How to Get a Marriage License in Tampa, Florida

Each state requires that you obtain a marriage license -- the legal document that authorizes a couple to marry -- prior to your wedding. After you marry, both spouses and the wedding officiant sign the license. The license is then filed with the state and a legal copy is issued to the couple. This form of the wedding license is required for any name changes through the Department of Motor Vehicles and the Social Security office. In Tampa, Fla., you can obtain a marriage license up to 60 days before your wedding.

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  Take a premarital preparation course. If you or your future spouse is a resident of Florida, you must take a 4-hour premarital preparation course before receiving your marriage license. Residents of Tampa can contact the Hillsborough County Clerk of Circuit Court office at 813-276-8100 for more information.

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  Go to the Hillsborough County Clerk of Circuit Court office. The office is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. as of November 2010. Both you and your future spouse must be present to apply for a marriage license.

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  Bring a form of identification, such as your driver's license, Social Security card, passport or military ID, to verify your identity.

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  Provide the date of divorce, death or annulment if either you or your future spouse were previously married.

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  Complete the marriage license application and pay the license fee of $93.50. If both you and your future spouse took the premarital preparation course, the license fee is reduced to $61. You will receive your marriage license the same day of application.

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  Get married within 60 days and return the completed license to the Hillsborough County Clerk of Circuit Court office. The office records the license into the official records and you will receive a copy of the official marriage license through the mail.

Soul Food Restaurants in Gainesville, Florida

• The soul food restaurants in Gainesville, Florida offer items such as fried chicken, pork chops and meatloaf, as well as side items, including okra, sweet potatoes and cornbread. In addition to the handful of regular restaurants, every spring Gainesville is host of the Fifth Avenue Arts Festival. It's a music and arts event that also features soul food vendors.

The Clock Restaurant

• The Clock Restaurant is a southern-style dining establishment on Main Street, less than a five-minute drive south of the Northside Shopping Center. This restaurant was founded in 1979, and is open for 24 hours. Soul food entrees on the menu include golden-fried fish fillets and country-fried steak, while the side items menu features baked sweet potatoes. Reservations are not required.

Ruby's

• Ruby's is in the heart of the Gainesville's historic Fifth Avenue District. The soul food items at Ruby's includes smoked chicken, fried pork chop, okra and lima beans. The menu also features Ruby's Blueberry Delight, an dessert item with cream cheese, blueberry and nuts. As of 2010, the restaurant is open for lunch and dinner on Mondays through Saturdays, but is closed Sundays.

Green Plantains Restaurant

• Green Plantains is a Caribbean-influenced restaurant chain with soul food items such as fried pork chops, fried fish and rice appetizers on the menu. Common traits between Caribbean and soul food restaurants can be attributed to similar culinary experiences Africans had in the southern United States and the West Indies in the 18th and 19th centuries. Green Plantains is in the Shoppes of Williston Road mall in southern Gainesville.

Junior's

• Located in downtown Gainesville, Junior's offers soul food entrees such as fried chicken, liver and onions fried pork chops, collard greens, candied yams and black-eyed peas. The dessert menu has sweet potato pie and 7-Up Cake. Cornbread and made-from-scratch biscuits are also on the menu. The restaurant is open for lunch and dinner, and is closed Mondays. The restaurant has countertop seating and a back dining room with a buffet station.

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