Our weddings plans have been thrown for a bit of a loop because B's mom has taken our differences in opinion for the guest list and type of reception rather negatively. This weekend she suggested that if we were so unsatisfied with all her efforts, that we should just plan everything ourselves. Seeing as how that would be a bit difficult since we don't live terribly close to their village, we've started looking at alternatives.
I went by the Service Mariages for Toulouse this afternoon and got information about getting married in Toulouse, and, surprise surprise, there are slightly different documents required. I thought it was supposed to be the same all over France, but we all know that you get a different response depending on where you are and with whom you're speaking.
My problem is that I was born in Germany, but am American. In B's parents' village, they said they just needed my German birth certificate, but in Toulouse the woman said that since I'm American, she might need the Report of Birth Abroad document from the State Department. The last time I requested my German birth certificate (for the Pacs) I think it came in 2 weeks. I just looked on the State Department website, and it says it usually takes 6-8 weeks, which means delaying the wedding because they need the certificate in order to register the file and publish the bans (followed by the obligitory wait period of course). And it's not free, $30. My German birth certificate is also written in 6 or 7 languages, which means I don't have to get in translated, another cost of course if they only accept my American Report of Birth document.
In the beginning I thought it would be easier to get married in France because getting married in the US would mean dealing with the Consulat in LA which is staffed by bitter and disgruntled fonctionnaires. If you want an American wedding transcribed for France and to receive a Livret de Famille you have to send pretty much the same paperwork as in France to the Consulat, minus the Certificat de Coutume and Celibat for Americans. I'm starting to wonder if that would be simpler.
I already have my train ticket and appointment with the consulate in Marseille though and I'd be unhappy if the effort and expense of getting the Coutume and Celibat documents were for nothing.
And people wonder why the French just live together and have kids instead of getting married.....
B and I ordered our rings this past weekend (and took a huge hit in the pocketbook!) and luckily decided to wait on giving the store the engravings. The clerk had suggested putting the wedding date in the inscription, but there's a good chance it will change between now and October.
As for our second ceremony in the States (so my American friends and family don't throw a fit that they weren't included), I'm sticking to my plan to have the ceremony in a little grassy area that overlooks the beach, and then to a have a catered picnic in a larger park 100 yards away.
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I hope you don't mind all the comments I leave on your blog, but I really enjoy reading it.
We opted to get married in France because it really was easier. I'm not positive about the LA consulate, but what I gather is it's roughly the same as Houston which requires publishing banns 30 days before the marriage just the same as well as providing all the documents your mairie in France required in order for the marriage to be recorded there (to issue the livret de famille). Living in France now, I'm glad that we opted to get married here as I'm always asked to provide the original marriage certificate if we were married outside of France.
We also got a written list of documents we would need from the mairie so they couldn't change their minds about the what documents they required later - although they forgot to mention the need for a translator. Maybe the Toulouse mairie can give you a list..?
Anyway, best of luck with everything. I hope it goes smoothly for you!
I had similar problems...my local Mairie in Paris would not accept my certificate of birth abroad (I was born in Italy). The Italian Consulate was of no help here (surprise!). Luckily I have an Italian friend who gladly wrote a letter to the town where I was born, requesting a plurilingue birth certificate, thus avoiding paying for a translation. Good Luck!
We decided to get married in Australia because it was way, way, way easier but I don't know what it's like in the US. Before we left we still had to publish the marriage notice in France with our mairie but that was no big deal really. All we needed for Australia was to fill in ONE page and to bring my birth certificate and a copy of Christophe's passport. It was bliss..easy as a vegas wedding. We had to contact the French consulate in Australia before we got married though, because they also publsih the intended notice of marriage outside the consulate and they prepare the livret de famille and the translation of the marriage certificate. they were really great about all of that stuff.
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