What to Expect at a Little Rock Courthouse Wedding or Elopement

Last updated October 2026

Most couples who elope at the Pulaski County Courthouse didn’t know that’s what they were doing until they got there.

They came for the license. They came for the logistics. And then they walked into the building, the rotunda, the marble columns, the twelve statues standing in the central hall, the stained-glass dome overhead, and something shifted.

It happens a lot. We’ve seen it.

The short answer: you can get your marriage license and get married at the Pulaski County Courthouse in Little Rock on the same day. Walk in Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., both bring a government photo ID, and pay $60. Arkansas has no waiting period and no residency rule, and you don’t need an appointment. The one thing the courthouse doesn’t provide is the officiant, so bring your own.

Key Takeaways

• The Pulaski County Courthouse is one of the most beautiful buildings in Arkansas, and one of the most overlooked places to get married.
• Your license costs $60, there’s no waiting period, and you can use it the same day.
• The clerk’s office doesn’t perform ceremonies. You’ll need an officiant: a Justice of the Peace, a minister, or a friend with Arkansas credentials.
• Eloping here feels intimate and real. It strips the day down to what matters.
• Little Rock gives you great places to go after: the River Market, the Junction Bridge, Pinnacle Mountain.
• In our experience, the license process is professional and neutral for queer couples.

The Pulaski County Courthouse at 401 West Markham Street in downtown Little Rock is one of the most beautiful buildings in Arkansas. It’s also one of the most overlooked wedding spots in the state, and that’s not an accident. Wedding blogs don’t write about courthouses the way they write about mountaintops and chapel windows. But they should.

Here’s everything you need to know.

The Building Itself

The Pulaski County Courthouse is actually two buildings that grew into each other over time.

The first is a Romanesque Revival building finished in 1889: stone, brick and carved detail, the kind of architecture nobody builds anymore. The second is a four-story Beaux Arts annex from 1914, designed by George Mann, the same architect behind the Arkansas State Capitol.

Both are on the National Register of Historic Places. Both are extraordinary.

The heart of it all is the central hall of the 1914 annex: marble columns, a two-story rotunda, a stained-glass dome, and twelve statues representing parts of Arkansas life like agriculture, justice, art and machinery. Italian sculptor Giusto Liva and his sons made them, and they’ve been standing there for over a century. There’s something about saying your vows in a room that has held that much history.

The building also has wooden staircases and more corners and alcoves than you’d expect, which matters more than you might think for photos.

The Logistics, Simply

Getting your marriage license. You get it from the Pulaski County Clerk’s office, Room 103, inside the courthouse at 401 West Markham. You both need to be there. Bring a valid government photo ID (driver’s license, passport or military ID) with your correct name and date of birth. The fee is $60, paid by cash or card (card adds a small fee, and they don’t take checks). There’s no waiting period in Arkansas, so you can get your license and use it the same day. After the ceremony, the license goes back to the clerk’s office within 60 days to be recorded.

Who officiates. The clerk’s office does not perform ceremonies. That’s a common mix-up. You’ll need an officiant. Some Pulaski County Justices of the Peace perform ceremonies for a fee, and there are ministers and independent officiants in Little Rock who work with elopements and are comfortable with queer couples. Want a friend to marry you? They’ll need their credentials recorded with an Arkansas county clerk first, so sort that out ahead of time. If you’d like a referral to someone who will actually show up for you, not just say the words, reach out. We know who’s good.

Timing. Licenses are issued Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Give yourself enough time to get your license, breathe for a moment, and find your spot in the building before your officiant arrives. Don’t rush this.

Security. It’s a working courthouse, so you’ll walk through a metal detector at the entrance. Plan your bag (and any bouquet scissors) accordingly.

Guest list. There’s no set rule. Elope with just the two of you and your photographer, or bring a handful of chosen family. Keep it small enough to move easily through a public building, and be respectful of people there for court business.

What the Day Actually Feels Like

Here’s the thing about courthouse weddings that no one tells you beforehand.

They feel more real, not less.

There’s a specific kind of presence that happens when you strip the day down to what it actually is: you, your person, the words, and the people who matter.

No seating chart to worry about.

No timeline to manage.

No one else’s feelings about your choices taking up space in your head.

Just the two of you, standing in a room full of history, saying the thing you came to say.

That’s not a smaller version of a wedding. It’s one of the most intentional versions there is.

Couples who elope at the Little Rock courthouse often talk about how quiet it felt, in the best way. Not quiet like empty. Quiet like still. Like for once, the noise went away and the thing that mattered was the only thing in the room.

That’s presence over performance. That’s the whole point. Planning your own elopement? We’ve got tips, thoughts and advice.

What to Do After

This is where courthouse weddings get really good, because the rest of the day is entirely yours.

Little Rock’s River Market District is about a ten-minute walk from the courthouse. The Junction Bridge over the Arkansas River, Riverfront Park, the riverfront walkways: all of it is right there, and all of it looks beautiful on camera. A lot of couples head there after the ceremony for the part of the day that feels more like an adventure than a checklist.

If you want to stay downtown, the Capital Hotel is a few blocks away. Lunch at their bar with your person and your people, still in your ceremony clothes, is a very particular kind of beautiful.

Hillcrest and the Heights are a short drive away and have the kind of neighborhood restaurant energy that makes afternoons stretch into evenings.

There’s also nothing wrong with driving somewhere quiet. Pinnacle Mountain is about 25 minutes west of downtown, and you don’t have to hike to get a view. The Arkansas River Trail goes on for miles.

On Being a Queer Couple at the Courthouse

The Pulaski County Clerk’s office processes marriage licenses. That’s their job. In our experience, they do it professionally and without comment about who is standing in front of them.

What you’ll find at the courthouse is a public institution doing its work. Not warmth, necessarily, but not friction either. The process is administrative and neutral, which, for queer couples who have spent years scanning every interaction for safety signals, can be its own relief.

It’s still a public building, so you might cross paths with someone who isn’t affirming. That’s one more reason to bring a queer team with you. We’ll read the room and step in if anyone says anything unkind. And if anyone in your group is trans, know that the restrooms may not feel safe, so plan ahead.

You have every right to be there. You have every right to take your time in the rotunda, stand under the stained glass, and say your vows in the central hall under a century of Arkansas history.

Your marriage is legal. Your love is real. The building is beautiful. That’s enough.

Bringing a Photographer and Videographer

You don’t have to have a photographer. Some couples want the day to be fully private, held only in memory. That’s a real and valid choice, and we mean that.

But if you want someone there, someone to hold the memory of the rotunda on your faces, the way your hands shook a little, the exhale after the words were said, a courthouse wedding is one of the best places we work.

The architecture creates natural frames at every turn. The light inside is low, so we bring flash and use it gently, and the marble, columns and stained glass do the rest. Without a big event to manage, we can slow down and actually look at you. Some of the most intimate, true images we’ve ever made have been in rooms like this one, not in spite of the simplicity, but because of it. And on film, the echo of your vows in that rotunda is something you’ll want to hear again.

How our coverage works: we don’t do 30-minute, ceremony-only coverage. Elopement coverage starts at two hours for $1,300, which works when it’s truly just the two of you: the license, a short ceremony and newlywed portraits in the rotunda. If you want family photos, group shots with your people, or time at the river or somewhere else afterward, two hours goes fast, so plan for more. Photo coverage with both of us is $650 an hour, and photo and video together is $800 an hour. See our elopement collections for packages.

If you’re planning a Little Rock courthouse wedding and you want a queer-owned photo and video team who knows how to look at love in a room full of marble and history, we’d love to be there.

We are in your corner. We got you.

Frequently Asked Questions

The Quick Reference

• Where: Pulaski County Clerk, Room 103, 401 West Markham Street, Little Rock, AR 72201
• Phone: 501-340-8500
• License hours: Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Bring: valid government photo ID for both of you
• Cost: $60 (cash or card, no checks)
• Waiting period: none, use it the same day
• Return the license: within 60 days
• Officiant: not provided by the courthouse, bring your own
• Witnesses: not required in Arkansas
• Security: metal detector at the entrance

Hey Love Studio is a queer-owned photo and video team documenting elopements, weddings and love stories across Arkansas and Texas. Based in Little Rock, available everywhere.

Related reading:

• The best wedding venues in Little Rock for queer couples
• Queer wedding planning in Little Rock
• Why Eureka Springs is the best place for a queer elopement in the South
• Elopement vs traditional wedding: how to decide