Want to get married in the Italian Alps
…or any other destination abroad? Don’t Forget to Have Your Documents Translated
This guest post is brought to you by FoxTranslate, document translation, marriage document translation, made simple.
Everyone wants to have a unique wedding. Yes, even the grooms, whether they admit it or not! What makes a wedding unique, though, is the story you get to tell later. It doesn’t matter if it was down to the courthouse or in outer space – if it’s unique to you, the tale will be epic.
One way to create a truly epic wedding story is to have a destination wedding! Whether you hold hands in the Ozarks or cut the cake at the base of Mount Kilimanjaro, a destination wedding gives your story a flavor of the exotic.
However, there are a few things to consider when taking off for foreign lands – even more so when those lands are outside your own borders. One of the most important to remember is you need to get a number of documents translated. If someone forgets, you may find yourself short a member of your wedding party, or worse!
What to Remember
First of all, you need the basics. This includes everything you and your beloved need to get hitched. If all else fails, you still get to go on your beautiful destination wedding. All these documents need translating into the native tongue of the country where you intend to say your vows; not to worry, at our last count, FoxTranslate dealt with 36 different languages.
- Birth certificate – Some countries require multiple copies, so check ahead of time. But you’ll need at least one copy for both people.
- Sworn affidavits – You must get a sworn statement that you are single and available to get married. Again, both you and your beloved must turn these in, and they need to be notarized. If divorced or widowed, you must attain a copy of your Divorce Act or Death Certificate, respectively. Keep in mind some countries require a certain amount of time to pass before you can get remarried, so check ahead of time!
- Adoption forms – If there are any children involved, you may be required to turn in adoption forms.
- Marriage License – You probably won’t have to worry about this going INTO the wedding, but after is another story. It will usually be in the foreign country’s language, so send it in for translation when you return.
Now that you’ve got the basics covered, let’s look at some other things to remember. Most of these are needed if you have guests attending your far-away fairy tale nuptials.
- Contact Information – Make sure you know the who, what, and wheres of the trip. This includes your hotel, the wedding site, transportation, any guides accompanying you, among other things. Make sure every guest has this information with phone numbers and emergency contacts. Also consider creating a phone list so everyone can contact everyone else in the event of an emergency.
- Parental Consent – Do you have small children going with you on your journey without their parents? Then you need notarized letters submitted and translated from their parents saying it’s ok they enter the country.
- Study Customs – Know well ahead of time what the local customs are. You may even want to study up or take classes on the native language, too. This can prevent embarrassing gaffes blindsiding your chances of having a successful wedding. If customs in the country are especially different, it’s a good idea to hand out small guides of useful information to your traveling guests.
Pulling off an exotic destination wedding can be a lot of work, but definitely worth it in the end. Just remember to check you have everything you need well before you get in line at the airport – especially all the important documents you need to get married! Happy traveling!
