Getting married in Spain

[stevegoodman]

My wife and I have moved full-time to Spain (near Malaga) having had a house here for four years. We have our residencia.

Our daughter and her fiancee live in the UK although they do have NIE numbers having worked in Girona for 6 months a couple of years ago. However, they are not Spanish residents, they are UK residents.

They are getting married next year and would like to do so in Spain.

Question is, can they legally get married in Spain even though they are non-residents? They are also mixed denomination, one being catholic and the other Church of Scotland.

Some web sites say they can marry in some areas of Spain, others say they would need to go to Gibraltar for a civil ceremony and then come to Spain for a blessing/reception.

Does anyone know the actual situation in Andalucia?

[El Capitan]

As no one has yet replied, I can recommend the Gibraltar route as we did it last year. I read up about a Spanish wedding and although not impossible there were certain residency rules which we might have had difficulty with. Gibraltar is well set up for non-resident weddings and easy for UK guests to fly direct into Gib for the event. Beware giving all over to a wedding organiser in my opinion as it was much more enjoyable to plan our own day ourselves with the various providers, most importantly including the registry office on Gib. Whatever you decide, best of luck and wishes for a great day.

[Wils & Nance]

Originally Posted by El Capitan

As no one has yet replied, I can recommend the Gibraltar route as we did it last year. I read up about a Spanish wedding and although not impossible there were certain residency rules which we might have had difficulty with. Gibraltar is well set up for non-resident weddings and easy for UK guests to fly direct into Gib for the event. Beware giving all over to a wedding organiser in my opinion as it was much more enjoyable to plan our own day ourselves with the various providers, most importantly including the registry office on Gib. Whatever you decide, best of luck and wishes for a great day.

Hi, I'm with you on the getting hitched in Gib....we done it almost 11yrs ago, and it was great !
We had the big bash planned, booked, everything organised here in Scotland....and i just lost it....couldn't cope with it all !
So off we went to Gib on the 12th of september with 2 friends, a couple of hours running around to get the paperwork sorted......the 16th we got married, back to the hotel, cossies on, down to the pool, some food and lots of Jack Daniels.............great, couldn't have been better !
Much nicer than dealing with squabbling relatives and greetin weans, rain, etc !
I did lose about £1k in deposits.............but the whole Gib thing cost me about £700, would recommend it to anyone !!!
Nance

[El Capitan]

Glad your went well Nance, we had the issue that if we came back to the UK, my wife's kids are all in Scotland and mine are all in England. So Gib was an easy option and whoever wanted to come flew out. We planned our special wedding reception out in the bay, chartering a boat and then tucking into cava and a picnic with the dolphins after a ceremony in the botanic gardens. Great fun was had by all.

[Wils & Nance]

Hi again,
Your wedding sounds quite swoosh, El captain !
We just kept it really simple, and enjoyed it too ! And really stress free.
It was my second wedding day, Wils first and niether of us regret not having all the pomp & ceremony !
Initially we thought of a biker wedding because we're both bikers and have a minister friend who also is a biker.................but mother-in-law put the pressure on for a big do, so we agreed, but the pressure she put on me was unbelievable. She is staunch orange(we're not !!!) I chose bottle green satin, she went off her head..........she wanted the reception in the orange halls....I went off my head, so in the end she didn't even get to be there !
So at the end of the day..............you have to do it your own way...to hell with the rest !
My son lives in Spain and his fiancee wants to be married in a cathedral, which is fine, but my son wants to wear the family tartan, she says he can't.......because it breaks Spanish tradition.........so it might be a few years before they agree, lol ! Watch this space !

Steve there is a Brit couple on here who got married in Spain(two-in-spain), maybe they will pop on and tell you how it is done, Good Luck.
Nance

[jakaka]

We gave up the idea of getting married in Spain to much red tape for our liking so we opted for Gib as well, it was so easy to arrange you don't even have to go with the paper work until the day before the wedding the booking of it all can be done over the phone. Try a google search "getting married in Gib).

[chris(madrid)]

Gib (and the UK) have the option of FAST weddings. I was married in the UK as at the time I lived in Germany, my (now) wife in Spain and it was the only way without BOTH being resident more than 3 months in one place or the other.

I was told the UK has this as a remnant of the days of the Imperial Merchant Marine. The difference is it cost (in my day) about 4 times as much.

[El Capitan]

Originally Posted by Wils & Nance

.....because we're both bikers and ......
Nance

Same here Nance, just last August we cruised from Sevilla to central Scotland and back. 2 up with luggage all the way, 4400 kms and never over 135. A great ride. Bike is also great for getting round the queue of cars waiting at the Gib border.

[Wils & Nance]

Originally Posted by El Capitan

Same here Nance, just last August we cruised from Sevilla to central Scotland and back. 2 up with luggage all the way, 4400 kms and never over 135. A great ride. Bike is also great for getting round the queue of cars waiting at the Gib border.

El captain !
LOl....just you saying about the bike in GIb...the 4 of us hired scoots and had an absolute riot in Gib, scooting through the traffic and the soggy tunnels...great fun !
If your in the Highlands of Scotland in the near future...give us a shout, we can meet up for a wee cruise !
I've got to say your hardy doing that journey two up.....even on seperate bikes I would find that distance hard...from here to the Bulldog Bash in Stratford upon avon I found difficult. But maybe it's my age...lol !
Nance

[El Capitan]

Highlands Nance ?
We only went to Perth environs, how much further ?
On a Great British Triumph, (proud to say it and happy to write it) those miles were easy except for the rain near Glasgow. And unless you are well retired, you're a spring chicken compared to us. You did clock that 135 was not kph I trust.