You have committed yourselves and surely you are impatient to start with the organization and preparation of your big day: search for a farm, dress, photographer, florist, decoration and a long etcetera…. But you don't have to forget the not so fun part and that is essential, the bureaucratic part.
Whether you want a civil wedding or a religious wedding, it is essential to have all the necessary documentation in order so that last minute unforeseen events do not arise and, to do so, we are going to help you.
What do you need to celebrate a civil wedding?
Nowadays, we can get married in the Court, in the Notary's Office and in the Town Hall of your place of residence.
To do this, first of all, we must meet all the legal capacity requirements established by law, that is, verify that there is no legal impediment to the celebration of the marriage.
This verification is carried out from the processing of the marriage file before the Civil Registry in the municipality of domiciliation or habitual residence of the couple, but if they are different, they can choose one of the two, according to their convenience. Likewise, the marriage file can also be processed before a Notary and its processing is more agile, however, it entails costs.
Necessary documentation
This is the documentation that you will need to provide for its processing:
- Original DNI, NIE or Passport and a photocopy of both. You must make sure that they are not expired or about to expire.
- Literal birth certificate . You can request it for free through the website of the Ministry of Justice or in person at the Civil Registry of the town where you were born. It is important to indicate that you need it to get married and it must be a maximum of 1 year old.
- Certificate of census registration to prove the place of usual residence. It can be requested at the town hall and must be no more than 3 months old.
- Instance of the Civil Registry. It can be downloaded online or provided to you in the Registry itself.
- Family Book in case of having children together, since the marriage will be registered there.
- Certificate of Faith of Life and Status to certify that you are indeed alive and the marital status of each one. It can be requested at the Civil Registry of your municipality with the ID or NIE.
- In case of being divorced, present Literal certificate of previous marriage of the previous marriage. The margin must include the registration of divorce or annulment.
- In case of widowhood, the Literal certificate of death of the other spouse must be presented, in which the death of the previous spouse is recorded.
- In the event that one of the bride and groom is a foreigner, a certificate issued by a consulate or embassy must be presented stating the birth registration and marital status. Depending on the country, the Certificate of Marriage Capacity will also be necessary. These documents must be legalized and translated into Spanish through a sworn translation.
In addition to gathering this documentation, you will need the presence of two witnesses of legal age during the processing of the marriage file, so that they can certify that you are getting married of your own free will, and on the day of the wedding to sign the marriage certificate.
Subsequently, you must request an appointment at the Civil Registry or at the notary office that you choose for your presentation, to appear on the indicated date together with the witnesses. This appearance will give rise to the beginning of the marriage file and its favorable resolution will allow the celebration of the marriage.
Regarding the time it takes to investigate the marriage file, it varies greatly depending on the size of the municipality and the workload of the Registry, it can range from one to two months.
Last but not least, we must highlight that the marriage file has an expiration of 1 year.
Do not forget that from Sestra Weddings & Events we can also help you with the bureaucratic part so that it is a much more bearable process.
