Process Of Getting Legally Married

[nadiakat17]

I assigned my FI the task of looking up how to get legally married. We know for sure we don't want to go through the whole thing in Mexico with the certain officiant, blood tests, etc. 

 

My FI does not want to cheapen the ceremony by doing anything with vows etc beforehand in the US. He wants to do the bare minimum to legalize things. 

 

My friend (who did that thing online where you are "ordained" /allowed to marry people in the US) is going to officiate our ceremony in MX, 

 

My FI was wondering if we could just take the document to Mexico, and have her sign it down there and technically that is a legal marriage- we would just have to mail the paperwork when we get back. 

 

I am assuming that even if we did this in the US, we could just pick up the paperwork at a courthouse and have her sign it at home and mail it- no need to have a little ceremony thing in front of a judge. 

 

Why hasn't anyone else done it this way? Bc don't people who get married during a US ceremony sign the paperwork and have to mail it as well? Am I missing something?

 

Thoughts?

[Lilian84]

I assigned my FI the task of looking up how to get legally married. We know for sure we don't want to go through the whole thing in Mexico with the certain officiant, blood tests, etc. 

 

My FI does not want to cheapen the ceremony by doing anything with vows etc beforehand in the US. He wants to do the bare minimum to legalize things. 

 

My friend (who did that thing online where you are "ordained" /allowed to marry people in the US) is going to officiate our ceremony in MX, 

 

My FI was wondering if we could just take the document to Mexico, and have her sign it down there and technically that is a legal marriage- we would just have to mail the paperwork when we get back. 

 

I am assuming that even if we did this in the US, we could just pick up the paperwork at a courthouse and have her sign it at home and mail it- no need to have a little ceremony thing in front of a judge. 

 

Why hasn't anyone else done it this way? Bc don't people who get married during a US ceremony sign the paperwork and have to mail it as well? Am I missing something?

 

Thoughts?

 

Love that it's his task but you're asking the question... Typical men lol! You get the marriage licence through the state you plan on getting married in and the legal part of the marriage must be signed in the same state. Because even getting ordained is a state affair they all have different laws and required different things. Unfortunately you don't have many options... either get legally married in Mexico, or here before you leave. 

[kmk2016]

Love that it's his task but you're asking the question... Typical men lol! You get the marriage licence through the state you plan on getting married in and the legal part of the marriage must be signed in the same state. Because even getting ordained is a state affair they all have different laws and required different things. Unfortunately you don't have many options... either get legally married in Mexico, or here before you leave.

I think she means... Who would know if the signatures were put on the piece of paper in their kitchen at their home state or at the altar in Mexico. I believe I read a bride did this a few months back and it worked just fine. I'm trying to find the thread!

[nadiakat17]

Haha lilian84- haha I need to fact check my FI! I know that there are laws in different states ( I can either get married in IL or IN- from what my FI is telling me IN laws are very lax) and that you probably are required to sign it in the state you marry in- but yes as kmk2016 is saying, I was wondering if I could sign it somewhere else- how would the govt know if I ended up mailing it from IN when I got back? 

 

And if it turns out I can't somehow do this- can I pick up the documents at the courthouse and just bring them to my friend to sign so we are bypassing any kind of ceremony?

 

Thanks for your help!

[Vika]

we were planning on doing that as well, since my husbands brother got ordained, so we were just going to sign the papers in mexico on our date, but you needed to put the address of where he did it and iut had to be in our state, in our county. After going back and forth and thinking if we should do it or not, we both felt that even though the goverment will probably never find out that we were in mexico on that day instead of our county where the papers will say we were, we didnt want to "start our married life" with a lie, so we just went to the courthousea few days before we left for MX, in sweats, and got it over with..it felt as far from "real" as possible, so we didnt mind.

[Lilian84]

@@nadiakat17 I guess you could sign it in Mexico and just put your home address or the officiants. It's just surprising that if it were that simple not more people do it. Or maybe it's the officiants that don't want to do it, because technically they aren't allowed. No ceremony is required. You're married when you sign that paper. You should check when the paperwork needs to be sent back to the County. I know for Florids it's  30 days but it is different in every state. 

[nadiakat17]

Ah good point, I guess I don't really like the idea of lying, and not sure if my friend would either. Maybe we will just do what @@Vika did a few days before we leave 

[Lilian84]

@@nadiakat17 You could always make your own marriage certificate and sign that in Mexico. 

[Dimps]

How bout doing the real ceremony in Mexico and the one for the government "after" when you return home? That way it won't take away from the real wedding. We are considering the same thing.

[nadiakat17]

That idea could work too!