Bill, It sounds to me as if one was a civil ceremony followed by a religious one. It might have been because of the couple having two religions, or perhaps the mother of the bride (or somebody) wanted to have a big wedding in spite of the couple having taken things into their own hands. Perhaps they had eloped. My stepdaughter who lived in England at the time had a civil marriage up there and then they came down to Greece, their home country, and had a splashy wedding in accordance with the wishes of the mothers-in-law. Mary in Greece You wrote: In one instance, a marriage license was issued on 2/13/1896 and a second license was issued on 3/1/1896. The couple was married by an alderman in February and a rector in March. Wondering what the reason would be for two licenses and, presumably, two marriage ceremonies.