Should we get legally married before, in or after Cancun? (Ontario, Canada)

[quackdoc]

We are planning to get married in the Mayan Riviera, and have the legal ceremony in Mexico. We are finding that many resorts will provide the translation of the documents and FedEx them back to Canada to be submitted for a Canadian marriage recognition.

[DestinationGirl]

I heard that you have to get blood tests done in Mexico for you to get married legally there. Personally, I am getting married in Ontario and then going to do a symbolic ceremony in the DR. I will still celebrate teh DR date as my wedding date....all the other stuff if just logistics

[SenoritaBronco]

We were married in Playa del Carmen in February of 2011.  In my mind, the process was a lot easier than having a legal ceremony here.  We did not need to apply for a license here (it was done in Mexico by the wedding coordinator) and since the name on my passport matches that on my birth certificate we did not need to have our birth certificates translated.  The blood tests were done right on the resort.  Once we returned I sent a scanned copy of the marriage certificate off to be translated and picked it up the same day for $50.00.  If anyone in the Ottawa area is looking for a translator, let me know and I'll PM you the details.

[aandj2013]

Hello,

 

My husband and I were married in Mexico about a week ago and we live in Ontario.

Can you please PM me the details of your spanish translator?

 

Thanks in advance,

Jacqueline

[futuremrswarner]

Hi ladies,

 

I'm from Toronto, ON and I was very against getting married here in City Hall before going to Mexico for the symbollic wedding at first. However, once I looked into the requirements of getting married in Mexico, I decided otherwise. It seemed too complicated to have to get blood work done and the residency requirements before we can have the ceremony. Some of our friends and family will not be staying for the whole week, so it complicates things for them too. We're going to do the legal part of the marriage here in Toronto a week before the wedding, no vows and bringing just our witnesses, and just signing the paper to apply for the marriage certificate. We felt it was easier for us.

[DiggityDawn]

I'm not a Canadian bride, I live in Denver (I think many of you on this thread are Canadian). We're getting married in Riviera Maya. We struggled with the legal vs. symbolic thing as well. My FI wanted it to be legal, but you all know the Mexican requirements. So we looked at Jamaica and DR where its easier. The problem was the travel to Jamaica and DR from Denver. We were looking at a 10 hour trip for our guests vs. a 3.5 hour non-stop flight to Cancun (as well as it being a cheaper trip for everyone to Mexico). So, we have decided to do a symbolic ceremony in Mexico. We were willing to go through with all the logistics, but the main problem was the legal ceremonies can only be performed by a magistrate of the state. Well, my FI is Jewish. So we have found a rabbi down there that does interfaith ceremonies, which is perfect for us. We will do the legal thing at the courthouse before we go to get that necessary piece of paper. But our religious, meaningful, vow exchange ceremony will be in Mexico on the beach, just the way we pictured it. We are both just fine with this decision.
 

[TinkerSofi]

We're planning on getting married in Calgary first for a few reasons. We're both from different religions, so a religious ceremony is out the question. I also get cold sores when I travel to the tropics. I want my wedding to be ASAP after we arrive so I don't have an ugly cold sore on my wedding pictures, but we can't do that with a legal ceremony in Mexico because you have to be in the country for a few business days before. And the final, and probably most important reason, we don't want to shell out all the extra money. It's just a way of saving some cash to be able to spend it in another aspect of the wedding. 

[jrack]

Originally Posted by mochamakes3 

 

 

First of all, a marriage is legal worldwide no matter which country you get married in. As long as it is a civil marriage registered with the government in the country where it is performed.

 

We chose to get legally married in Mexico because we didn't have time to do it before hand, and I didn't want just a symbolic wedding. I figured if we had that much trouble once we returned, we could reaffirm our vows in Canada.

 

So now that we are complete with the whole process here's my opinion. Before we left, we had to order the long form versions of our birth certificates, which cost about $30 each. When we were in Mexico, we had to have blood taken at our resort. For a civil ceremony in Mexico, we paid $300, this included translating all our documents to Spanish and the blood tests. We also requested additional copies of our marriage certificate for $14.

 

When we returned, I tried to assume my husband's name with our marriage certificate, but was told to have it translated by a certified translator. It cost 20 cents per word, or roughly $60. If you want the contact info for our translator, please PM. I scanned the originals and sent them to her via email. Within a week, I received 2 certified originals of the translation.

 

So cost wise, getting legally married in Mexico and being able to assume my husband's name cost us $420.

 

I'm glad we did it legally in Mexico.

 

 

Thanks for the breakdown...Would it have been more expensive for you to have done it in Canada then? vs the $420 you paid?

[jrack]

Originally Posted by TinkerSofi 

 

We're planning on getting married in Calgary first for a few reasons. We're both from different religions, so a religious ceremony is out the question. I also get cold sores when I travel to the tropics. I want my wedding to be ASAP after we arrive so I don't have an ugly cold sore on my wedding pictures, but we can't do that with a legal ceremony in Mexico because you have to be in the country for a few business days before. And the final, and probably most important reason, we don't want to shell out all the extra money. It's just a way of saving some cash to be able to spend it in another aspect of the wedding. 

How much does it cost to get married fist in Calgary paperwork wise? I'm in AB now too..and the name change is $175 and marriage cert is $75 already....

[SenoritaBronco]

Originally Posted by katman 

 

First of all, this is an excellent thread for Canadian brides-to-be, so thank you so much for posting and to all of those who have replied!! Us Newbies really do appreciate every word!

 

My FI and I are hoping to do a legal ceremony in Mexico, (although are not OPPOSED to doing it before hand in Canada - and LOVE the idea of including the individuals who would be unable to travel, great idea Kaye33) but what is VERY important to us is that our legal ceremony be conducted in English.  mochamakes3, was this the case for you? I have read a lot about legal ceremonies being performed in Spanish with a translator present.....and if this is a requirement, then we would rather be married in Canada first (hush, hush) and then have a symbolic ceremony at the resort.  Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!!

 

As always, thanks ladies!!

 

Kat

xo.

 

 

Our ceremony was done in English.  Our documents are in Spanish though and needed to be translated.