wedding requirements!! get married in us or mexico?

We really wanted to do both a legal and religious ceremony in Mexico but it became such a hassle. It would have been paperwork laden and more expensive so we just decided to do the legal ceremony here in the States before we leave and then the religious one in Mexico. That is the one that will matter to us anyway!

But it is a personal preference in what you decide to do!

In order to cut down on expense a travel agent recommended to us to do the legal ceremony here. But it was more important to us to have the legal ceremony in front of friends and family and in the location of our dreams then the few extra hundred dollars. and yes it is a little bit more of a hassle (blood tests, having to arrive early, etc) but to us it is worth it. Unfortunately it is a matter of personal opinion. If the religous one is most important to you then it may be worth saving money and hassle to do the legal one here.

Like you, we were going back and forth about that one. We decided it would be less hassle and money to get married legally here and have the religious ceremony in Mexico. For us, that's the one that counts . Good luck!!! Susan

I honestly didn't find our legal wedding in Mexico that much of a hassle. There was a little bit of legwork involved in getting our birth certificates prepared but the info you need is on the Dreams Website in the wedding section and it only really took a couple of trips to the post office. The blood test was quick & painless - done right at the resort (I got married at Dreams Tulum too).

This may not affect you personally, but for future people searching who come across this thread, let me say if you are both US citizens, it's fine to do it either way.

But if one person is a US citizen and the other is not, you should legally marry in the US first.

We did the paperwork here in the US and then got married in Mexico. It did not take away from the wedding at all for us. I could not be happier with the decision. It wasn't just that it was cheaper it was also that it was way less paperwork for both the marriage and when we returned.

We plan to do a Justice of the peace quickie here and he is not even going to put the wedding band on me until we do the wedding there. We just didn't want the hassle. The wedding in Mexico is the one that counts to us.

Thank you everyone for all your help, I guess I am getting closer to a decision!! It seems easier/cheaper to do it in the state!!! Not that it would be to difficult to do it in mexico it just seems like a lot more paperwork/money, and you have to get blood tests. Here in colorado you don't have to have blood tests done...

we did the legal one in nj the other day and will do a spiritual one in mexico, but not many ppl know that we are already legally married. however, when we filed for our marriage license, the clerk told us that even if we did a 'legal' on in mexico, it still wouldn't be legal here in nj...i had never heard this before, but it's worth looking into if you're planning to do the legal ceremony out of the country.