New Yorkers - Destination weddings not recognized in our state???

[lexibride]

Ok, so I called my local county clerk and they told me that in New York state, out of state and country marriages are not recognized here. I did some searching online and only found information on same sex marriages, apparently their marriages are recognized here.

 

I'm definitely not saying anything against same sex marriages, but why would they be recognized if they got married out of state and not a regular marriage.

 

Does anyone have any other information??

 

Thanks!

[mnh1983]

That doesn't make much sense to me. I don't see how they can't recognize the marriages if they are legal marriages, particularly the out of state ones.

 

If you have any fears, you could go ahead and get married in NY before the DW.

[Kristy!]

I got married in St. Lucia and had no problem having New York recognize my marriage.

 

And the out of state thing is just ridiculous. Think about it...if someone gets married in Connecticut then moves to NY a few years later, the state doesn't make them get married again. Whoever you talked to definitely gave you some bad info. You'll be fine.

[lexibride]

Kristy, can you tell me exactly what you did to get married? I know what paperwork I need to bring to Mexico to make it legal there, but what must I do when I get home to show them that I'm legally married? I spoke with my local clerks office and apparently she doesn't know what she's talking about!

 

My situation is a bit different because I was divorced, but I believe that I have to get my paperwork and birth certificate apostillized?

 

Thanks for your help, I appreciate it.

[lexibride]

Kristy you're from the Hudson Valley?!? I'm in Catskill - I wonder if we're close?

[KarenM]

that makes no sense to me either. I would double check your source. Did they mean that you can't use a NY state marriage license if getting married out of state? Cuz that makes sense, but like Krystal said, people get married all over the place & then move. Many places require you to be there a few business days prior to the marriage to establish "residency" so that the legal requirements are met, but as long as you do that you should be fine.

I guess if you're really worried, you can do the legal ceremony here first though (that's what we're doing).

 

good luck!

[Kristy!]

Honestly, you just bring your marriage certificate to the social security office and DMV like you would if you got married in NY. The only thing is that you will probably need to have it translated. Since the primary language in St. Lucia is English, I didn't have to worry about any of that.

 

This makes me angry because so many people said to me beforehand that I shouldn't get married out of the country, it'll cause all kinds of proclems. No one will recognize it, blah blah blah. People don't know what they're talking about! Grrr...(Sorry for the random rant, it's not at you!)

 

I'm sure you've passed by me many times. I'm in Newburgh.

[lexibride]

Well then who knows what the heck this lady is talking about! It does make me nervous though that she said that. I just personally would like the wedding in Mexico to be the real deal. I guess now the confusing part is translating it. I wonder if I have to translate everything twice? I'm thinking I have to translate all of my paperwork into spanish to get married there and then after I'm married I have to get it translated here from spanish to english?

 

I wish this were spelled out in specifics somewhere.

[KarenM]

sorry, I meant to type "Kristy", where did I get krystal from??

 

you will definitely have to get the marriage certificate translated from spanish to english & I read somewhere that they do that in the city you get married in but that it can take a long time. That's one of the reasons we decided to just have the legal day here (along the many other ropes you have to jump over to get married legally in MX).

[Kristy!]

No worries, my name gets butchered all the time! Too many are similar to it.

 

Lexi, really the only extra step is getting the marriage certificate translated. No biggie. Don't let these things get to you. I have a family friend in NY getting married in Mexico in May. It can totally be done. And no more listening to people who say that NY doesn't recognize out of state marriages.