stupid question about having a catholic AND a legal ceremony

As i understand it, most people are getting married in their home countries and then havign a religious/symbolic ceremony in their destination country. My initial plan was a legal ceremony on the beach...but now i have agreed to convert to being catholic for my fiance and we will have a church wedding (providing i can complete all the classes within the next year!!)

so - do i have the church service and then the civil ceremony on the beach with a judge? or does a judge come to a church and i simply sign papers?

If i have both...i assume we exchange rings in the church. do i then keep them on or i take them off and exchange them again?

and the catholic wedding can be bilingual (seems there are two english speaking priests in riviera maya) btu the civil ceremony cant?

Im getting so confused by this!!!

if anyone can help i would really appreciate it!

not stupid questions! BUT they have been answered many times before. what country are you getting married in?

try searching thru these threads to see if it will help

http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/search.php?search=catholic+ceremony

ive been using the search function - "mexico legal and catholic ceremony/weddings" "mexico civil and catholic weddings" etc etc

so far have found - places to have a catholic ceremony, bilingual priests to perform the ceremony, requirements for catholic ceremony.

but so far everythin i read is by people who were already married and did catholic ceremony as a symbolic thing and didnt need it to be legal. but thanks for the advice, i guess i will try new search terms, church instead of catholic etc

I would talk to the person who is coordinating your wedding.  I"m sure this comes up a lot.  Only civil ceremonies are legal, but it depends I think if you want to be officially married in Mexico or in a certain state in the USA. 

Here is something I found that might help:

State and province regulations vary. A Catholic wedding in Mexico is an official Catholic wedding in the United States under Catholic Canon Law. It is your responsibility to see if your official Catholic wedding in Mexico will be recognized under the laws of your state, as a civil marriage. It is your responsibility to verify your state's requirements and if this would be valid under your state's laws.

Originally Posted by JessiTaylor 

ive been using the search function - "mexico legal and catholic ceremony/weddings" "mexico civil and catholic weddings" etc etc

 

so far have found - places to have a catholic ceremony, bilingual priests to perform the ceremony, requirements for catholic ceremony.

 

but so far everythin i read is by people who were already married and did catholic ceremony as a symbolic thing and didnt need it to be legal. but thanks for the advice, i guess i will try new search terms, church instead of catholic etc