Church Weddings in France
From a procedural point of view there is little difference between marrying within a your religion at home and marrying in the same religion in France, except that there is likely to be some additional paperwork.
The most significant difference is that you must be already married in a civil ceremony, either in France or in a country whose marriage certificates are recognised in France (which covers the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the UK, Ireland and the other countries listedhere).
You will need to have proof of this in the form of a Marriage Certificate translated into French by an approved translator.
While primarily a Catholic country, France has representatives of most major world religions and it is possible to marry in most faiths. There is extensive information below to help you to make contact with a suitable wedding location:
More Information
For more about the paperwork or documentation required, see our information on Religious Weddings Overseas.
Religious Wedding Locations
Catholic and Protestant weddings in France must take place in a church, an outdoor ceremony or a ceremony in, for example, a Château, is not possible.
However many French Châteaux have small chapels in their grounds which can be used for weddings with the agreement of the local clergy.
A Catholic Wedding in France
For general details about the procedures and paperwork for organising a Catholic wedding in a foreign country,see here.
Catholicism is the dominant religion in France and, provided you have already been legally married in a civil ceremony, it is not too difficult to arrange a Catholic marriage in any region of the country.
English Speaking Catholic Churches
There do not seem to be many of these, in fact we can only find one!
St Joseph's
50, avenue Hoche
75008 Paris
Tel: +33 1 4227 2856
If you know of others please let us know.
Finding a Catholic Church in France
There are thousands of Catholic Churches in France, so even a selection would be impossible to list. There are links to the main Catholic Provinces in France, a good starting point when planning your a Catholic wedding in France.
Each site will have links to local Diocesan websites and often to parish websites. All sites are in French - to get a reasonably good translation (well, understandable anyway!) try pasting the page address into Google Translate.
However if you are communicating directly with any church in France you will need to do so in French.
| Province | Regions/Cities |
|---|---|
| Besançon | Besançon, Belfort-Montbéliard, Nancy, Saint-Claude, Saint Dié, Verdun |
| Bordeaux | Bordeaux, Agen, Périgueux, Aire et Dax, Bayonne |
| Cambrai | Arras, Lille |
| Clermont | Clermont, Le Puy, Saint-Flour, Moulins |
| Dijon | Dijon, Autun, Sens, Nevers |
| Lyons | Carcassonne, Nîmes, Mende |
| Marseilles | Marseille, Aix en Provence, Ajaccio, Digne, Fréjus-Toulon, Gap, Nice, Avignon |
| Montpellier | Montpellier, Mende, Perpignan Elne, Carcassonne, Nîmes |
| Paris | Paris, Créteil, Nanterre, Pontoise, Saint-Denis-en-France, Versailles |
| Poitiers | Poitiers, Angoulême, La Rochelle, Limoges, Tulle |
| Reims | Reims, Amiens, Beauvais, Châlons, Soissons, Langres, Troyes |
| Rennes | Rennes, Quimper, Saint-Brieuc, Vannes, Angers, Laval, Le Mans, Nantes, Luçon |
| Rouen | Rouen, Bayeaux, Coutances, Evreux, Le Harve, Seés |
| Toulouse | Toulouse, Montauban, Pamiers, Albi, Cahors, Rodez, Auch, Tarbes et Lourdes |
| Tours | Tours, Blois, Bourges, Chartres, Orléans |
A Protestant Wedding in France
There are Protestant churches of various denominations throughout France, and while most are French speaking only, the number of English speaking foreign nationals resident in France means there is also a good number of English speaking congregations.
Finding a Suitable Church
This is not an exhaustive list, naturally, but these churches are all English speaking and accessible via the internet and so provide at least a good starting point when planning your wedding in France.
Almost all of the websites linked to here are in English, these are English-speaking churches that cater primarily for the ex-pat community. Not all will marry overseas couples, but most are at least willing to assist in finding a suitable location.
| Location | Church Website | Affiliation/Denomination |
|---|---|---|
| Auverge (Clermont Ferraud) | Christ Church | Convocation of American Churches in Europe |
| Bordeaux | The Chaplaincy of Aquitaine | Anglican |
| Cannes | Holy Trinity Church | Anglican |
| Chantilly | St. Peter's Church | Anglican |
| Clermont- Ferrand | Christ Church | Episopalian |
| Cote d'Azur (Saint Paul de Vence) | International Baptist Church | Baptist |
| Lyon | Lyon Anglican Church | Anglican |
| Nice | International Baptist Church | Baptist |
| Holy Trinity Anglican Church | Anglican | |
| Paris | The American Church | Interdenominational (Protestant) |
| St. Michael's Church | Evangelical Anglican | |
| St. George's Anglican Church | Anglican | |
| The Scots Kirk | Church of Scotland (Reformed) | |
| The American Cathedral | Episcopalian | |
| Emmanuel International Baptist Church | Interdenominational Evangelical | |
| Pyrénées (Pau) | St. Andrew's Church | Anglican |
| Riviera (Sophia Antipolis) | Cornerstone Christian Fellowship | Evangelical |
| Strasbourg | Anglican Episcopal Church of St Alban | Anglican |
| Trinity International Church | Christian & Missionary Alliance | |
| Toulouse | Toulouse International Church | Christian & Missionary Alliance |
| Var (St. Raphaël) | Church of St. John the Evangelist | Anglican |
A Jewish Wedding in France
France is home to Europe's largest Jewish population, with about 600,000 Jewish people, and there are synagogues all over the country. Few however are contactable online and fewer still are in any language but French.
These addresses and links however may be useful in making initial contacts.
Kehilat Gesher
Only English speaking congregation in Paris.
7, rue Léon Cogniet
75017 Paris
Tel: +33 1 3921 9719
Consistoire Israelite de Paris (Synagogue)
17, rue Saint Georges
75009, PARIS
Tel: +33 1 4822 626
Great Synagogue
44, rue de la Victoire
75009, PARIS
Tel: +33 1 4526 9536
Adath, Shalom
22 bis, rue des Belles Feuilles
75116, PARIS
Tel: 01 45 53 84 09
(Jewish conservative congregation)
There is a pretty comprehensive directory of Synagogues in Francehere.
If you speak French there is an extensive list of links to Jewish related websites in Frenchhere.
Other Faiths
Most major religions have at least a small base in France and your best port of call if you cannot find a church of your faith here is to contact your church and enquire with them.
Religious Society of Friends (Quakers)
114 bis, rue de Vaugirard
75006, PARIS
Tel: +33 1 4548 7423
La Mosque (Moslem mosque)
place du Puits de l´Ermite
75005, PARIS
Tel: +33 1 4535 9733
Orthodox Church (Orthodox Priest)
26, rue de Sartrouville
95240, PARIS
Tel: +33 1 3978 7154