Love, but No Marriage: the Romantic Destinations Where You Can’t Put a Ring On It

Love, but No Marriage is part of a guest series exploring wedding and honeymoon travel, by Mark Cronin, a travel and wedding writer who supplies knowledge of his experiences around the world.

Thinking of getting married in the country of your dreams? How about just a honeymoon?

Many people around the world dream of a destination wedding where they can be married abroad. With a small wedding party, the prices of certain locations can make this seem easy to achieve (or at least no more than the cost of a larger local wedding). Then you discover that the place you’re most keen on won’t allow you to actually be married. Here are a few of the romantic destinations that are happy to play host during your honeymoon – as long as your first wedding takes place somewhere else.

The Maldives

Visually attractive scenes from some of the most luxurious hotels on the planet – some at relatively affordable prices, have made the Maldives one of the honeymoon capitals of the world. With over 1000 islands making up the Maldivian country there are many resorts to choose from, each more beautiful than the last. Because of its precarious situation with rising sea levels the Maldives has grabbed the world’s attention in seeking ways to help keep the islands alive, but this is another matter.

The more immediate issue for anyone planning a wedding in the Maldives without sufficient research could result in frustration (not ideal for a wedding). Allow me to let you into a little bit of “Geek knowledge” to put the next part of this article into perspective. Thousands of people from over the world search on the internet for “Maldives weddings”, which returns millions of results, each one offering you the wedding of your dreams in the Maldives.

What’s disappointing is that not many of them will give you a key piece of information: simply put you can’t get married in the Maldives. For foreigners, there is no such thing as a Maldives wedding unless you or your partner is Maldivian. You can have a non-legal blessing, which is as the name implies not legally binding. This country is of strong Muslim faith, which is part of the restriction on marriages for those from outside the country.

Also in the list of can-dos are wedding vow renewals. This will grant you a certificate, also non-legally binding, but less imperative for couples who’ve already had their “til death do us part”s legally recognized in their home countries.

France

Another tricky one is France. Now this is not really as bad as the Maldives but can be quite frustrating. As with the Maldives, religious weddings are not legally recognized by the French government but you can have a blessing. Most French couples are first married at their local prefecture (a kind of district headquarters) in a civil ceremony, even if they later have a larger event. If you have your heart set on a Paris (or any other French) wedding, many people have a simple civil ceremony at home before coming for a religious blessing.

If you are adamant about having a religious wedding in France, there is in fact a way that you can still have your dream wedding. Be warned: it’s much more complicated than your average civil ceremony, and can be a lot more expensive. In order for your wedding to be recognised as legally binding, you need to have been a resident in France for at least 42 days. From the US, you can stay up to 90 days on a tourist visa, which doesn’t make this impossible, but good luck telling your boss that you’ll be taking 6 weeks off for romance in Paris. This makes France a very difficult place for anyone to have a wedding but it is an incredible place to have a honeymoon. Paris is the city of love and the location of the lusty. Even if you and your partner cannot have the wedding of your dreams you can spend a length of time admiring the view, the attractions and of course each other.

Mexico

If you want a hassle free wedding abroad, and your dream is to be wed in Mexico, can I recommend reconsidering your options? It isn’t that Mexico isn’t a lovely place to get married, but it is quite time consuming. Weddings in Mexico require that you both take a blood test to confirm that you are both healthy and living well. This is to make sure that potential future children will have better odds of being born healthy. Iran and the US states of Connecticut, Indiana, Mississippi and Montana have similar requirements, though these aren’t the usual destinations considered in a search for luxury wedding destinations.

These weddings can become lengthy and although the procedures are there for your own good it can be a bit of a downer on the wedding experience. The honeymoon experience however is one of the best in the world. Quite literally, you will be treated like royalty receiving lavish pampering at prices that won’t keep you in debt past your first anniversary. An experience at any of the 5-star resorts is bound to be on par with anything  the Caribbean islands would offer.

Honeymoons

As with everything to do with a wedding, and in particular your wedding, it is important to remember that the most enjoyable part of your magical experience comes after the “I do.” Not to say that the wedding itself isn’t a great moment in life, but the party doesn’t start till afterwards.

Everywhere in the world offers you the opportunity to enjoy a honeymoon. It is also possible for you to have a mini ceremony or a renewal of vows in any of these countries too; it will however just be for you and your partner’s benefit (surely there is nothing wrong with this though).

As with everything important in your life, make sure that you have everything you need to take with you on your wedding overseas. Birth certificates and passports are key for you to get married abroad, and double check with your travel agent or wedding specialist that you have any other items that may be required by the country of your destination. One last tip; some countries like Greece will marry you off, but you will need to get your birth certificate translated to make it all valid.