Jewelry Retail Chain Offers Free In-Store Marriage Ceremonies

KANSAS CITY, MO — Helzberg Diamonds is inviting couples to get legally married for free at any of its more than 200 stores.

The national jewelry retailer ordained hundreds of associates through a partnership with Universal Life Church, enabling all Helzberg Diamonds stores to legally perform marriage ceremonies in the U.S. starting Oct. 2.

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To better understand people’s views of wedding traditions, Helzberg Diamonds recently issued a survey to 1,000 U.S. millennials and found that 91% of those surveyed would consider eloping, and 63% of already-married millennials would elope if they had to do it all over again. Inspired by the survey data, and by couples who shared their wedding plans with associates across the country, the company decided to invite couples to get “Hitched at Helzberg.”

“We listen to our customers, and know that many wish to modernize current wedding traditions,” said Beryl Raff, chairman and CEO of Helzberg Diamonds. “We discovered that not only did we already have some ordained associates on staff, a few stores had also performed marriage ceremonies upon request! Inspired by these stories, we wanted to become the destination that could, and would, officiate for these couples in a relaxed and comfortable environment.”

For the research, Helzberg partnered with Wakefield Research to conduct a survey of 1,000 U.S. millennials between May 28 and June 1.

To get married, couples need only bring their marriage license to the store; no purchase is necessary. Ordained associates will be available to perform ceremonies during regular work hours.

“The Universal Life Church has a long and proud history of making the institution of marriage more personal and more accessible,” said Rev. George Freeman, presiding chaplain of the ULC. “We’re excited to welcome new members into the ULC family and are thrilled that so many associates of Helzberg Diamonds chose to get ordained.”

Couples who plan to get “Hitched at Helzberg” will be responsible for securing and submitting their marriage licenses and witnesses in accordance with their state laws prior to the ceremony. Participating couples will receive a custom celebration kit from Helzberg Diamonds following the ceremony, including a commemorative marriage certificate.