Wedding Abroad 2014 in Spain/France

new2saving

Hi,

I am newly engaged and hoping to get married abroad in 2014. However due to family members health they cannot fly so we are looking to do it in france/spain. However there is very little recommendations for wedding venues in this area, can anyone advise us on destinations/price. We think we have around 30 guests (although this includes 8 children). So ideally we are looking for a package deal to take some of the stress away.

Thanks for any help/advice you can give

new2saving:j

new2saving

Thank you, how do you move it?

leanneq

Hi
I would look at the legalities of marrying in these countries first. We looked at France and its very difficult as you have to reside for 40 days prior.
We're marrying in Italy - far easier and beautiful!

angelil

I got married in France last year.

However, I've lived there since 2008! And it's extremely difficult even when you do live and work there, as the paperwork requirements for being a foreign national are very demanding. Either you pay once, and are only able to book your wedding three months before the date you want (as the documents can't be any older than this), and this proves a nightmare because of trying to get all your family over/everything arranged in time - or you book earlier than this (say 6 months before) and then have to pay for all of the documents again at the 3-month mark!

And then of course the ceremony is in French (which luckily I do speak). No marriage is legal in France without having first been conducted in the town hall, by the mayor, in French - so without having "done the paperwork" first in England on the quiet, you can forget any dreams of a romantic wedding in a French chateau. Even those wanting religious ceremonies in France have to go to the mairie first, as church ceremonies in themselves are not legally binding in France.

In short - good luck! It is no cheaper or easier to get married in mainland Europe than it is in the UK, so I only hope you're picking a location that really means something to you. It would have to be to make it worth the hassle

partialycloudy

I got married in France in 2010. As people have mentioned there are some legal issues in France.
But if you have a "wedding" in the UK at a registry office then you can have the big ceremony (blessing) in France with all your relatives.
Which is what we did.

dingdongavoncalling

leanneq wrote: »

Hi
I would look at the legalities of marrying in these countries first. We looked at France and its very difficult as you have to reside for 40 days prior.
We're marrying in Italy - far easier and beautiful!

Would you mind sharing details of your wedding in Italy? This is what my OH and I would like to do!:o

leanneq

We're using a company called slow dreams. We went venue looking last month and they have some gorgeous places. It's off the beaten track but true Italy, which is exactly what we want.
The company sort all the paperwork for you so much easier. You have to go to the town hall first to make it legal although that could be different if you marry in a church.

pollypenny

Spending two years planning a wedding would cause me stress! :eek:

wm3010

OP, I would just like to echo what some of the others have said about residency requirements. I met my oh in Belgium although he is a French national. We wanted to get married in Belgium since that is where we met but couldn't because of the residency requirements. We then considered France but again the residency thing was tricky. In the end, we stayed in the UK but I had also noticed that Italy was one of the few European countries where residency wasn't an issue.

mummybearx

My sister in law got married at Malcesine Castle on Lake Garda 2 years ago, it was beautiful!

http://www.lakegardaweddings.com/en/locations/malcesine_castle.asp

andygb

new2saving wrote: »

Hi,

I am newly engaged and hoping to get married abroad in 2014. However due to family members health they cannot fly so we are looking to do it in france/spain.

Well then, unless you relish the thought of making them drive for a couple of days, or taking the train through various countries, then I would suggest France and do as others have said, get married here, and then have a big celebration in France, somewhere a few hours away from Calais or one of the other ports.
If you consider Italy, then the plane is the first choice, because having been there and back recently, Italian roads are a nightmare, the tolls for roads and tunnels will cost a small fortune, and people will be knackered by the time they get there.