Civil and Catholic wedding at Gran Caribe Cancun

CindyG · March 5, 2012

I know everyone will say just have the legal part at home. But both of us really want to have both Catholic and also have it done legally so it actually feels real. Anybody have done both before? Tips, info. Thank you.

JessiTaylor · March 5, 2012

im planning on having both (though not at gran caribe). the catholic ceremony will be 45 minutes and im hoping they can find an english speaking priest! then everyone will go to the reception venue and ill just be in the corner with fiance, 2 witnesses and a judge. the legal ceremony is supposed to be super short so dont have to worry about guests getting bored during 2 ceremonies. there are some

its strange how nearly every single resort offers packages for either catholic/symbolic OR legal but ive never seen an all inclusive package that is for both! what fiance and i are doing (as suggested by our venue eco park) is taking wedding photos before the ceremony, and then just 15 mins of photos with family and friends afterwards. The reason we're doing this, is otherwise guests will be having a cocktail hour while we took photos...and then theyd have to watch legal ceremony and wait longer for dinner. does mean we'll miss out on the "big reveal" as i walk down the aisle though!

the only issue with legal ceremonies is the fact you need to get blood tests 3 full business days before wedding (sometimes chest xray), to be honest i think this is the main reason why people arent sure about doing the legal part in mexico and seems less hassle to do it at home.

you will also have to pay for a priest and a judge to come down as the two ceremonies are entirely seperate and not related to each other

i really want to do both same day though...theyre equally important to me. also i live in mexico anyway (monterrey) so i dont have a choice but to do it

CindyG · March 5, 2012

Thank you for your reply! Finally someone who is on the same boat as me! People tell me how its so much trouble to have the legal part but to me it does not seem that bad! Where are you getting married? And when?

cherbear327 · March 5, 2012

Hi Cindy,

I haven't done it before but I read someone else's blog that they were considering doing it but it would make the ceremony 30 minutes longer. I forgot which blog I read it in. It might be this one: http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/t/69693/every-thing-you-want-to-know-about-catholic-ceremony-at-grand-caribe-real

Have you contacted the WC at Gran Caribe? She should be able to answer your questions about a Catholic and civil ceremony.

Originally Posted by CindyG

I know everyone will say just have the legal part at home. But both of us really want to have both Catholic and also have it done legally so it actually feels real. Anybody have done both before? Tips, info. Thank you.

JessiTaylor · March 6, 2012

hey cindy,im getting married in almost exactly a years time - march 9th 2013 at xcaret eco park! im very excited =) only problem is we are responsible for finding our own judge and priest...which is making me wonder if i need an extra wedding co-ordinator outside the venue. xcaret dont even tell you how to go about finding them - but whatever, i can solve most problems using google!

i think cherbear is right, the resort WC should be able to help - you will probably pay for the normal catholic ceremony, and then additional costs to get the judge brought in. it also depends whether you want all your guests watching the legal bit(so maybe need chairs, another location etc) or if you just want the 2 (?) witnesses there while rest of guests have a cocktail hour or something