What are the Requirements for a Church Wedding?
For many people the church wedding, with its religious and symbolic meaning, is the one they consider to be their 'real' wedding.
Is a Church Ceremony Legally Recognised?
Some, but by no means all, countries allow marriages which take place in churches to be legally registered.
In many however the religious wedding has no legal status at all, though it will of course be recognised by the church involved regardless of where it took place.
Civil Requirement May Still Apply
If you are marrying in a church in a country where such a wedding is legally recognised, you will have to meet at least some, and possibly all, of the civil requirements for a legal marriage in that country as well as any Church requirements.
There are some countries where the residency requirement is different when the marriage takes place in a church. Any such differences are highlighted in our Destination Guides.
If a Church Ceremony is not Legally Recognised
In almost all countries where church weddings are without legal status it is a requirement that couples be already legally married before the church ceremony can take place and to provide documentary proof of this.
In such cases couples can opt to have either a civil registry office wedding in their home country before they leave or a civil ceremony in the destination country prior to the church ceremony.
What Religions can Marry Abroad?
This is entirely dependent on the laws in the country where the wedding takes place. If that country legally recognises and will register the ceremony, then the marriage is legal. Otherwise it is not.
If you are having a separate civil ceremony anyway, then marriages in any religion or denomination are possible, though not all countries have a wide choice of locations for all religious groups.
Probably the easiest to organise are Roman Catholic, Anglican, Presbyterian, Quaker andJewish weddings. Those links have more details and here is also more detailed information in the destination specific pages.
Finding a Church
It may be that you already have a particular church in mind, but quite often your first task will be to locate a suitable one. The clergy in your local church will be able to help with this and are a good starting point. Our destination guides all include information about contacting churches.
Not all clergy will agree to marry foreign nationals, and it is always their prerogative to chose not to so do. Before making any plans it is vital to have the agreement of the clergy to marry you.
Another issue is that not all clergy are accustomed to dealing with the paperwork involved in ensuring that a marriage between foreign nationals is legally registered. Do not assume this will be done automatically, it is your responsibility to ensure that all civil requirements are met and to satisfy yourself that the celebrant of your wedding is au fait with his part in the process.