A brief summary of the new rules for TDCJ inmate weddings:
* The inmate must currently be unmarried
* If the inmate was previously married and wishes to take a new spouse, they inmate must first remove the previous spouse from their visitation list by producing a legal divorce or death document
* Only officiants/celebrants registered with TDCJ are permitted to perform marriage ceremonies for TDCJ inmates (you wont necessarily be able to bring your own celebrant)
* The free world person must arrange the marriage licence and take it to the prison on the appointed day, and pay for any other services or fees
* The inmate must currently be able to receive visits (so you would need to make sure the inmate had not used up all of their visits for the month) and the free world person must already be on the inmates Visitation list
* The inmate must submit an I-60 form to request the marriage, including the free world person's name and the name of the celebrant at least 7 days before the date of the wedding
* The request must be approved by the records officer, the access to courts officer and the Warden. If the request is denied, the inmate will be informed of the reason
* If the request is approved, it is then sent to the prison Chaplain who will schedule the wedding to be on one of the prisons two non-visitaion days per month - you cannot choose the date of your own wedding.
* TDCJ will not permit marriages to happen in the prison chapel. Marriages will take place in the prison visitation room. If the inmate is only eligible for non-contact visits, then that is how the wedding will take place. Contact will only be permitted for inmates who are eligible for contact visits.
* There will be no external free world witnesses to the wedding.
* You can only wear clothes currently approved in the Offender Visitation document. I would imagine a full long wedding dress would not be permitted, TDCJ generally don't like very long skirts or dresses.
* You may not give your spouse a wedding ring. You could wear a ring for yourself in to the prison, and then have the inmate place it on the appropriate finger, but the inmate will not be able to keep any rings or other jewellery that they did not have when they first entered TDCJ.
* There will be an opportunity to purchase photos, though this may be limited to a small number. Photos are normally $3 each.
* The ceremony will take no longer than 30 minutes. After the ceremony, the free world person must leave the prison immediately.