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Getting Married In Europe ?!!?!?

Posted by (Battle Ground, WA, USA) on

Hello

My fiance and i are planning a trip to Europe and we started looking into actually getting married over there in just a little civil ceramony but what we have been finding out is that one does have to jump through a bunch of hoops to pull this off. Neither of us have ever been over there thus neither of us is living there and will not be over there long enough that they seem to want you to live there before one can get married in that country.
Anyone give me some hints if they know any or are we just dreaming that we could pull something like this off while we were over there. I think i have read somewhere that one can get married in the American Church in Paris and not have to jump through all the hoops that the French wants you to.

Thanks in advance for any help

Don

Posted by
12040 posts

I'm getting married in Belgium next January, but perhaps my situation is a little different, because I'm marrying a Belgian. There are a few legal requirements, but nothing insurmountable If I find any useful info relevant to two Americans trying to get married in Europe, I'll report back.

Posted by
505 posts

Greetings
I don't know about France, but there are strict regulations for getting married in the UK. To be married in the UK, you must get a special visa and also arrange the regular legal aspects of the wedding.

I think regulations are getting stricter because countries are trying to prevent forced marriages and also prevent marriages used as a way to get people into the country.

Your best bet is to contact a wedding planner in the country where you wish to get married - they know exactly what you need to do and can make all the arrangements for you (except for visas, obviously).

Posted by
1455 posts

When my sister got married in Lake Como, she had to contact a gov't official there, and also got something notarized at the consulate here in Los Angeles. The mayor of one of the towns officiated the ceremony.

She said it wasn't too bad to coordinate, but there was alot of paperwork and translating things from Italian to English, vice versa.

Posted by
386 posts

I don't know about jumping through hoops - you might have to jump over a broom instead . .
First off, decide which country you would like to get married in, because requirements vary wildly!
Europeans (I am generalizing), take marriage still very seriously, but it is not THAT difficult to have a civil marriage!! Our burocracies are not any worse than in the US, but there are local variences to be taken into account, for sure!
Like I said:
decide on the country first, then go from there!

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