In Mexico it is almost impossible to navigate the wedding process by yourself. I have never seen a phone book down here with yellow pages. The internet is everywhere but while it is trendy, the commercial saturation of the internet is years behind the U.S.. I was originally skeptical of the idea. I thought it was just another way of getting some money out of the tourists. In fact, it is not. You cannot just call the church, rent the hall, invite the guests, hire the caterer and show up with the bride in front of the priest. If you lived in Mexico all your life, you might be able to pull it off but if you are from the U.S., you would find the process nearly impossible. Therefore, I think you need the services of a wedding planner.

Wedding planners are worthwhile for U.S. citizens planning a wedding in Mexico. They can plan, coordinate and execute an elaborate beach ceremony with music, food and dancing for a large number of guests or an affair where the bride and groom simply want to be married and celebrate with their family at a private party. U.S. citizens can be legally married in Mexico and this service can be particularly valuable to them.

In Mexico Efectivo es Rey. A wedding planner is not exceptional. You will have to pay a 50% to 70% deposit. This is usually accomplished by making a deposit directly into their bank account. They will provide you with the routing and account numbers necessary. It is frightening for an American and there are no guarantees but this is the way business is done. The balance in cash is payable the day of the marriage, sometimes the day before.

All legal marriages in Mexico are civil. Religious ceremonies are optional but many people opt for these because it conforms to what Americans are accustomed to in the United States. You can combine a religious and civil ceremony in Mexico but only the “boda civil” is recognized. In addition, the marriage documents must be accompanied by an apostil if you want them to be recognized as legal in the United States. (One can presume that is true with other countries as well.)

Quintana Roo is like the Nevada of the U.S.. Not only is it outrageously beautiful but the law allows a divorced man to remarry immediately and not wait the usual 360 days which is customary in most other Mexican states. In most states in Mexico, you cannot remarry for a year until after the divorce is final. On the other hand, I believe this exception does not apply to women Quintana Roo.

All states in Mexico require a blood test for RPR (syphilis) and HIV and in some states a chest X-ray. The blood test must be performed no later than 10 days prior to the wedding and it must be performed in the state where the marriage takes place. In other words, a blood test in Nuevo Leon does not apply in Quintana Roo. This can take one to three days and is another reason a wedding planner is valuable. Just try to find a clinic by yourself.

If you are a foreigner and want to marry a Mexican citizen, you need to have authorization from the National Institute for Migration (Instituto Nacional de Migración). You can go to this office in any Mexican state and it is legal all over the country. This information (available when this article was published) is on the Internet at http://www.inm.gob.mx/index.php (your mileage may vary). The authorization is valid for only 30 days prior to the wedding.

The marriage ceremony can usually be done in either English or Spanish, it is binding either way. Four witnesses are required for the wedding documents. They can all be American and non-Spanish speaking but they must have valid passports and visas. Copies of your passports and visas will have to be faxed to the wedding planners or the Oficina del Registro Civil, if you still have some fantasy about doing it yourself, several days before the ceremony.

Buen viaje.