Legal Requirements

As with nearly all weddings abroad, in order to legally marry, there is normally a residency requirement that states that at least one of you should be resident for 40 days prior to the wedding.  This can be waived for people who have, or whose family have, holiday homes in France (this is at the discretion of the local Mayor). 

If this does not apply to you and it is not possible to reside in France for forty days, the perfect way to achieve your French wedding is, as most people do, simply sign the legal papers of the marriage in your home country and then take them to France to have your wedding ceremony and full the celebration of the marriage in the chosen location.  The ceremony and proceedings of the wedding are the same or can be altered as you like.  It is normally just the bride, groom and performer of the ceremony that are aware whether or not it has full legal effect.  The romance of the occasion is no less compelling.  To do it this way is actually an easier process than having the full legality of the marriage performed in France because there is a lot of onerous paperwork, rules and requirements involved in French weddings.

If you are able to fulfill the residency requirement and wish the legality of the marriage to take place in France, the following requirements are also to be fulfilled:

The legal requirements to get married in France:
Legal age for marriage is 18 years for both men and women.
Bride and Groom may not be related.

• The civil ceremony will take place in the town of residence.
  
  

Publications of banns:

• French law requires the posting of marriage banns at the appropriate town hall no less than ten days before the marriage.
• The first publication of the banns can be made only after thirty days of residence in France.

Certain documents must be received and approved by the mairie before Banns may be posted. A mairie may require a complete marriage file 10 or more days prior to the publication of Banns. Confirm these requirements.

Religious ceremonies:

•  All marriages in France must be performed by a French civil authority (an officier de l'état civil) before any religious ceremony takes place.
• A religious ceremony may be performed after the civil ceremony. The minister, priest or rabbi performing the religious ceremony will require the certificate of civil marriage (certificat de célébration civile) as proof that the civil ceremony has taken place.

Documents Required to get married:

Most town halls (mairies) in France require some or all of the following documents:

• A valid passport (they need to keep a copy of.  A current EU passport normally already contains the necessary French translations, for other nationalities, you may need an official translation of this document);
• A birth certificate (extrait d’acte de naissance) less than 3-months-old, officially translated.
• An official declaration of marital status (Certificat de Célibat ou de non-remariage) less than 3-months old.  If either of the couple has been divorced or widowed they should supply proof in the form of an Acte de mariage (certified copy of the final divorce decree) or an Acte de décès (in the case of widowhood)
• A medical certificate (certificat d’examen médical prénuptial) less than 2 months-old:

Each party to marriage must obtain a pre-nuptial medical certificate following blood tests for each individual.

• Proof of domicile (justificatifs de domicile): You will need to present 2 proofs of domicile in the town of marriage (i.e.: electricity or telephone bills, rent etc.)

All documents in English will need to be officially translated (by sworn translator) into French, and your ceremony will be performed in French, so you will need a translator at the ceremony.

Witnesses

The marrying couple select their witnesses in advance. Witnesses may be of any nationality however they must:

• be present on the day
• provide proof of identification (for foreign witnesses, an officially translated passport may also be required.  Therefore, if you have willing witnesses of French nationality, it is a lot easier). 
• have a sufficient grasp of French such that they are able to understand the French-language proceedings without the aid of a translator. If the officials feel a witnesses French is inadequate, this witness will not be allowed to perform the duty and the mayor may refuse to perform the marriage.