Obviously my wife and I live in France.
Our daughter is resident in Wales. She would like to marry in France. Can she? If so what is the procedure?
Thanks, Glyn
Thanks Heather, very useful.
Glyn
My spot here is chiffon and Organza city.....
We have more glitzy glam weddings here than decent haute
cuisine and those who wish to impress flood the country roads on
their way to get a little a decent dose of local lemonade as they
find their way to the Bussel chateau .....and another red hot wedding venue.
I love weddings congrats Glyn! My husband & I got married in France, with the reception in our garden. Now, I do think it's mainly up to the mayor, as with a lot of things. Officially, in inverted commas, I believe you must be a resident in France, plus 6 months but perhaps u can wing it. We also had to get blood tests done, I still think u have to. There is quite a lot of prepping to be done, as I'm sure u can imagine so it won't be just a question of flying in a few days before. Otherwise, it was really plain sailing, birth certs provided, I think that was all??? The funny thing is having to do the registry first. The groom musnt see the dress, it's all about the dress, isn't it? So, I wore a skirt suit to the registry & then went home, just next door, to change. The mayor even went through the 7 million articles in English for my husband's sake lol he hadn't done English since school! And let's not forget your livret de famille which has space for 19 children, I love that one! Lovely memories, thanks for asking the question. Anything else, fire away. Then there's the food oolala....
You're quite right Tim. I did start a discussion a while back but forgot to post the link this morning (not enough caffeine). Also, there was a bit of unnecessary debate about legal marriage versus "wedding", which can be ignored. Anyway, here is the link: http://www.survivefrance.com/forum/topics/getting-married-in-france-help-please
I think there was a big thread by Sheila.
The overall advice is: Go the the registry office in the UK and get the 'legal' bit done there. Then come to France and have the celebration they want, wherever they want without twelve levels of French Fonctionnnaire Hell.
Think getting a carte vitale but worse. Loads of translations, documents and Apostilles.
If she does insist on getting legally married in France, head off to Mr Bricolage on Monday to get bricks and mortar and start building wall to bang head against.
I'll look it up on the UK Embassy site. Thanks, Sheila.
Hi Glyn. I think it must be an essential requirement. She used to shout at me at first (based on the obvious logic that the louder she spoke, the easier I could comprehend), but that has toned down now, and when we met last week at the Maire's annual aperitif dinatoire (very posh our Maire - no, silly me, it's election year), she presented her cheek for a bisous.
Re the blood tests, I don't think they are a requirement any more. The hardest bit will be getting all the documents together at the right time - there is a certificate (I forget which) that you get from your embassy that cannot be issued any earlier than 3 months before the marriage. The Irish embassy in Paris has quite a good section on what is needed if marrying in France, so I'm sure the UK embassy would have the same. Good luck with it. We are aiming for 9th September, and said daughter is coming out mid-Frebruary to "reccie" the area!
Thanks Sheila. My wife did some research and came up with the same as you, other than various documents needed such as blood tests etc.
By the way, is it a requirement that the lady on the reception desks need to be formidable? Ours is a terrifying old dragon!
Hi Glyn. We are in the same position (daughter in Ireland) and from what I've managed to glean so far, it all depends on the Mairie. To get married legally here, you have to be resident here but some Mairies will turn a blind eye to that, particularly if a family member of bride or groom is resident. You must be married by the Maire first and then, if you want, go and have a church wedding or blessing - both functions do not need to be on the same day, but the legal marriage must be done first.
Here in our own village, I approached the formidable Mme. Durand (who "womans" the reception desk) and enquired about it. Firstly, she confirmed the Maire was free on the date and if we wanted to use the village hall, we should book it sooner rather than later. She did not ask for proof of residency of the daughter, so we were good to go, I thought. I found a lovely venue and thought I had done my bit, but now the daughter has said she has found a venue in the Ariege. So it looks like Registry Office in Dublin followed by wedding over here.
Are you able to pass on the information from this man/woman :)
Thanks
Glyn
Ah! Cannot help you there - but I know a man (or woman) who can!
I'm sure someone will guide you correctly - what a lovely occasion to look forward to!
Thanks Elaine. I'm not making it clear. Can she legally trot off to the equivalent of the registry office in France, get married and then have a blessing and reception, also in France? She wants the whole lot in France.
One can get married nearly anywhere they like. Depends where she wants it legal?
My brother had his wedding in France to a french girl, but they first married legally in Ireland. This was their choice, so again depends where your daughter and beau want it legal.
Registery office in Wales and ceremony and reception in France? Nice 
And congratulations by the way!