Mexico Destination Weddings & Honeymoon Planner 2011 - (Page 26)

Marriage Requirements— I t ’s E a s y t o M a r r y i n M e x i c o CESAR CHÁ VEZ passport, all documents from the U.S. must be authenticated by an American authority (usually an ofﬁcer from the Secretary of State ofﬁce where they were born) by attaching an apostille to the document. They must also be translated into Spanish. ■ People who have been married previously must present proof of the termination of that marriage in the form of a divorce decree or death certiﬁcate. If the divorce or death took place outside of Mexico, it must be authenticated and translated. Divorced people cannot marry in Mexico until one year after the termination of the divorce. ■ Marriages are performed at the premises of the Civil Registry ofﬁce. They may also be performed elsewhere, but an additional fee might be in store. After the ceremony, a certiﬁed copy of the marriage certiﬁcate prepared by the Civil Registry should be obtained and authenticated by the corresponding Mexican authority. In Mexico, only civil marriages are recognized as legal. A civil wedding in Mexico is fully valid for legal purposes in the U.S. Persons under the age of eighteen cannot be married without the consent of their parents or legal guardians. Please note: Only 28 percent of foreign weddings performed in Mexico are by civil law. Tens of thousands of symbolic marriages take place instead, performed by ministers, shamans or priests— these include vow exchanges and symbolic exchanges. It is very much like a legal ceremony, only it is not legally binding. Couples can opt for a grand religious ceremony. FOR CIVIL CEREMONIES: Couples and four witnesses must arrive in Mexico at least one to three working days prior to the ceremony to work on the following (with some slight changes for legal ceremonies from state to state, we encourage you to check in with the resort’s coordinator or local convention ofﬁce for updated information): ■ Couples must ﬁll out an application at the corresponding ofﬁce of the Civil Registry ofﬁce, which will include a statement as to whether they wish to marry under the system of joint or separate marital property. This application must be accompanied by bloodtest results from a physician in Mexico and that can be arranged at the hotel. ■ The bride and groom must present their original and copies of the US passports, tourist permits (which they receive upon entry to Mexico) and birth certiﬁcates. Except for the valid U.S. Couples planning a Roman Catholic ceremony must fulﬁll the following additional requirements, and documents required for Roman Catholic ceremony must be sent by the couple’s bishop to the bishop of the Mexican state prior to ceremony. • Premarital inquiry completed and signed by couple • Baptismal certiﬁcates for both parties indicating their freedom to marry • Statement of freedom to marry signed by the couple’s parish priest • Certiﬁcate proving participation in a marriage preparation program • Permission to marry or dispensation from the disparity of cult issued by the bishop of the Catholic Church, of only one member of the couple is Catholic • Copies of applicable declarations of nullity, or death certiﬁcates for previous marriage ending with spouse’s death • Testimonial letters from the bishop M26 May 2011 recommend.com http://www.recommend.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Mexico Destination Weddings & Honeymoon Planner 2011

Mexico Says "I Do" to Destination Weddings
Baja California Sur
Puerto Vallarta & Riviera Nayarit
Acapulco
San Miguel de Allende & Guanajuato
Morelia
Cuernavaca
Oaxaca & Huatulco
Campeche
Marriage Requirements
Merida, Yucatan
The Mexican Caribbean
Built for Romance
How to Get There

Mexico Destination Weddings & Honeymoon Planner 2011