As anybody got married abroad ?

[inej]

As anybody ever got married abroad? did you have any close members of your family who couldn't make?I said to my partner that if we were to get married abroad why not france then it's not far for people to travel to (eurostar) It would be short weekend then we could carry on to honeymoon .He as got lavish idea about greece inviting people i said too expensive , not all would be there . Any suggestions ?

[shammydodger]

"Has"

[jno]

I think one of the attractions (not always mentioned out loud) is that a lot of people won't be able to come. Choose somewhere your nearest and dearest can get to - Greece needn't be that costly - but one that Great-Uncle Wilbur and your hairdresser's neighbour probably won't bother with.

[shammydodger]

France

I despair, I really do. People think that grammar doesn't matter. They are wazzocks.

[inej]

Sorry shammydodger.lol.

Hi jno, IF (big if ) we do get married it would only be very close relations invited for a small ceremony , that's why i said go to France , because it's not a lot of travelling and we could prob pay for everybody, we could hire a minibus or something. Also some relations might be put off because of a long journey to greece for a weekend.

[inej]

Shammydodger i am very sorry i tend to write the way i text on the phone , a thousand apologies, Any ideas on what i've asked?

[shammydodger]

No, I've no ideas. I'm truly shallow that way. Sorry!

Greece. I'm reallly sorry about the grammar, but I'm a teacher and I get really p!ssed off when people say it doesn't matter. It does! It's one of the first things that tells a stranger about yourself. In this day and age, when when most of us have access to a spell and grammar checker, it's inexcusable to let things pass for the sake of 30 seconds.

Rant over.

Sorry inej. I haven't helped. I've been to a few weddings abroad. If it was me, I'd want to do the Paris experience, though not necessarily on Eurostar. The family are the last people I would care to invite! It's your day, so do what you want. If your relatives don't like it, tough sh1t. You only do it once (hopefully) so make it special!

[jno]

not sure of the etiquette inej but I can't see any reason why you should pay for your guests to travel. You'll probably want immediate family there (your own parents and siblings?) and you could pay for them but aside from that, it should really be up to invitees to decide for themselves whether they want to go, and to pay for it. Choose Mongolia if you really want to be alone; France should allow most of them to get there under their own steam. Or check out Easyjet's schedules and think about renting a small hotel or B&B for a couple of nights; shouldn't really cost all that much split up between everyone.

[Bohne]

Well, I got married at home, which is abroad for my husband.

We only wanted a small wedding, however, I would have been happy for his parents to come.
Both of them decided not to, as it was too expensive.

In the end, there's not much you can do about it.
We still had a wonderful day!

[PAWSABELLE]

My sister got married in Antiga in January. My partner and I didn't go as we'd already booked our summer holidays and couldn't afford it, but she understood. My mum and her partner went, as did the groom's parents and spouses (and paid for themselves). They were planning to have a party for relatives and friends when they got back, but decided to get a flat screen t.v. instead (don't blame them)! I suppose it depends what kind of wedding you would prefer, if it's a beach one then you would probably have to go that bit further. I would travel to France or Greece and make a week of it as it's not that far. I think most people would be happy to pay for themselves, assuming they could afford it. Good luck with your planning Inej! Paws x

[Ethel]

You can't get married just anywhere that takes your fancy.

To marry in France, one of the couple must have been resident in France for at least a month.

For the marriage to be legal, a civil ceremony with the mayor is required, which is a very boring affair.

Both parties have to have medicals and if the woman is of childbearing age she must have a blood test.

Different countries have different requirements, so be sure you know all the facts before deciding.

[CheekyChops]

My brother is getting married abroad next year although not sure where yet. All the immediate family are (hopefully) going but for aunts, uncles, cousins etc, they are having a proper wedding reception when they get back and everyone who went will be wearing their wedding gear.

[~Wingnut~]

My sister and her husband got married in Australia on the beach. We already have family out there but only my late father's cousin and his wife attended, plus my Mother and her husband, who incidently is my Brother in laws father, they all met at the same time about 5 years ago, a few years after my Dad had passed away, so it was nice that they could be there as well. My Brother in law is a very shy person so the main reason they got married abroad was so it could be a quiet private affair. Plus when they started looking at getting married over here they were trying to keep too many people happy and that took over, that and it ended up being cheaper to marry abroad lol They did have a reception party about a month after they came back. I was sad I couldn't be there but there was no way we could have made it there and I understand why they did it abroad.
They now live in Oz :o)

I on the other hand married over here and honeymooned in Turkey and was glad everyone could have been there.

Anyhoo, more importantly...... been talking about marriage eh? ;o) When I first started going out with my hubby we sometimes had conversations like that........ hee hee

[inej]

Thank you all for your replies , it is something we really need to look into . But at the moment it is all talk ,it was a miracle to get the boyfriend talk about marriage , he must have been ill.

[Athena222]

My cousin is getting married in Cyprus next month and there are 80 of their friends and relatives going out for the ceremony - all paying their own way and making a holiday of it. There will be a church service but as this is not recognised in England they have to be married in Paphos Town Hall first.

[Bohne]

If France is too difficult to work out, try Denmark.

That's where I would have done it, if I had known what a hassle it would be to get married in Germany.

All you have to do is stay there for a minimum of five days, bring your passport and you are done.

AND the wedding will be accepted all through Europe.

[Ethel]

You could have the most simplest of registry office in the uk - just yourselves and two witnesses, not even get dressed up. It wouldn't cost much.

That takes care of the legal bit.

Then you could have an informal blessing anywhere in the world to celebrate the wedding - and you can choose which date to use as your anniversary.

[JB]

We got married in Barbados - just the two of us. It was absolutely perfect. No stress, no worries. We had a huge party when we came home for friends and family, and that was great too. Best of both worlds!