You'll find lots of info in the existing thread HERE

If you have further questions specifically regarding the GBP, please post in the above thread
Pippy

Hi , my daughter is planning to get married in mexico next year but have had wide ranging quotes for the legal requirements, has anyone got married there recently, who could advise
Thanks

I got married in Mexico in October 06. The list of paperwork required is given to you by the tour operator after booking (or you can take it with you if you have booked a wedding direct through a hotel). You need a passport with 6 months validation after return journey together with a colour copy of the details page of the passport. You also need an original (full) birth certificate for bride and groom. You can purchase copies online through many websites (approx £15 each) or you can have your original copied and certified by a solicitor (we paid £10.00 per document for this). If either bride or groom has been married before, you need a copy of the decree nisi/s which also have to be certified, or a copy can be purchased from the court that originally dealt with the divorce proceedings. We kept photocopies but used our original decree nisis to cut costs.

Having got these documents, you need then to get them translated into Spanish which needs to be done by an authorised translator. The tour operator can provide you with details of authorised persons. We dealt with RT Translations in Lancashire and they were excellent, really helpful. We sent the documents by Royal Mail Special Delivery and they were returned with the translations within a few days. I think the cost of this was £80.00 in total but it would cost less if no decree nisis needed to be translated.

We then had to take all the original documents and their translations to the Foreign & Commonwealth Office in London for inspection. This can be done by post but as we live near London we just turned up and waited to be seen (no appointment necessary but be prepared to wait a couple of hours!). I can't remember the exact cost but I think this was either £10.00 or £15.00 per document). The FCO website will have the current prices.

The paperwork seemed a little daunting at the start but it was quite simple in the end. The total cost involved was around £160.00. You need to have 12 weeks between booking the wedding and the actual ceremony but I would advise sorting out the paperwork as soon as possible. We were told before travelling not to use our original documents (hence having to get copies or certified photocopies) as the documents used are kept by the Mexican authorities.

We had a fantastic time and our wedding was perfect and well worth the hassle of getting the paperwork organised. Also ensure that having gone to the effort of getting the paperwork sorted that you take it on board the plane with your hand luggage and not put it in the hold as the wedding could not take place if the airline lost/delayed your hold baggage with the paperwork in

If I can help further, please ask!

Cazz

Our friends got married in Mexico in 2000 and i believe the rules are the same! They had to have blood tests to check to make sure they were not related!!!
We were there with them and we all had a wonderful time ....

Curlylocksm

Thanks for your replies, very helpful, can I ask Cazz which tour operator you used?
Thanks

Oh yes, the blood tests! We had ours done the morning after we arrived as they need 3 days to get the results back and we were getting married on our 4th day in resort. They were done at the hotel's doctors surgery (we stayed at the Iberostar Paraiso Maya) and it was quick and simple. We were told they were a) to make sure you weren't related and b) to make sure you had no sexually transmitted diseases or HIV.

We asked our wedding co-ordinator if anyone had ever failed a blood test and she told us a sad story of a couple who went to the hotel with a large group of friends and family a few years previously. It turned out the guy had an STD but had not told his future wife and because he thought the blood tests were just a money-making scheme and didn't believe they were actually checked by the authorities, he went along with it. They were unable to get married in Mexico and I imagine he had a lot of explaining to do
Jabron, we used Thomas Cook but to be honest apart from providing you with a list of required documents they did little else, but then we were charged the same by the tour operator as the hotel charged for the wedding package direct with them. As soon as our wedding was booked in resort, we contacted the wedding co-ordinator at the hotel (all the hotels have at least one) and she was able to email us pictures of the wedding locations, flowers, reception venues, menus etc. for us to choose which was all sorted before we arrived. I would definitely advise anyone considering a wedding to liaise directly with the hotel once the wedding has been booked through the tour operator. Our hotel was more than happy to do this as they preferred to deal directly with the wedding couple.

We went with airtours faraway brochure...

Curlylocksm