making it legal??

[sleeping beauty]

Hi ladies,

The enjoyment of the proposal is now over and i must officially start the dreaded planning. FI nd i decided we want to get married through the catholic church. Will the paper you sign at the church make it legal? or do you still have to do another process. We are actually having a destination wedding and getting married in the church over there. For those of you who got married away or who will be married out of the US, how did you legalize it here? Im totally clueless. do i have to get married in the church and then again by justice of the peace?? what did you do?

 

[Independent Gal]

Sleeping B, this totally depends on the country. If you are legally married in another country, then you are legally married in the United States. This becomes obvious when you think that lots of people who are born elsewhere and married elsewhere, move to the US, but they don't have to get married again, right?

But as to what counts as legally married in another country, that varies, of course, from country to country. In many European and Asian countries, you need a legal marriage BEFORE you can have a religious marriage or vice versa. I know this is the case in, eg, Indonesia, Germany, Italy, I'm pretty sure it is like this in France too. If I had to guess, I'd say it's NOT the case in England, since there is a 'Church of England'.

You will need to get in touch with your Embassy in the country where you intend to get married for help about that country's requirements. It's possible there are rules, special documents etc... It took FI and I almost 2 months to get it all sorted out, so start NOW!!!

 

[sumbride]

Also, I think you may have to register your marriage in your county when you get home. I say this because one of my coworkers just got married in the Bahamas and she told me that she had to take her marriage certificate down to her local courthouse so it could be recorded in their books. The marriage was legal, but it still had to be recorded to be recognized. Call your local county clerk to find out how that works where you live and based on where you are marrying.

 

[Independent Gal]

Good point, Summer!

 

[WTNLVR]

I know someone who had a destination wedding in Costa Rica. A year later when he filed for divorce, he found out from his lawyer that they were actually never legally married! So, make sure you check out the laws in the country you marry in. At least my friend saved money on legal fees!

 

[Pandora II]

Date: 11/10/2007 3:54:59 PM
Author: Independent Gal
Sleeping B, this totally depends on the country. If you are legally married in another country, then you are legally married in the United States. This becomes obvious when you think that lots of people who are born elsewhere and married elsewhere, move to the US, but they don''t have to get married again, right?

But as to what counts as legally married in another country, that varies, of course, from country to country. In many European and Asian countries, you need a legal marriage BEFORE you can have a religious marriage or vice versa. I know this is the case in, eg, Indonesia, Germany, Italy, I''m pretty sure it is like this in France too. If I had to guess, I''d say it''s NOT the case in England, since there is a ''Church of England''.

You will need to get in touch with your Embassy in the country where you intend to get married for help about that country''s requirements. It''s possible there are rules, special documents etc... It took FI and I almost 2 months to get it all sorted out, so start NOW!!!

You do have to fulfill a whole load of legal requirements in the UK unless it is Chuch of England - catholic doesn''t count I''m afraid as it is not the state religion. You also need to be resident for x amount of time in order to do the paperwork before the wedding (which can take a long time to getan appointment for if you are in London)

The UK is not a good place unless one of you is British!

 

[labbielove]

Fellow Catholic bride here, who briefly considered a destination wedding.

The marriage license (from the state) is signed by the officiant, which in this case would be the priest.

The best thing to do is contact your local priest and ask their guidance. Since your marriage is recorded "on the books" of the parish where you get married, it''s also important to meet all of those parish/diocesan requirements.

We got married in a different town, with an officiant from yet another town, and just that coordination was a tad overwhelming, but we got it all squared away.

If you google Catholic destination weddings you may find more information. Since Catholic ceremonies cannot take place outside, you will need permission from a church in the country you want to marry in.

Definitely start with contacting your priest though- good luck!

 

[sleeping beauty]

thanks girls you are all wonderful and so full of knowledge. i''m planning on getting married in the dominican republic and i currently live in MA. I did contact the priest from over there but forgot to ask him that question. i basically just asked if the date was available and if i can complete the requirements here which he said yes. but then it hit me about all the other legal stuff. (so much work to be done) and i thought a destination wedding would be so much easier. i guess i''ll ask the priest here when we have our appointment next week. thanks again