MIAMI — Sitting in the passenger seat of a champagne-colored Lexus and hiding his face behind a newspaper, former Roman Catholic priest Alberto Cutie left a Coral Gables courthouse shortly after 1 p.m. Tuesday as a married man.
But Cutie, who left the Catholic church to become an Episcopalian in late May, will have to wait more than a week before his new church recognizes the marriage in a religious ceremony. That will take place in an unnamed church under Rt. Rev. Leo Frade, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Southeast Florida.
Cutie, 40, and his wife, 35-year-old Ruhama Buni Canellis, quietly slipped into the Coral Gables Branch Court at 3100 Ponce de Leon Blvd. through a gated back entrance around noon Tuesday, avoiding a growing group of news crews.
The couple presented identification and proof of premarital counseling to a clerk as they filled out a marriage license application. Then, they joined Miami-Dade County Judge Jacqueline Schwartz in her chambers for a quick ceremony, according to a court employee.
The couple slipped out a back door, where a half-dozen police officers guarded the front and back entrances. Security officers had been warned to be prepared to open and close courthouse doors at a moment's notice.
The recession-friendly wedding set the couple back $91. That's a $61 application fee and $30 for the marriage ceremony. The marriage licenses – one for each – were free.
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