Hey Chris...
I have a web site for you to read up on, this gives some information on getting married in Spain and requirements that may be helpful. I had researched it myself already and my NEW husband and I decided it best to get married here in the States prior to our move over to Spain in January to ease the issues with getting a residence visa.
Hope it helps....

http://usmarriagelaws.com/search/travel ... ndex.shtml

Roxann h:

 

Hmm...looking at the posting dates, it's probably too late now but...

My wife and I have just done this - we got married in Salamanca at the end of May.

We ran into the same complications as you have concerning residency and nationality requirements; it seems the Spanish authorities have been making it tougher for non-Spaniards to get married there.

However, it depends on how you define "married". If you mean LEGALLY married, then the situation is tough. So tough in fact that we decided we couldn't do it. Instead, as UK citizens, we got legally married at a registry office in the UK (very easy).

Instead we had the religious ceremony in Spain. This was much easier but still required some work; lots of phone calls, Internet research etc. We had to prove that we had not married before, that we were already married (within the last 6 months) legally and get various forms signed by the bishop of the parish in the UK and in Spain, take a pre-Cana course, prove that one or both of us was catholic (taken Holy Communion), provide baptism forms...I think that was all.

Despite being technically married for some months by the time of the wedding, we decided to count the day of the religious ceremony as or wedding/marriage proper (our anniversary) and in fact told no-one of the legal ceremony (everyone who came to Spain assumed *that* ceremony was "everything").

It was a beautiful day and everyone was wowed by the catedral (one of the few churches in which we were allowed to marry as it happens) and even had an english speaking priest (who did most of the mass in english except for the celebracion de matrimonio, the anillos and arras which was in Spanish).

We also saved a hell of a lot of money on the invitations, flowers, cake, accommodation for guests, and the reception compared to the UK...

Hope it is (or was) a great day !

 

Weddings in Spain

Hello Chris,

There is much confusion about getting married in Spain for foreigners. Often, people hear that it is not possible or that the couple must have a registry office in the UK first. It is possible to have a legal wedding in Spain, however, it is dependent on each particular town hall.
If you or anybody following this thread is interested, it is possible to have a beautiful, legal wedding in Salobreña, Spain.
Feel free to contact me if you have further questions.

http://www.spanishweddingplanner.com