Anyone getting legally hitched before Mexican wedding?

I told my mom (who lives in another state) that we were going to get legally married before the first one the year for tax reasons and she cried!! She was so sad that she couldnt be there that I told her that we changed our minds and are going to wait until Mexico. Of course we didnt, but from that point on we decided not to tell ANYONE!! We dont consider it our "real" wedding so there is really nothing to tell. And I dont want anyone to have the same reaction that my mom did.

Thanks for sharing that; this might be EXACTLY what I have to do with my own mom (she lives far away as well).

Looks like the easiest thing to do, is to wait and see if there is anybody who can't attend our DW at all, since we will still need two witnesses to the paperwork. Getting a little far ahead of ourselves I think... lol.

I'm a mother of the bride, and my dd is contemplating this very issue... and leaning toward doing the "legality" part upon return from the symbolic ceremony. Once you hear about all the hoops for a legal marriage in Mexico, including translation of all documents and all the added expense... it is hard to make an argument for doing it that way. Their symbolic ceremony will be the first and real thing... and the paperwork afterwards just paperwork. Interestingly, my HUSBAND felt weird about missing the legal "real" thing when they were thinking of doing it legally FIRST... but maybe now that she's decided to do it afterwards... he won't feel like he's missing out. I'm fine either way and don't feel like I need to be there for the "legal" part. The symbolic part is more important in my mind.

We're going to the jp a week before we leave for our dw to get legally married, and then doing a symbolic ceramony in mx. We've talked about it a lot, and it just makes sense to us. We don't want to deal with the hassle of getting legally married in a different country, plus their is no way in heck I am going to let a mexican nurse near my arm with a needle! I'm petrified of them to begin with! We haven't told a single soul about what we're going, and that's because his family would insist on being at the jp with us, and my mom lives far away as well, and she may be a little upset. I think it's all about doing what you feel is right in your heart.

Hello all,

I had the same questions!! I was trying to decide whether or not I should just do it all in mexico. But after reading all the posts, I think I'll just get married before I leave for mexico. Not only will I save myself all of the unnecessary hassle but some money too!! I also like the fact that you also get to take advantage of all of the honeymoon perks once you arrive. It's a no brainer!! Thanks ladies!!

-Sheila

Hi Ladies! My FI and I actually tied the knot legally on Dec.4 and our wedding isnt until May 7, 2010. We invited my mom and his mom and a couple of close friends and then all went out to dinner! It was very nice and I dont feel like it takes anything away from our May wedding! We have actually told a lot of our guests that we are legally married and none of them have acted mad or anything! They are still coming to Mexico and we are counting the Mexico wedding as our official wedding day!

I think my fiance and I will get legally married before our wedding as well, I don't want to waste time doing blood work etc. & spend the extra money! Plus nurses here in the states always have a hard time finding a "good vein" so the last thing I want in my pictures is a bruised up arm with multiple needle marks!

We are also getting married legally the day before we leave for our trip. We are only telling our parents,they will be there with us. We didn't want to tell anyyone else because we don't want to take the significance away from the symbolic ceremony. To us the day in Mexico will be our wedding day. My family may be upset we didn't include them,but it's just paperwork....

We have a good friend who is an ordained minister, and he will be performing our 'stateside legal' ceremony when we return. I think we are going to do it in our living room the day after we come back from Mexico...the marriage license is good for 30 days, so we can put whatever date we want on the certificate. I have a good friend who is unable to attend our destination wedding because she is pregnant, and her and her husband will come over to be our witnesses, which makes us both very happy. I am a little afraid the Mexican wedding won't feel "legal", but I think I would be more unhappy doing it ahead of time, and then feeling like "we just did this a few days ago" when we are standing before our friends and family in Mexico. I was completely against getting married in the states until I figured out it was going to cost $600+++ in just legal fees to do it in Mexico...I would rather spend that money on our vacation! I still have some question in my mind that we may do the legal ceremony the night before we leave...I'm just not 100% certain yet...but either way, the date on the marriage license will be the date of the wedding in Mexico, so we will not have to worry about 2 anniversary dates. I also do not think we are going to tell our family about this plan because I don't want them to feel like they are attending a "fake" ceremony. I know this is probably not how they would feel, but I don't want to let anyone down after spending the time and money to come away with us to celebrate our day!

We are actually getting legally married next month, and our wedding isn't until May 2011. My fiance is in the military and deploying, so it made the most sense for us to get married before he left, for benefits, pay, etc. I have decided to tell my mom and only my mom. While I'm sure people would understand, I just don't want to take away from the "real" wedding in any way, as we are seeing the legal event as simply paperwork and nothing else.