bjcamberwell

I am going to be spending three weeks in December traveling to Spain, Italy, and ending in Paris over New Years. I have been trying to plan a wedding ceremony for just me and my wife, no guests, in any of these locations. I have not had much luck mainly due to not wanting to spend a fortune on it.

I am already legally married in the US so there doesn't need to be any paperwork involved. So it would be considered a symbolic ceremony, wedding blessing, or renewal of vows. I have found a number of wedding planners who can help with this, but the problem is that I can't afford their rates. Unfortunately, the big spend for me is the trip itself.

But I don't see any reason why it should cost over $1000 for an officiant to do a simple blessing for the two of us. I mean, if a gondola ride in Venice costs $100 then a gondola ride with a wedding officiant aboard shouldn't cost $1500 (a quote I got).

Any help would be appreciated. Getting married in Europe is a real dream for my wife and I'm trying to make it happen at a price we can afford.

Thanks!

nytraveler

If you're already married you can't get married again.

If you organize a religious ceremony blessing your marriage (via your local priest or minister and a partner church in one of the countries) I'm sure it won't cost anything like that. If you go to people who do "weddings" for a business they will naturally charge more.

Michael

My impression is that weddings in Europe are only carried out on official occasions. No mayor in France will perform a wedding ceremony which is not meant to be registered and valid once performed; symbolic ceremonies are not within his purview. Moreover, I suspect that such a ceremony can only be carried out in city hall or a building designated as an official building for weddings.

I think that the Catholic church has a similar attitude on its side of the equation, and France, Italy and Spain are predominantly Catholic.

So what you are seeking is something mainly for Americans, and the price will be what the market will bear.

starzzilove08

I am also trying to find a small inexpensive place we are planning to also get a blessing next year, I fould this website masxpires.com that have lovely chapel on site in Barcelona...perhaps they can arrange someone to do a blessing I am waiting to hear from them also. good luck...

Lynnaustin

You could go to the Wednesday Papal audience to have a blessing. They do have special blessings for newlyweds, but you need to do that within 8 weeks of your marriage and it must have been in the Catholic Church.
You do not state your religion, but what you could do is to contact the church of your religion for expats in your city of choice and see if they will do a vow renewal. I know Catholic churches do this.

Robert2533

If you want a ceremony in Spain, a religious ceremony, then you will first have to find a priest willing to perform the ceremony, which means that you will have to travel to Spain to meet with the priest to set the whole thing up.

There are wedding planners, but they cost money.

MNsnowflake

In reading your question, it occurred to me there would probably be an American church in Paris (and most major European cities) and I found this link. http://www.acparis.com
The offer wedding and renewal of vows services.

LSky

See if you can find a Universal Life Church minister who lives in one of those cities and pick a nice spot.

lincasanova

google "guadalest" and go to "imagines". Some good friends of ours had a small wedding up there at the chapel.

There are non-denominational ministers who speak english in the valencia region who could probably arrange something somewhere quaint.

I kno that his is not spanish atmosphere.. but everyone who goes to this hotel LOVES it and is not far from Guadalest.

http://www.asiagardens.es/

this one is also nearby.. but it is only the oasis of the hotel that is nice here. for an overnight it is great though.

http://www.montiboli.es/
and now this one that I have not visited yet but looks like it might be acceptable.

http://www.hotelvillavenecia.com/asp/ElHotel/

I don't think this is as hard to organize once you have made local contact.

bjcamberwell

Thank you to everyone for their replies. To address a couple points:

I’m not looking for a religious based ceremony because I am Jewish and my wife is Catholic. Haha, I know this only makes it more difficult.

I looked at the various links people left and have emailed for more information.

The American church in Paris is a decent option although it requires a “donation” of 1000 Euros.

Guadalest looks very nice although I wasn’t able to find any specific information about weddings there by googling it.

lincasanova

you would have to count on someone helping you do this through maybe the hotel or a local. i could ask a minister i know who speaks english if you want...

Christina

You are already married, so you cannot get married again. Why don't you just forget the whole thing, it is pointless.

bardo1

I've attended services here. It is a very open, liberal and flexible congregation (also English speaking). I would guess that one of the ministers here would be very open to doing what you want and would be more than happy to help.

Here's the contact info:

http://www.stgeorgesparis.com/contact_us

MNsnowflake

Since you aren't looking for a religious ceremony and aren't planning on having guests,and are already legally married, you don't really need a stranger to officiate. Why not just find a romantic location and renew your vows yourself? If you want to follow that up, find a nice romantic restaurant, let the restaurant know it is a special occasion and they may have some special touches, such as flowers, etc. that they can provide. Instead of spending a lot of money on the ceremony itself, spend the money you would have spent on a special ring or other piece of jewelry to give your wife to mark the occasion. Sounds great to me.

lincasanova

I like that idea MNsnowflake!

MNsnowflake

Lincasanova - actually, thinking about this made me consider doing something similar with my husband when we're in Paris in October.

socaltraveler

'I’m not looking for a religious based ceremony because I am Jewish and my wife is Catholic. Haha, I know this only makes it more difficult.'

I guess it just it more difficult to understand why you want to do this, since you are already married. It's a lot of organizing IMHO with language barriers, unless you know someone or are willing to pay for the services of someone to walk you through this. I agree with the posters above, you can arrange your own romantic vow renewal in any number of romantic places. And this is why this sort of thing costs more than you think it should - it is just outside the box thinking when you are not really looking to get married.

alan64

Many people are married by the Captain of a ship. Since you're not looking for a formal (legal/religious) wedding, what if you find an English-speaking Gondolier in Venice and have him read something during your boat ride?

If that's not appealing, then I'd agree with MNSnowflake about doing something yourself. I had planned to propose to my wife at the Alhambra in Granada, Spain. Before our trip, we decided to have a small wedding here in the states so a dozen family members could join us. Our Spain trip turned into a honeymoon instead, but I couldn't pass up the chance to "renew" our vows at night at the Alhambra. As we looked at the beautiful castle shining at night, my wife an I shared a very special moment. A few days later in Sevilla, we took an evening coach ride as well.

Robert2533

You need to update your files. From what I understand, nobody gets married by the Captain of a ship any longer.

alan64

You better tell all those couples on the Grand Princess and Golden Princess cruise ships!

http://www.princess.com/learn/onboar...ingPlanner.pdf

Of course it doesn't really matter that much in this case. My point was that since the OP doesn't need an recognized clergy or civil authority, he has the freedom to choose someone outside of the 'business' of weddings.