Conn Abel was waiting peacefully at the Santa Barbara County Courthouse Sunken Gardens under a blue tent awning and behind a plastic screen. The next couple with an appointment for the deputy civil clerk commissioner of marriage approached cautiously over the greensward, Karin in heels and a lovely pearl-colored dress, carrying damask roses, David in a mask and a dark suit. They’d come from Thousand Oaks to be married and asked if a passing reporter would mind taking their picture.
A much-loved destination for the to-be-betrothed, the courthouse has been seeing 30 weddings a week on the green lawn to the northwest side of the Spanish-Revival extravaganza, said Abel, who’s been marrying people for the past several years. He shares the duties with two other “justices of the peace” and the members of the Clerk-Recorder’s Office.
COVID-19 forced their doors to close on March 17, said Melinda Greene, who is the chief deputy clerk-recorder. Opening it up again is difficult, she said: “It was built a long time ago. Our counters are made of leather, and we have a lot to do to meet the new health regulations.” To compensate, official recording services have taken place by mail or fax, but a wait list was set up for marriages. It’s grown to about 500 requests, Greene said, as people from all over had applied to be married at the historic courthouse.