The ability to get marriage licenses in Eureka Springs, Ark., may be at risk

EUREKA SPRINGS, Ark. (KY3) - Every step up the staircase outside of the Carroll County Courthouse in Eureka Springs is a step closer to forever for hundreds of couples, including Jackie Wolven and her husband.

“When we were planning our wedding,” she said, “I asked my husband if we could get married on the steps, would he be okay with that? And he said sure, obviously, ‘whatever you want.’ We had friends lining both sides, and we got married at the top.”

Eureka Springs is known for helping couples from all over the country tie the knot, but in recent years, the number of couples tying the knot there has been declining. In the early 2000s, Carroll County was handing out 5,000 marriage licenses a year. In 2025, that number dropped to 888.

“They may decide that they’re going to get that license in their home county,” said Carroll County Clerk Connie Doss, “because then they know where that license is always going to be. I just don’t think that Carroll County is issuing as many licenses. They may have more marriages that are going on over there, but we’re not seeing that reflected in our numbers here.”

An Arkansas marriage license costs $60, but the county general fund only sees $25 of that. The lower number of marriage licenses issued means the county is losing money by having someone working in Eureka Springs.

The Quorum Court will soon decide on an ordinance to move payroll funding for the position from the Eureka Springs budget to the Berryville budget.

If this happens, the courthouse itself would not be at risk of closing, but the county judge and clerk would decide if they will keep any staff to issue licenses in Eureka Springs.

For Wolven, it would mean losing a deeply-rooted tradition.

“I’m one of many, many brides who’ve gotten married in or around that courthouse,” she said, “and I’d like to think that I’m part of that legacy, and I’d like to keep that legacy going.”

Carroll County would still issue marriage licenses from its Berryville office, which is 20 minutes away.

“It’s not a big deal to couples,” Doss said. “They don’t mind. They really do not mind. We haven’t had one complaint.”

“They want one stop,” Wolven said. “They come here. They want to go to the courthouse. They may get married in the courthouse, and the courthouse itself is part of the memory.”

Doss’s solution is to have the marriage license office assume additional responsibilities in Berryville, in collaboration with other county officials.

But to Wolven, a different solution seems simple.

“Have it here and only here,” said Wolven. “Move the marriage licenses completely to Eureka Springs. Have all other county, court issues, they can move whatever they need, but the weddings need to stay here because this is where the weddings are happening.”

The Quorum Court meeting is on March 17 at 5 p.m. in Berryville. If the ordinance passes, Doss says a decision on whether to close the marriage desk will be made quickly, so wedding venues can let their clients know without interruption.

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