You see, strictly speaking either the bride or groom should be resident in the area (commune) where the marriage is to take place for a period of not less than 40 days immediately before the wedding. However, there are some exceptions; if a parent of either the bride or groom are residents, or the bride and groom are part-time residents then the interpretation of the residency requirement is up to the local mayor.
You might be wondering why the mayor, well this is because in France religious marriage ceremonies are not recognized under French law. So before a priest, rabbi or any other religious official can perform a marriage ceremony, there must have been a civil ceremony first, which is held in the local town hall (marie), in front of the mayor.
Once the civil ceremony is completed, the newly weds will receive a French marriage certificate (livret de famille), and then a religious ceremony can follow in any romantic location one desires. Traditionally in France both ceremonies take place on the same day, one right after the other.
So if you have a way of meeting the 40 days resident requirement you will also need to produce:
- A valid passport or a French residence permit (carte de sejour)
- Declaration of a French home address such as a phone or utility bill
- Certified copy of birth certificates (extrait d'acte de naissance)
- Affidavit of marital status (declaration en vue de marriage
- A certificate by a French solicitor stipulating if the marriage is to include a prenuptial legal contract (contrat de marriage)
- A medical certificate, issued within the prior three months (certificat de l'examen médical prénuptial)
- One or two witnesses per spouse (témoins)
Do remember though that any documents in English must be translated into French by an officially recognized French translator...oh what joy!
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