Legal Wedding Before Destination Wedding... =(

[niajs]

 

Originally Posted by Ellabaja1983 

 

No, the weddings done in a foreign country are not considered legal in the US, unless a lot of paperwork is completed with the State Department here in the US.  So, for this reason, anyone getting married in a foreign country, that is from the US, it would have to be done legally in the States either prior to the wedding (and then a renewal of the vows can be done in Mexico, Jamaica, etc) or after the wedding.  If it's done through paperwork with the State Department, that's a completed different story...one of which I do not know much about because FI and I have decided to get married prior to going to Mexico.
 

Ah, thanks for explaining!

[xweetgal]

I'm going through the same we are making it "legal" here in the states two months before our DW.  People are starting to learn that's what we are planning to do and now I'm afraid that people will want to come to the "legal" ceremony and not wanting to go to our DW in 9/2011. But I was reading the thread I got a few good ideas and came up with some other on my own I might implement.   Thanks girls, will see how this one goes. I will post my idea once I formulate the idea very well. 

 

[Sjnovot]

I have a question for you girls....which date will you celebrate...the one that you legally got married at the court house or the one where you said you vows in Mexico or what not? 

[Ellabaja1983]

We will celebrate the date that we said our vows in Mexico.  We are trying to keep ours as quiet as possible, so no one will really know about the date we legally get married.  I think it would just be weird to celebrate the "legal" date because for me I don't think it will be our wedding day. 

[mimi73]

We will celebrate the actual 'wedding' date from Mexico, not the 'legal' date...... then again, maybe I'll get a great dinner out twice a year to celebrate our anniversary??!...  

[Ellabaja1983]

Mimi, that's a great idea...  celebrating twice!!!  Hmm, I wonder if I could work that into the plan!! 

[gersbja]

I was wondering the same thing!  Thank you!  Also when you have s quiet legal wedding before hand... Is it always casual?  Or do you wear your dress ever?  I guess i am just confused on the whole idea.  My FI grandparent will not be able to make it so i have been trying to come up with some way to do it first back home... I just am so confused about the whole thing.
 

Originally Posted by Sjnovot 

I have a question for you girls....which date will you celebrate...the one that you legally got married at the court house or the one where you said you vows in Mexico or what not? 

[hermosahoops]

I second KRama. Tell whomever that the location you're getting married in is VERY small and can only accommidate 4 people. Are you really going to have anyone say they should be invited over your parents?

 

I LOVE the idea of the JP doing it in the living room with your friends. I want my legal day to be very non-weddingy so that my "real" wedding day in November will still feel special. Did you know someone that was a JP? Or did you have to pay for someone to come to your house and do it?
 

Originally Posted by KRama 

We got legally married two weeks before our wedding in Mexico. Initially we just wanted our parents there, and then in it snowballed to our siblings plus their spouses, and then grandparents and before we knew it we had like 20 people who wanted to be there! So NOT what we wanted. We ended up telling everyone that we had changed our minds and decided to get legally hitched in Mexico. We then surprised our best friends by inviting them over for dinner, had the JP marry us right there in our living room and then the 4 of us hit the town and told all the bartenders we had just eloped and got free shots all night! It was completely casual (we were all in jeans), fun and NOT romantic...exactly how we wanted it to be! By the time the "real" wedding was over, no one even remembered that we legally got married at home. It's the emotions of the day that make it your wedding day, not signing a piece of paper!

 

My best advice is to keep down playing the whole thing by telling people it's just the paper work, like going to get a marriage license at the registry, and you'd really like that person to be there to see you in your white dress, full of emotions, on your wedding day. If all else fails, lie and say you're getting married at city hall and they only allow two witnesses.

[lucy<3woody]

Thank you brides for the great idea I just got from this thread!! We want to be married just before we leave for the DW. Our friend is licensed to marry us. We will not be having a reception when we get home. This caused a problem for one of FI's grandmothers, who cannot travel. We feel bad that she will not be able to celebrate with us, aside from watching the video when we return. Reading these posts just gave me the great idea to have our friend marry us at FI's grandmother's house! With her as a witness! I really think this will solve the dilemma of her not being able to participate in the DW, and she would be honored. She is has always been so great to FI, and he is one of only two grandchildren in the family. THANKS GALS!!

[msamanda]

Hi there,

 

We also are in a similar situation.  We decided to legally get married at home prior to our "real" wedding in Mexico because we didn't want the hassle of documents (my fiance is divorced) and I am a nurse and rather paranoid and do not want a Mexican poking me with a needle (odd, I know).  We decided it was going to be small a intimate, just my in laws to be, my parents and our grandparents who cannot make the journey as they are in their 90's.  Some how, its been expanded to include the siblings (who are coming to the "real wedding" in mexico!) and my best friend who cannot make the trip.  We have had other family members get bent out of shape over the whole thing and we've simply just told them, it's an intimate ceremony for the grandma's and that is it.

We have added stress to ourselves by making the at home wedding the night before we leave for mexico!  we are crazy!   But my fiance didn't want the at home wedding to take away from our "real" wedding in mexico, so that is why we have been very strict with the numbers.  We still have 20 people, but it'll be cute and intimate.