Getting married in Mexico makes sense in many ways. Mexicans love marriage, fiestas, romance, love, so you'll find a lot of cooperation, along with the usual bureacratic frustrations. The ceremony is legal and recognized in the U.S. and Canada - the civil ceremony, that is, not the church ceremony, so you may need to get married twice, if you also want a church wedding.
The routine and requirements may vary from state to state in Mexico, just as they do in the United States. Approach it as an adventure (and marriage is certainly that), be prepared to stand in line and be re-directed to yet another office or told to come back later. This is all part of the adventure.
The idea of getting married in Mexico first struck me in the spring of 1996. I met Andrea and Matthew in San Miguel de Allende. They lived in Maine and came to Mexico to get married. I tagged along as they explored how to do this. They had no information prior to their arrival in San Miguel.
The couple started their in inquiry at the Oficinas del Gobierno del Estado, the state offices. Here they met Dr. Vega, a judge, who explained to them what was needed in order to get married. He spoke very little English. Andrea knew some Spanish, and so, by repeating everything carefully and slowly, she learned that they needed two copies of their birth certificates, their passports, and proof of residence in San Miguel de Allende (the rent receipt would do). They also needed to get blood tests at a laboratory a few doors away at a cost of $25 for the two.
At one point, no matter how Dr. Vega worded it, Andrea couldn't understand what he was saying. He couldn't think of the English word, so he opened his desk drawer and pulled ot a small electronic transcriber. "Ah," he said, "results, results de laboratoria." And, he added, holding up four fingers, "You need four witnesses."
"Four?" Andrea and Matt said in unison. I was quickly recruited.
As we left the office,Matthew turned to Dr. Vega. "how much will this cost?" The cost was 700 pesos ($100 USD at that time), plus tip.
This meeting was on Thursday. They were to return the following Monday with their documentation. At that appointment, all their papers were examined by Dr. Vega and deemed to be in order
| Here's the follow-up discussion on this article: | View all related messages |
For a complete listing of article comments, questions, and other discussions related to Geri Anderson's Mexico topic, please visit the Discussions page.