Getting married in Europe
 

Has anyone ever gotten married in Europe? How did you coordinate it? Did you use a coordinator & how does that work? Thanks!

sorry, but Europe is a little big. And there are about 35 nations with 35 different ways of handling the marriage things. Which country is Your favorite. (Forget France, You have to stay there a half year before You can marry).

France is 40 days, not quite half a year...

I'm European but not Spanish.We married in Madrid, at our country's embassy. All formalities were done on forehand as if we had married at home. Nessecary documents were sent there ahead by the governments. Wouldn't that also be a possibility for US citizens?

My friends, both Americans, attempted to get married in Spain. It became such a bureacratic nightmare that they ended up getting legally married in New York the day before leaving for Spain, and then just having a ceremony and reception in Spain.<BR><BR>It depends on the country. I believe there's a town in Scotland where you can get married as long as you arrive a day or two before you plan to get married.

Just make sure your marriage contract is legal once you get home. Of course, you could have a ceremony and all trimmings in any one of several European nations, and then do it for the legal record once you got home. <BR>I doubt if any hotel keeper in Europe will check your papers to see if you are legally married. <BR>A friend of mine who is a German passport carrier married a Romanian national. The red tape was so severe that he and his fiance went to Germany and went through a legal ceremony complete with family, friends, and reception. Then, he and his legal-in-Germany wife went to Romania and repeated the whole thing to satisfy all of the legal and religious concerns. The result is that he is doubly done up.

Hi,<BR>You can get married in any European country if you really want to. You may need to get married here (legally) or simply disobey laws of another country. I'm assuming that you want your marriage to be legal here in the U.S., so who cares if it is legal in France or Spain? My wife and I got married in Prague this summer, and we didn't contact any authorities in Prague. We were legally married here in a 3-minute court proceeding. We spoke with our priest, who contacted the Chicago archdiocese and got the ball rolling. They contacted the archdiocese in Prague, etc. Don't get me wrong: it was a huge undertaking. The Catholic church is not a very efficient organization. Without e-mail and Fedex we could not have done it. It was very very stressful. Every country is obviously going to be different, and everyone will face different challenges. I just don't like it when people act like they are experts in what can and cannot be done. Most likely those posters have never done anything like that, and they just want to squash your dreams. By the way, it was the best day of my life. It was wonderful, and we will always have a special place to return to in the future. Once you decide that it is definitely the path for you, plan ahead and don't give up!

I was married in Rome. I went through an agency called Grand Luxe located in New Jersey. They helped coordinate both the process here (paperwork) and had a translator there to help us at the embassy the day before we were married. Good luck!

Lou, <BR><BR>Actually, you can't always simply disobey the laws. In france, you wouldn't a church were you could be married without the proper proof you're already legally married (which is mandatory here before any religious ceremony). So it depends how the laws are enforced. You're "anywhere in Europe" was a bit hasty.

Hi clairobscur,<BR>I have no idea what your point was supposed to be, since your English is not comprehendible. Have someone translate my post for you, and I think it will make more sense. Getting legally married prior to going to Europe was one of the options that I suggested. I may not be able to write in French, but I don't go posting on French web pages like an idiot, either.

I think the point is what do you call getting married. If you are already legally married in your home country, you may be having a ceremony or re-enactment or party but you are not, in fact, getting married. So, do you really want to legally get married in a country or simply have a pretend ceremony for show? The latter is what most people do who say they are getting married in Europe. Even that is not that simple if it's a religious ceremony in many places, if it's a religion that takes it seriously, like Catholicism; if it's a pretend ceremony in a hotel or site like that, you can do it anywhere (and there are organizations who will arrange stuff like that for you). Check out www.european-weddings.com or www.weddingsinitaly.com. I think Italy and Greece are actually two of your best bets, that it's easier there than other countries. I know an American who just got married in Germany, to a German citizen, and even though he'd lived there and knew competent German, she lives there right now and they've known each other 10 years, it still took them months to get through the red tape.

You might want to consider Austria as well. The Sound of Music is huge in Japan and many Japanese couples get married in the gardens in Salzburg and then honeymoon at the luxury hotel that's on the hill there (sorry, the name of the hotel escapes me at the moment). Contact the tourism office in Salzburg for more information. <BR>

hi Lou,<BR><BR>no need to post in a french web pages like an idiot, You still did here.<BR>

I am an american living in germany and am marrying a us soldier, we are going to denmark to do it. I have contracted with a coordinator to do all the paperwork and the residency law is that you have to be in the country for at least 24 hours prior to the civil ceremony. I have looked at various countries france, switzerland, germany and belguim, since they are all driving distance from where i live and Denmark was the easiest and most efficient country to do it in. There is also a question of some of these countries a marriage certificate is not legal in the us. I would double check with the state department and go from there. Good luck and bring lots of money as europe is expensive. It is costing me 500.00 just for the paperwork and to buy the right to get married in denmark. NOt to mention the expense of traveling and staying there, etc. but at least it will be private and legal and best of all NO dysfunctional family members present to ruin my special day:)