Allison

We were thinking of getting married on our ski vacation this year in either Austria, Germany, Italy or France. What do we have to do? THen, what do we have to do in the U.S. to have it become official?

Ed

You can start your research here: <BR>http://travel.state.gov/marriage.html <BR> <BR>and then continue on here: <BR>http://www.wedding-services.demon.co.uk/linksworld.htm <BR> <BR>twenj

Book Chick

Allison, <BR>I think France might be out, as I think you need to establish a residency of 30 or 45+ days. <BR> <BR>Two English-language web sites you might find useful on Italy are www.gettingmarriedinitaly.com <BR> <BR>www.italyweddings.com <BR> <BR>They appear to be pretty thoroughly versed in documentation you need to bring for civil or religious ceremonies & what you will take home with you to verify your marriage took place legally in Italy. <BR>Best Wishes in Your New Life, <BR>BC

Linda

To answer the second part of your questions: you don't have to do anything in the U.S. to make it official. The U.S. will recognize a legal marriage from another country. The only steps you need to take are those you would take after a wedding in the States (change your name on your driver's license, change your name with Social Security, etc.). The one thing you need to do is to check with the embassy of the country you are planning to get married in--find out what their rules are. You may need to apply early for a license; you will almost certainly need to have certain documents with you or provide them early. Find out what the rules are for non-citizens getting married in their country well in advance to make sure you have time to prepare.

Hans H

Legal procedures in Germany are quite cumbersome even for Germans, normally involving a waiting period between announcing the intend of marriage and the possible ceremony plus some paperwork. It gets sometimes extremely nerving for foreigners since their countries haven't got the equivalent of the required forms. <BR> <BR>The only legally binding ceremonies are the civil ones, religious ceremonies haven't got legal consequences. Therefore if you're interested in a religious ceremony, you don't have to do the legal paperwork since you don't get married in the eyes of the state.

huh?

What does getting married have to do with changing one's name?

Luis

Allison: <BR> <BR>Don't even think about it!.. It's fat more trouble than it's worth. A friend of mind and his fiance were bitten by the bug to get married in France and by the time they finished investigating the requirements necessary to fulfill to be legally married in Europe..they were ready to break it off.. have a nice wedding in the states..and a blow out honeymoon in Europe

Fred

This is the official word on getting married in France: <BR> <BR>A civil marriage is mandatory in France and religious ceremonies, which are optional, are not legally binding in any way and can only be performed after the civil ceremony. To be legal, a marriage in France must be performed by a French civil authority. In practice this means that the mayor or his legally authorized replacement performs the marriage ceremony. <BR>There is a requirement of residency in France which one of the parties to be married must comply with. One of the parties must reside in the town or the "arrondissement" if in Paris, for the 30 (thirty) days prior to the marriage. In addition of these 30 days, French law requires the publication of the marriage banns at City Hall for 10 days which makes a total residency requirement of 40 days before the ceremony can be scheduled to take place at City Hall. For more Paris information e-mail me – [email protected] <BR>

Lou

Hi, <BR>My wife and I just got married at St. Vitus in Prague this summer, and it was a battle. we had a bunch of friends and family in Prague, and we were calling the cathedral at 8am the morning of the ceremony to ensure that everything was okay. We are catholic, and I think that complicated the process. We spent lots of money overnighting documents to Prague, had to have a legal marriage here first, wrote a hundred e-mails to the archdiocese here and the one in Prague, found out that a marriage at St. Vitus wasn't legal even in the Czech Republik, made multiple donations (pay-offs) to church officials, wouldn't have accomplished it at all if we had not visited one year earlier and set things up, went through tears and a bunch of other things I'm probably forgetting. However, in the end it was all worth it. We love St. Vitus, and when we entered the cathedral on the day of our wedding and heard the 16th cent. organ, looked up at the beauty of the interior, and saw all of our friends and family, we both knew that we had made the right decision. It would have been a wonderful day no matter what, but this made it really special. When the toursists were removed, we had the entire cathedral to ourselves, and we really go to appreciate it. We have awesome pictures, but we will always be able to refer people to "St. Vitus," which was here long before us, and will most likely remain long after we are gone. It was unbelievable, maybe perfect. For us it was all worth it, but you need to decide if it is worth the trouble for you. We didn't just want to get married in a foreign country, we were in love with St. Vitus, and had specific plans. Good luck best wishes to you.

Carey

I got married in Ravello, Italy last October, and it was not that difficult. Yes, you need to go through a number of steps...but what wedding doesn't have a lot of planning involved (maybe the chapel of love in vegas....) There are a number of wedding service you can look at. I used <BR> <BR>http://www.tuscaniaevents.com/ <BR> <BR>but here are some other resources for italy: <BR> <BR>http://www.wayoutweddings.com/italy.htm <BR> <BR>http://www.atlantica-service.it/wedding.htm <BR> <BR>http://www.confetti.co.uk/travel/weddings_abroad/ <BR> <BR>http://www.weddingheaven.co.uk/ <BR> <BR>http://www.thebookofdreams.net/ <BR> <BR>http://www.gettingmarriedinitaly.com/ <BR> <BR>I hope this helps. If you need any help or information on getting married in Italy, I would be happy to help. Just email me at the above address. Good luck. Don't let anyone scare you out of making such a great choice for a wedding. IT IS NOT IMPOSSIBLE!!! If you are determined to make your dream come true.......... <BR>

julia

I'm canadian, so my info may not exactly be totally accurate for u.s. citizens, but i was married in switzerland. basically, getting married in europe is nothing like they show in the movies. you have a ton of paperwork and money to do and put out. i started with contacting the swiss embassy and went from there. any of the embassies of the countries you are thinking of can tell you what you need. be careful tho, they usually do not answer in english. my marriage was in the town of Zollikofen on the outskirts of Berne....apparently a very popular site for americans to be married. i used a notary public...all told, it took me 4 months of paperwork between the swiss and canadian embassies and $450.00....the funny part of the whole thing was that we had to prove we were not related in any shape or form to the "nth" degree...guess they had a lost of incest in swiss villages in past history....anyways, i would do it again in a minute.....good luck.

Geiffel

We got married in Salzburg last year, after a 18 month search of where the easiest place to get legally married in Europe was; and not to repeat the ceremony in USA. Remember in most European countries, that religious ceremonies are not legally recognized, thus no reciprocity to the states. It was some work, but relatively easy. Here are the steps we went through: <BR>1. Contact your local Austrian Consulate who will send you a form listing everything you need. <BR>2. Have all your documents translated into German by the language department at the local college for a small fee. <BR>3. Pick a date to get married at the "Courthouse" there, and arrive 5 days before that date. They tell you that you only have to come 48 hours in advance, but we didn't chance it, and good we didn't. <BR>4. Keep close contact with them in Salzburg after you have talked with them about the date, because they always come up with new documents that you need, that you didn't know about. 5. If you ask, they will send you the prescripted vows for you to memorize (how unromantic, but we loved it--was just he and I)in German. Or you can hire an English interpreter for about $250.00 to have the vows interpreted for you, and so you can speak in English, if you prefer. <BR>6. We looked at the same countries that you are considering, and we found by far Austria was the easiest. Then went on a month long honeymoon in France. We had wanted to get married in France, but even with all the time we spent in Europe, wouldn't have met the residency requirement. <BR>7. Two girls at the "Courthouse" had been so helpful and nice on the phone, and I asked them to be our witnesses. (Need two witnesses). We brought them lovely Tiffany gifts as a token of our appreciation. <BR> <BR>Good Luck.

Geiffel

Oh, I just noticed that you want to get married in Europe this year. You better get started this week, because it takes almost 4 months to get all the prepatory work done. <BR>For it to be official, just can't be a religious ceremony. USA/Europe has reciprocity for a legal ceremony only. <BR>

lbb

Looking at the date on your post you are probably married by now.<BR><BR>For anyone else using this post as a resource I would like to add my personel experience.<BR><BR>I did not find it difficult at all to get married in Italy nor was it expensive. <BR><BR>I used a coordinator through www.italyweddings.com.<BR><BR>It wouldn't have taken 4 months for the paperwork. Ben the coordinator said that they have done weddings in less than a week. You could do the Atto Notorio (or was it the Nulla Osta? I get them confused.) in the U.S. Consulate in the U.S. but this is not necessary and can be done in Italy. This was our preference and really made things easier. <BR><BR>Our wedding was more stress free than anything that my friends have done in the states. It was beautiful and our coordinator saw to it that we had everything that we wanted, flowers, photographer, he even arranged it so the groom didn't see me until the ceremony and my father gave me away. <BR><BR>Don't be discouraged by the other posts. In Italy it is a breeze to get married. The U.K. is pretty easy too. That is why we chose Italy. Good luck to all those getting married

mamcalice

This post is over 12 years old. Guess it serves as a base for the wedding planners advertisement.