Legal Ceremony or Symbolic Ceremony??

[teshy1]

I understand both points of view on this one.

My husband and I decided to do the legal paperwork in Canada beforehand, with a symbolic ceremony in Mexico. We treated the legal day as just paperwork, though we did do the ceremony at his parents' place and also had his sister and brother there.

When we were making our decision on whether to have a legal or symbolic ceremony in Mexico, the main deciding factors for us were money and less stress. It really bothered us how much extra money it would've cost to do do a legal ceremony in Mexico, plus the idea of blood tests was not too thrilling! Also, we wanted our special day to be low-stress, and didn't want to have to worry about having all the right paperwork in order for our marriage to be truly legal. After all, who cares about being legally married in Mexico -- we just want to be legally married in Canada.

In the end, neither of us felt like the legal ceremony we had in Canada before we left took anything away from our symbolic ceremony in Mexico. All of our friends and family were what made our day in Mexico the "true" wedding day, and everyone was very understanding about the legal stuff (we didn't keep it a secret).

[Cindy*]

We are doing a legal ceremony here which is really just the paperwork. No rings, no vows, none of that. We will do it at my Dad's house. My mom is an officiant so she will do the ceremony. My sister who is pregnant and can't come to the wedding (she is due the day before) will be a witness along with my Dad (we are required to have 2). My grandmother and aunt who are both elderly and not able to come to Mexico will also be there. That is it. As far as J and I are concerned, our marriage will be the ceremony that happens in Mexico and this is simply us signing some paperwork to make it legal.

[pinayflava]

we will be doing the legal ceremony in Cabo. we only wanted one wedding day (we arenot even having an at home reception) we just thought we would keep our wedding day to just one special day

[DWBride615]

My FI and I will be legally getting married in the states right before we leave for our symbolic wedding in Italy. We are, however, flying out to Los Angeles, California for the legal marriage because that's where I was born and raised(I've been living in Florida now). There's just so much paperwork involved with having a legal ceremony in Italy and we have so many other things to worry about, so we feel this is the best option for us.

[DWBride615]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DWBride615 My FI and I will be legally getting married in the states right before we leave for our symbolic wedding in Italy. We are, however, flying out to Los Angeles, California for the legal marriage because that's where I was born and raised(I've been living in Florida now). There's just so much paperwork involved with having a legal ceremony in Italy and we have so many other things to worry about, so we feel this is the best option for us.

When I responded to this, I thought it was a general question. I didn't know it was directed specifically to Cabo Brides. My mistake

[katrinkit35]

My FI and I had to get married because we are moving a few weeks after our Cabo wedding to Hong Kong (I needed to have my name change for my passport and visa), so we chose to have a civil ceremony in May. No family members were there. Just a few friends and 30 of my students (I'm a 6th grade teacher) and some parents. It was a great party, but it didn't feel real. My husband's father is marrying us in our symbolic ceremony in 7 days. I can't wait to have my family there, and his father doing it makes it that much more special.

 

Something we couldn't have if we had a legal ceremony in Mexico.

[Floreria Rayen]

I have a check list of the documentation needed for the civil marriage that you might find useful. Good luck!

 

 

 

Requirements for legal marriage.pdf

[Pucca]

At first I was determined to just get married legally in Los Cabos because I wanted that specific day to be our anniversary. But the more I thought about it, I just felt that it would make things more simpler and less stress free if we get married legally in the States prior to going to Mexico. We live in New York and it's $40 to get married here, without any extra paperwork, waiting, blood tests, etc. So we'll probably do that a few months prior to heading to Los Cabos, but for us, the wedding in Los Cabos will be our special day regardless of what the paper says. 

 

But I totally understand wanting to just go through with the legal ceremony in Los Cabos to make that THE day. Ultimately, it'll have to be something you and your fiance need to discuss and decide. 

[Cherazi]

It is painful for me to read that it is so much more difficult to get legally married in Cabo. However, my heart is set at getting married on the beach with all my friends and family present. 

 

We are getting married in Dreams Los Cabos and they have a pretty good information sheet with th requirements and my wedding coordinator is very helpful.

 

However, I still haven't figured out how the "translation" process works. Can someone break it down for me? What do we need to do after we get married for our marriage to be recognized in California?]

 

Thank you for your help.

 

Azadeh

[daisymable]

I also have my heart set on a legal ceremony.  Has anyone done a legal ceremony in Mexico and wished they had not? Has anyone done a legal ceremony in Mexico and really happy they did?