Legally married...Before or after?

[OneLove]

Originally Posted by Chicago80

I guess we are going to get legally married afterward because I think we have decided on the Aventura Spa Palace and in there FAQ section it says:

Q. Can I get married in my country and still receive the Free Wedding Package?
A. No. The Free Wedding Package can only be obtained if both bride and groom are getting married for the first time. (If you are already civilly married, please ask about our vow renewal packages).

Originally Posted by jilly76

does that mean you have to have a civil marriage there for it to be being married for your first time? or can you just have a spiritual one?

Originally Posted by Chicago80

Jilly, I am assuming that you can have just a religious ceremony because in the the option section it lists: Religious ceremony (Non-denominational) $280.00 in addition to the pkg. cost

I called recently to reserve the minister for the religious ceremony. In my correspondence with Natalie & Carolina, they both stressed and wanted to be sure I was clear that I still had to have a civil ceremony. Although I'm not getting married at ASP, the MP & ASP have the same wedding package documentation. In one section with the reference to requirements for the free wedding package it reads, 'Ceremony cannot be performed unless all documents are in order (NO EXCEPTIONS)'. As the documentation doesn't specify whether they will or will not accommodate a non-civil/symbolic only ceremony, I suggest calling to verify their position. I also did not specifically ask the question as a non-civil ceremony wasn't my intention. It could be different at ASP, or I misinterpret the point they kept trying to stress.

~andrea

[TA Jill]

I'm not sure if this is right or not, but my understanding was if you were already married you would do a vow renewal/spiritual ceremony, but you did have to show proof of marriage.

Thats what confused me, I didn't know how you could have a spiritual ceremony and get married afterwards, because I thought you needed to have the paperwork proving you were married to do the spiritual ceremony.

Does that make any sense? I will look for the information I have.

[NATASHA]

Originally Posted by Chicago80

I guess we are going to get legally married afterward because I think we have decided on the Aventura Spa Palace and in there FAQ section it says:

Q. Can I get married in my country and still receive the Free Wedding Package?
A. No. The Free Wedding Package can only be obtained if both bride and groom are getting married for the first time. (If you are already civilly married, please ask about our vow renewal packages).

Caution - when we went to get married in California after our ceremony in Cabo, we happend to mention, "yeah, we just did this in Mexico" and the lady got a look of panic in her eyes and said, "You didn't have a legal ceremony did you?" which, of course, we hadn't.

If the hotel/officiant is actually filing paperwork/performing a legal ceremony on your behalf in another country, it's a whole other ballgame and I have no idea what hoops you have to go through if you want your State's law to superseed the law of the country in which you were married, but she said it was a big deal.