CONCORD, N.H. (AP) – Is New Hampshire poised to become the next Las Vegas for eager couples?

A change in state law means those who want to marry here won’t have to wait three days after getting their marriage licenses.

Lawmakers agreed to eliminate the waiting period starting July 4.

Salem town clerk Barbara Lessard says her town issues about 600 marriage licenses each year. She said couples from out-of-state occasionally ran into trouble with the waiting period.

Some arrived at town hall at the end of the week seeking a marriage license so they could tie the knot and have a weekend honeymoon in the White Mountains or the Lakes Region.

“We have people come from Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York or whatever and we say, Oh, well, you have to hang around for three days,”‘ she said.

In New Hampshire, a couple can get a marriage license through any town, regardless of where they live or where they plan to hold the ceremony. The license is valid for 90 days so the couple can hold their wedding any time within three months after getting it.

Lessard said she has sent some eager couples to Probate Court in Brentwood to get a waiver of the three-day waiting period.

“It was kind of very common to … get a waiver,” she said.

But changes in state law in Massachusetts means she’s seeing fewer people coming north for marriage licenses after the legislature there repealed a requirement that prospective couples take a blood test.

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Information from: Eagle Tribune, http://www.eagletribune.com

AP-ES-07-02-06 1006EDT