not, I should point out, because they do not know how almond is really pronounced...you have to be around them and accepted for quite awhile before they will throw the local pronunciation of almond your way. This being said, I have no idea why they pronounce almond wrong, tradition perhaps?
Back to the wedding however. This is the second wedding in California in the last two years that I have been to, and the second one where the couple had a friend (not a friend minister or a friend judge, just a friend) perform the service. As this last friend was the best man and lives in atlanta, it peaked my curiosity. What authority exactly do you have to have to marry a couple in CA? It turns out that, for a fee, the local county will deputize anyone to perform a one time ceremony, providing that the couple has a valid marrage licence, etc.

I just thought you should know...