As I have alluded in passing, in a fit of… something, likely insanity… I seem to have gotten myself engaged, despite the fact the woman should really rethink, planning needs to be done.
Now, after consideration and discussion, I have a mind to conduct this little event somewhere in Western Europe (but not France) or potentially the Antilles / Caribbean.
Extra points for references to legal domains with processing times which allow honeymoons and everything within a two week period. Cost is not an object, time is, although obviously if there are charming locales that are also cost effective and efficient, that’s an added bonus.
Presume for the response that neither myself nor the unlucky woman are residents of the region/state(s) in question, and so there are all the typical visa and other issues.
Without very much knowledge, I have a penchant for Dutch territories, always did like the Dutch. Must be my Palme de B amigo. I wonder if Sint Maarten would be possible, been years since I was there.
Humor me, give me worthless electronic advice, although reliable references are also useful. And spare me any personal comments also.
The Cayman Islands and Antigua seem to be the hands-down winners. Just show up with your passports, fill out a little paperwork, pay the fees and you’re done. You can even have a tourist outfit handle all the details for you, e.g.:
From this web site, the British Virgin Islands, Anguilla, St. Kitts, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Grenada apparently also make life relatively simple. The Dutch destinations, unfortunately, have residency requirements that won’t fit your 2-week time frame.
No political sensitivities to be concerned about for any of these destinations, as far as I’m aware. I’ll leave Europe to the EuroDopers.
Belgian formalities (in Dutch): marriage must be proclaimed beforehand at the city hall of the county where you are going to be married (and have chosen domicile), for ten days (in which two sundays).
Aruba: only Aruban inhabitants can get married. The only exception is if at least one of the parties is Dutch. You have to proclaim the upcoming marriage three weeks beforehand.
Curacao (you have to browse to ‘Gemeenschap’, then click on ‘Trouwen’):both parties must live outside of the Dutch Antiles. At least 2 months beforehand you have to inform the Civil registry by letter that you want to get married. You have to send copies of passport and original documents proving your unmarried status and certificate of birth. It will take some time to process. Three days beforehand you have to show up with your passport for identification purposes. They provide an e-mail: bsbvcur@attglobal.net.
Dutch formalities (non-official link): you have at least to go into ‘ondertrouw’ (pre-registration of marriage) at least 14 days before marriage, for which you have to go to city hall.
This site says the easiest countries for non-citizens/inhabitants to get marries are Mauritius and The Seychellen.
I have to put a general warning with getting married in a foreign country where neither of the parties is a citizen or inhabitant. The thing is that this may well lead to the general legal regime of the country being applied to your marriage, including the possibilities of getting a divorce, and the financial consequences (about legality of pre-nuptial contracts, and the division of the marital estate in general). Of course when getting married, preparing for divorce is not the first thing on your mind, but I trust you to be sufficiently level-headed to appreciate this warning.
I’ll abide to your wishes and refrain from any congratulations to you. I will, however, congratulate your spouse to be with the prospect of a fine husband.
I forgot to mention that all aforementioned links are in Dutch. Curacao seems like a viable option; the site seems to promote this sort of thing, so I’m pretty sure sending an e-mail will get you further info in English.
Well in at least one instance you can handle things by mail or fax. From the Heart of Cayman link I posted above:
Since the Caribbean is such a popular destination for honeymoons, most tourist boards for individual places will include information on legal requirements for getting married as well. So if there are particular places you are REALLY interested in, just google the place and “tourism board” or “getting married.”
As for the wishes, well… put 'em on ice, they’ll keep.
By the way, this would not have a French version, would it not? I am afraid Dutch is beyond me. This site says the easiest countries for non-citizens/inhabitants to get marries are Mauritius and The Seychellen.
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Further:
Second time round, thanks though. Given my international nomadism, place of marriage is the least of my headaches.
For the Dutch Antiles, St Maarten and Aruba I found this English site , apparently from the US Consulate, which clearly lists the various requirements. The Aruban requirements look different from what I found, though.
The site that mentioned Mauritius and The Seychellen was a Dutch marriage travel bureau in Belgium, which did not have a French page but also did not give specific information. I guess for those countries it’s up to Googling.
I still would like to put in a slightly patriotic vote in for the Carribean part of the Kindom of The Netherlands. Well, you said you liked us.
A friend of mine did something similar some years back, although for rather different reasons (he can’t stand his family and wanted to makre sure nobody showed up for the wedding). He researched all of Europe, but due to residency requirements, etc. the only place that worked was Scotland. Bonus: he got to get married in a formal kilt. I don’t know Scotland will work for your political considerations, though.
I haven’t talked to him in a while, but could dig him up if needed (mutual friends are still in touch).
(Side question: does this poor woman know what she’s getting herself into?)
I go to Barbados for two weeks every February and their tourist office encourages foreigners to come there to get married. Don’t know any details about requrements and that sort of thing, but I am sure it would be easy to find out.
My niece is planning on marrying her long-time friend (they have been living together for years) in Tahiti, largely to avoid a big wedding.
Finally, off-topic, Toronto has had an influx of same-sex couples after their court ruled that it was sex discrimination to refuse them. Since Ontario is governed by common law, it wouldn’t be very different from most US states as far as marital regime.
I live in Antigua and it’s remarkably easy to get married here. There are numerous sites that offer information (just google marriage and Antigua), but certainly getting married and honeymooning in a two week time period is very possible and done by a huge number of people.
