My fiance and I are very interested in getting married in the Canary Islands. I am a U.S. passport holder and she is a New Zealand passport holder. I have contacted the American Embassy in Madrid, but they offered little, if any assistance. Can anyone help us to determine the requirements and if this is going to be possible? Thanks. <BR> <BR>Zach

Contact the Spanish Embassy in the USA/New Zealand. In most civilized countries, it is possible for foreigners to get married, but it is a long and bureaucratic process. They want to make sure you are not already married etc., so all kinds of documents from your home country need to be gathered, translated and legalized.

RE: mARRIAGE DON'T DO IT!!!!!

If you hunt around on the US State Dept's website you can find what each country requires. Sorry, I couldn't find exactly what you're looking for but here's their website: http://travel.state.gov/travel_warnings.html <BR>I just got married in Greece and found info on their site. <BR>Better than that, search the net for hotels in the Canary Islands that will arrange it all for you. Then they can tell you exactly what's required. Chances are it doesn't matter where you're from and they'll require the same documents from you both. By the way, if the you find some info that makes it sound impossible, keep hunting. It's really best to talk to someone in the Canary Islands that has done this before.

I went to a "wedding" in Spain of two Americans. Originally, they had planned to get married in Spain, but discovered the process, as an early poster said, was exceptionally long and difficult. In the end, although they were planning this more than a year ahead of time, they ended up officially getting married in the U.S. before they left for Spain. They had a full wedding ceremony and reception in Spain, but the legal wedding had to be held in the U.S.

Friends of ours (both U.S.) had a similar experience as Jane's in Italy in Positano. They were married just before their trip and then invited family and friends to a ceremoney (not official) performed by the mayor, as I recall, and a beautiful reception on the top floor of the San Pietro overlooking the Mediterranean and the town of Positano. Much better than all the legal hassles of trying to actually marry in Italy!

Why the canary Islands. I hope you have visited them before because you will be mighty disappointed in them. Why not one of the other islands?

It's often not possible to get legally married in many cuntries unless you are a resident there. The Canary Islands has an autonomous govt so legal requirements for Spain will not necessarily be the same for the Canary Islands. I agree that the Spanish Embassy is the place to ask--why don't you even try the official Spain Tourist Office (in NY, I think), they might likely know if this is possible. There are some agencies that handle these types of things (weddings abroad), you might try contacting them, although I've never seen them mention handling American weddings in Spain, so I don't think it is very easy at all--I think you can get married without being a resident in Switzerland, Scotland, Italy, Greece, Fiji and many Caribbean islands. Try www.idoweddings.com or www.heartofeurope.com

I agree with Kitty. Have you ever been to the Canary Islands. As Kitty says, you could be very disappointed. On the whole they are a tacky mix of what ex-pat northern europeans want so that they won't feel too homesick. A wedding is a really important occasion. I can think of a hundred more romantic places than the Canaries.