Modernize Oregon’s marriage law to require just one witness.
KEEP OREGON WED
A small change. A big opportunity.
More privacy for couples. More opportunity for Oregon.
Why It Matters
More Privacy
Couples have greater choice over who shares their ceremony.
Fewer Barriers
Marriage remains witnessed and solemnized. The second witness simply becomes optional.
More Opportunity
A simpler requirement helps Oregon compete for destination weddings and elopements.
Stronger Communities
Destination weddings bring visitor spending to local businesses across Oregon.
Make the Second Witness Optional.
Oregon law currently requires at least two witnesses to solemnize a marriage.
We’re asking the Oregon Legislature to modernize ORS 106.150 by changing the minimum requirement from two witnesses to one.
One witness preserves the safeguard and gives couples more choice.
Oregon’s Two-Witness Requirement Dates Back More Than 160 Years.
According to research provided by the Oregon Legislature, Oregon’s two-witness requirement has remained unchanged since it was created in 1862.
It’s time for an update.
More Weddings.
More Visitors.
More Oregon.
Oregon already has a substantial wedding economy. Making the second witness optional can help Oregon compete for more destination weddings and the visitor spending that comes with them.
A Wedding Is More Than a Ceremony.
Wedding spending reaches businesses throughout Oregon. Destination couples stay in local hotels, eat in local restaurants, hire local photographers and florists, and spend time in the communities they came here to celebrate.
A stronger destination wedding market creates opportunity far beyond wedding venues alone.
Destination Weddings Are Tourism.
Wedding-market figures: 2025 estimates from The Wedding Report. Tourism figures: Travel Oregon. Modernizing Oregon’s witness requirement is intended to improve competitiveness; no specific increase in wedding or tourism activity is guaranteed.
Some Weddings Are Meant to Be Private.
For some couples, an elopement isn’t simply a smaller wedding.
Couples choose private ceremonies for countless reasons. Some feel more comfortable with fewer people present. Some are navigating complicated family circumstances. Some simply want one of life’s most personal moments to belong entirely to them.
Oregon’s current law can require an additional person to be present solely to satisfy the two-witness minimum.
Making the second witness optional gives couples more control over who shares their ceremony.
Did Privacy Matter at Your Wedding?
We’re collecting stories from Oregon couples who would have benefited from a one-witness option. Tell us why privacy, comfort, or choice mattered to you.
Built for Oregon. Backed by Oregon.
Viva Las Oregon is building a statewide coalition of wedding professionals, hospitality businesses, couples and community supporters who believe making the second witness optional is a practical modernization with benefits far beyond a single ceremony.
One small change can create more privacy for couples, more opportunity for small businesses, and a stronger destination wedding economy across Oregon.
Join the Coalition
Are you an Oregon wedding professional, hospitality business, tourism partner, community organization or local business that supports modernizing ORS 106.150?
Add your name in support of making the second witness optional and help demonstrate that this opportunity extends across communities and industries throughout the state.
Add Your Support
We are collecting endorsements from businesses and individuals across Oregon. Choose the option that best describes you.
Growing Statewide
As the coalition grows, this section can feature participating businesses, communities and counties from across Oregon.
Help Keep Oregon Wed.
Modernizing Oregon’s marriage witness requirement will take support from couples, wedding professionals, small businesses and Oregonians across the state. There are several ways to help.
Add Your Support
Join the coalition as an Oregon business, wedding professional, couple or individual supporter.
Share Your Story
Tell us how a one-witness option could have made your wedding more private, comfortable or meaningful.
Contact Legislators
Ask your Oregon lawmakers to support modernizing ORS 106.150 and making the second witness optional.
Spread the Word
Share Viva Las Oregon with couples, wedding professionals, hospitality businesses and your community.
One Small Change. Statewide Opportunity.
Add your voice to the campaign and help make Oregon a more private, welcoming and competitive place to get married.