Any brides from Canada?

[abbie32]

Hanna20 - We ended up getting a great early booking bonus with Air Canada and everyone booked as part of a group. I have a few people that waited last minute and are now booking on their own because the prices went up quite a bit and we were told the resort is reaching maximum capacity already. Yikes!!

 

I have a question for all the Canadian brides, is anyone doing the paperwork before they leave? I call it "paperwork" because I don't consider it getting married before you leave. I'm still debating on what to do. I'm just paranoid of anything going wrong and I'm wondering if anyone has done or is planning on doing the paperwork here before they go. I know a lot of brides are doing this but I'm curious to know the process for Canadian brides to do this. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Regardless of what we decide my wedding day is in Mexico, not signing papers downtown. haha

[Hanna20]

Hi Abbie,

 

We have actually decided to have a symbolic ceremony in Mexico (so no paperwork required!). We will then legally get married at home when we return... The reason we are doing this is because my fiance wants to feel like we are getting married "for the first time" when we do the Mexico ceremony. He thinks that if we do all the other stuff ahead of time that it will not feel the same in Mexico. So I am giving him his way on this one:)

 

Originally Posted by abbie32 

Hanna20 - We ended up getting a great early booking bonus with Air Canada and everyone booked as part of a group. I have a few people that waited last minute and are now booking on their own because the prices went up quite a bit and we were told the resort is reaching maximum capacity already. Yikes!!

 

I have a question for all the Canadian brides, is anyone doing the paperwork before they leave? I call it "paperwork" because I don't consider it getting married before you leave. I'm still debating on what to do. I'm just paranoid of anything going wrong and I'm wondering if anyone has done or is planning on doing the paperwork here before they go. I know a lot of brides are doing this but I'm curious to know the process for Canadian brides to do this. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Regardless of what we decide my wedding day is in Mexico, not signing papers downtown. haha

[abbie32]

Hi Hannah,

 

I didn't realize that you could get legally married in Canada AFTER your symbolic ceremony in Mexico. I thought you had to have legal papers for the symbolic ceremony. I don't want to get blood work and get everything translated down there. It sounds like such a hassle and too many places for things to go wrong. haha

 

This changes everything! I'm going to double check with my resort to see what we need. I would prefer to do the paperwork when we come back as well.  I also don't want anyone to know that it's a symbolic vs. legal ceremony. My wedding coordinator told us that the only difference between the two ceremonies is that we don't sign papers. I have family members that are very religious and didn't believe in getting married in a place other than the church, so I certainly don't want them to think that this isn't a "real" wedding. To us, our ceremony on the beach saying our vows to each other in front of our closest friends and family is our wedding day and becoming husband and wife is based on our promises to each other and exchanging our rings vs. signing formal papers.

 

Thanks for your input!! I hope we can do the same thing. Not sure if different resorts have different rules. We're getting married at the Gran Bahia Principe Tulum.

[Aumuller]

Hey Hannah,

 

Definitely check with your resort on this one. All resorts differ on whether or not they require legal marriage before they perform a symbolic ceremony. I'm getting married at Dreams Palm Beach and they don't require you to be married first so I am getting married after. So since you are Dreams Tulum hopefully they have the same rules.

 

I feel the same way about the marriage, saying our vows to eachother is marriage. Coming back to Canada and signing papers is just legal paperwork stuff. Your day in mexico will be your wedding day.

 

And for a symbolic ceremony you can ask them to have something for you to sign so that it looks like a real ceremony. Lots of girls do this and the guests are none the wiser!

 

Originally Posted by abbie32 

Hi Hannah,

 

I didn't realize that you could get legally married in Canada AFTER your symbolic ceremony in Mexico. I thought you had to have legal papers for the symbolic ceremony. I don't want to get blood work and get everything translated down there. It sounds like such a hassle and too many places for things to go wrong. haha

 

This changes everything! I'm going to double check with my resort to see what we need. I would prefer to do the paperwork when we come back as well.  I also don't want anyone to know that it's a symbolic vs. legal ceremony. My wedding coordinator told us that the only difference between the two ceremonies is that we don't sign papers. I have family members that are very religious and didn't believe in getting married in a place other than the church, so I certainly don't want them to think that this isn't a "real" wedding. To us, our ceremony on the beach saying our vows to each other in front of our closest friends and family is our wedding day and becoming husband and wife is based on our promises to each other and exchanging our rings vs. signing formal papers.

 

Thanks for your input!! I hope we can do the same thing. Not sure if different resorts have different rules. We're getting married at the Gran Bahia Principe Tulum.

[Hanna20]

Abbie,

 

My sister got married at Bahia Principe Tulum and they did sign a certificate, even though it was not a legal document. This way they have pictures of the two of them signing and I even signed as a witness. If you are having a symbolic ceremony there is no need to have any legal paperwork (to the best of my knowledge anyway). We are getting married at the Iberostar Paraiso and they have confirmed that for us. Just to be on the safe side though you should ask your wedding coordinator and then you will have it in writing in case there is a problem. Your guests definitely do not need to know what type of ceremony it is! Your wedding is your wedding regardles of the formalities! I also refuse to have blood work done in Mexico so this way allows me to avoid all of that!

 

Originally Posted by abbie32 

Hi Hannah,

 

I didn't realize that you could get legally married in Canada AFTER your symbolic ceremony in Mexico. I thought you had to have legal papers for the symbolic ceremony. I don't want to get blood work and get everything translated down there. It sounds like such a hassle and too many places for things to go wrong. haha

 

This changes everything! I'm going to double check with my resort to see what we need. I would prefer to do the paperwork when we come back as well.  I also don't want anyone to know that it's a symbolic vs. legal ceremony. My wedding coordinator told us that the only difference between the two ceremonies is that we don't sign papers. I have family members that are very religious and didn't believe in getting married in a place other than the church, so I certainly don't want them to think that this isn't a "real" wedding. To us, our ceremony on the beach saying our vows to each other in front of our closest friends and family is our wedding day and becoming husband and wife is based on our promises to each other and exchanging our rings vs. signing formal papers.

 

Thanks for your input!! I hope we can do the same thing. Not sure if different resorts have different rules. We're getting married at the Gran Bahia Principe Tulum.

[lisadias]

We are also doing the symbolic ceremony at the Now Jade in Riviera Maya and getting the legal paperwork done when we get back for all the same reasons mentioned above. My resort told me they don't require anything for a symbolic ceremony and there is a document you sign but it is just not legal so no one will know the difference!! I am already scared of needles and they have a very painful way of taking blood in mexico so thanks but no thanks! lol

[surprise_its_taken]

 

Originally Posted by lisadias 

We are also doing the symbolic ceremony at the Now Jade in Riviera Maya and getting the legal paperwork done when we get back for all the same reasons mentioned above. My resort told me they don't require anything for a symbolic ceremony and there is a document you sign but it is just not legal so no one will know the difference!! I am already scared of needles and they have a very painful way of taking blood in mexico so thanks but no thanks! lol

We're were going to have the paperwork done here first but now I'm wondering if it could be done after?  I'll have to check with our resort.  I think we might like that better.  For us it's not so much about the blood test (though I'd rather not) but more the convenience of not having to have it mailed to us 4 months later and then having it translated, etc. 

 

About the blood draw though, many of the comments on here from other brides say that it was the most painless draw they've ever had, didn't leave a mark or anything.
 

[Jennie0521]

Hi everyone,

 

Writing from Newfoundland, Canada......Getting married April 28, 2011 at the Royal Playa del Carmen. Can't believe it is less than 6 months away!!!!!

[lisadias]

I guess it depend where and who does it cause we all got a good chuckle at my girlfriends husband when he had to get it done and passed out! He said it was the worst thing, they actually pump the blood out not like in canada where they stick the needle in and it just comes out. They got married at Gran Bahia Principe in Tulum. After I heard that, i said to myself I would never do it cause I hate having blood drawn to begin with, just a big baby I am lol If you get married at home there is no need for translation from what I know. Guess i should ask cause everything seems to change in Mexico.
 

Originally Posted by surprise_its_taken 

 

We're were going to have the paperwork done here first but now I'm wondering if it could be done after?  I'll have to check with our resort.  I think we might like that better.  For us it's not so much about the blood test (though I'd rather not) but more the convenience of not having to have it mailed to us 4 months later and then having it translated, etc. 

 

About the blood draw though, many of the comments on here from other brides say that it was the most painless draw they've ever had, didn't leave a mark or anything.
 

[mexico_2011]

We are doing the paperwork before we head down to Mexico as well.  For all the same reasons as the previous posts. 

Plus, because this is my second marriage there were a few other loop-holes.  One is that I would have to get my divorce certificate translated to spanish.  Also we would have to wait 300 days from the date of the divorce certificate to be legally married in Mexico, unlike the 30 day wait in Canada.  With how long a divorce takes we would be waiting a long time!  The frustrating thing is that this rule only applies to women who have been divorced, not men.  ALso, if you are a woman who has been divorced and wants to remarry in Mexico, you have to prove that you are not pregnant.  I'm not pregnant so it wouldn't be a setback, but it's just another extra thing we would have to provide.  So needless to say with all this extra work and testing we will definately be doing the legal part in Canada!

And, like others have said, our real wedding day will be when we say our vows in front of our family and friends in Mexico!!