How Do i Get Legally Married?

From my understanding, you have to wait until after the ceremony because you have to have your officiant sign it.

The nuances vary by state, but the ceremony IS the legal marriage.

In my state (MA) we: applied for marriage license. Picked up marriage license (there was a 3 day waiting period, I suppose if there’s no waiting period you’d receive the license the day you apply). The marriage license had all the info on it (including the date of our upcoming wedding) and a blank space for the officiant to sign. We handed the license to our officiant on our wedding day and never looked back . She signed it to verify she performed the marriage, and dropped it back to the town clerk. Some states require witnesses to sign it as well, but ours was not one of those. After the signed form went back to the clerk, it was processed, and a week or so later we were able to pick up our Marriage Certificate.

Generally speaking (though again some states have weird quirks that make it slightly different): you get the license. On the day of the wedding, people sign it. After that it is returned back to where you got it from. Filing occurs, and once that happens you should be able to get a formal certificate (which you might have to pay for)

Your officiant and witnesses can't sign it until after the ceremony. Generally they will sign it right after the ceremony. Then you file it soon after (we did it the next day) and you get your marriage certificate.

Things may be different depending on what state you are in.

I would call your town's Department of Health and ask their protocol

The license application is not the license. You need to have the license at the wedding to get signed. After the wedding happens, the formal license is signed and either you (or sometimes the officiant) needs to bring the license back to the same office so you can get your certificate.