Getting married at New York City Hall is like going to the DMV — except everyone is beaming with joy.

Family, friends, soon-to-be-spouses, even city employees can’t contain their delight, though they see it every day. There are brides in dresses, brides in jeans, grooms every which way, clutching onto their betrothed, waiting for their number to come up as if at a deli counter.

And unlike waiting for your driver’s license renewal, you actually want this wait to last as long as possible because the spectacle around you is intoxicating.

It’s no wonder City Hall marriages have become especially en vogue among celebrities such as Justin and Hailey Bieber and Emily Ratajkowski and Sebastian Béar-
McClard: It’s chic, casual, stress-free, and you’re probably surrounded by just as much pure, unbridled romanticism as you would at any 200-person mega-wedding — even if most of the glowing faces around you are strangers.

Last year, 49,894 couples tied the knot at the New York City Marriage Bureau, about half of those at the lower Manhattan offices at 141 Worth Street, according to the City Clerk.

My husband and I were among those happy faces on a cold but sunny February day, with just five guests — our parents, flown in from southern California, buried in coats, and a friend who volunteered to take photos.

We weren’t sure what to expect, which, in hindsight, added to the charm. We arrived to the oh-so-dazzling metal detectors and got our number, 85. When we were called, we signed the licenses, then waited to be called in. As we waited, we’d spot a new couple we could trade knowing smiles with. Our names were called, and we were led into a secret doorway by our officiant.

I couldn’t help but laugh when I saw the chapel: lavender-colored walls, a rainbow-colored painting and a green vinyl bench for our guests. Save for the historical records of unions before us, it could have been a doctor’s office. Except, you know, for all the joy. As we recited our declarations of intent, that green vinyl bench could have been on another planet. Our officiant pronounced us “married,” and then we were.

We left out the back doors, where remnants of all the celebrations before us (rice kernels, confetti, rose petals) decorated the ground, as though all the happiness of all the other weddings that day were piling onto ours.

There are plenty of ways to make the rest of the day special, after your eyes readjust from the white, fluorescent lighting.

After taking pictures in Columbus Park behind the bureau, the seven of us walked down to Augustine, inside the Beekman hotel. The elegant French bistro with a large round table was perfect for our party: champagne, oysters and cloud-like omelettes.

Options for a special reception dinner are within a few blocks, in every direction — including up, like 60 floors up, at Danny Meyers’ Manhatta, where reserved spaces could be ideal for larger groups. Other couples have long enjoyed a post-wedding lunch at the playful Odeon, just west of the bureau. An especially New York-y dinner could have taken place at Peking Duck House across the park. Northward, I wouldn’t have said no to Le Coucou, or, more casually, for a quirky, festive early dinner at hip Mexican spot Lalito.

And what would a New York wedding be if we stuck to one borough? Our wedding party hopped on the 4-train, wedding dress and all, to Brooklyn, where we kept the party going with happy-hour wine and light bites at our neighborhood favorite, the jazzy June wine bar on Court Street. This was a crucial part of the night: where we could sit around and gush about how surprisingly grand the day had been.

Let’s not forget the honeymoon. As you’ve gleaned by now, we’re not one for big plans. So we kept it local, taking a romantic walk across the Brooklyn Heights Promenade to the modern 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge.

The serenely-situated waterfront hotel was the perfect post-wedding hearth. Here, we could gaze across the river at the city that married us.

Where: 141 Worth Street

When to arrive: 8:30 am to 3:45 pm, Monday through Friday.

Time it takes to get married: Up to an hour and a half on a busy day, such as Friday.

Cost: $25 for the ceremony.

Documents to bring: Identification, such as a driver’s license; credit card or cash for the ceremony fee; marriage license, obtained at least 24 hours before.

Reservations: None. Just show up and wait your turn.