This marriage certificate has an ornamental, luxurious feeling. Set on an ivory-colored background with a delicate quilting pattern, the certificate is framed with ornate scroll work in a rich coffee color. Motifs at the page’s corners suggest trumpeting botanicals or French fleur-de-lis. A stylized and symmetrical design of two blooming flowers draws the viewer’s attention to the document’s information.
At the center of the page, “Certificate of Marriage” is written in an elaborate cursive font. The variation in line weight suggests hand-lettering, and flourishes on the leading letters add to the visual interest and grandeur of the composition. The document’s title is further set off with a drop shadow effect, suggesting depth. The remainder of the text is written in a pleasantly contrasting warm ebony, and in a smaller font. Spaces are left for the location, time, day, month, and year of the marriage ceremony, as well as for the full names and signatures of the spouses, witnesses, and officiant.