A Sample Paper on Overseas Wedding Planning

Question - Discuss the legal requirements and other related things for overseas wedding? Table of Contents INTRODUCTION.. PLANNING REQUIREMENTS. LEGAL REQUIREMENT FOR OVERSEAS WEDDING.. PROCESS FOR COORDINATING WEDDING DAY.. POTENTIAL PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED.. CONCLUSION.. REFERENCES. Introduction In the modern world, everyone wants his marriage to be a day to remember throughout his life. In quest for this, people have started to explore many different options. One of the most interesting option people tends to opt for is marrying abroad as different country provides altogether a new experience to begin your new journey. Even though this might. Seems exciting, but it possesses many challenges. To handle these challenges proper planning is required either by the bride and groom or they can hire a wedding planner/ coordinator to manage the things. Planning Requirements There are multiple planning requirements for organizing an overseas wedding. Overseas wedding depends on the type and country of marriage being organized. To coordinate a successful overseas marriage the person coordinating the whole event needs to meet the bride and groom and make them comfortable about the whole change they are going to undergo in their life and in addition should also make them relaxed about their decision for an overseas wedding. The next thing is to finalize the country and plan the wedding date keeping in mind all the legal procedures that have to be done before travel of both the bride and groom. Once the country has been finalized, you need to consult the foreign embassy to and check the legal and nationality requirement to get married in the country of your selection (Matlins, S., 2000). The coordinator needs to check the time required to complete the entire process. The next thing which comes is the budget of the overseas wedding. The coordinator should dis cuss with the couple in detail the total budget and the number of guests coming to attend the marriage. Selecting the day in the year plays a significant role as different countries have different climatic conditions. The coordinator has to check in advance that whether the overseas wedding is feasible in that particular day and country. The couple should also be clear on the type of marriage like civil wedding, Religious Wedding, Church of England Wedding and Catholic Wedding. As there are different legal aspects of all kinds of marriages. There are also different set of Laws which a coordinator has to check and make sure that it is possible to arrange for the overseas wedding keeping in mind the laws of that country. Legal Requirement for Overseas Wedding After getting the details from the embassy, the coordinator has to arrange for two sets of documents. One is regarding the overseas marriage and another set is for the travel to the overseas country. The document depends upon the country where you are planning for overseas marriage. But some of the basic document remains same like date of birth certificate, valid passport, marital status- proof, consent of parents if you are under the age of 18 years or 21 years in a few countries, official declaration, in case of divorce decree certificate, death certificate of previous spouse in case of a widow, Adoption certification in case if it is required. The next set of document is both for the couple getting married and also for the guests coming to attend the overseas marriage. The coordinator has to check with the embassy regarding the visa requirements and send the details to the invitees, along with the invitation (Beverley, J., 2009). A few of the countries require pre stamped visas so ample time should be provided to the guests between the day the invitation was sent and wedding date. The next legal aspect depends on the selection of types of marriage like Catholic wedding can take place between two catholic people or there is separate permission needed to do it outside (Stein, M. and Graham, W., 1988). The coordinator should arrive well in advance to handle any last minute changes and in some cases it might also be required to meet local register well in advance along with the above specified document. In some countries like U.K. if you want to register your marriage in that country then you have to deposit your marriage cert ificate to the general registrar office (Statham, A., 2004). The coordinator has to make sure that the local registrar office is working during that time as the holiday schedule would also be different for each country. Process for Coordinating Wedding Day Process for the coordinating wedding day majorly depend upon the type of wedding being conducted and the laws of that country. The coordinator has to make sure that there is a proper arrangement for guests to be transported to the wedding destination. Once the guest have arrived the coordinator has to provide proper instruction about the seating arrangement required based on the type of marriage like for church of England marriage it is required that the family of the bride sits to the left hand side of church and bridegroom to the church right side along with their friends.There should be books that are to be provided to the guests which include whole program and different prayers required as the coordinator has to keep in mind that even the guest might be new to this experience. Proper process details should be provided to important people such Ring Holder, Flower girls as they might not be aware about what needs to be done. The coordinator should have a proper checklist which would have all the details of activities required for the wedding day. The coordinator should make sure that the things are done according to the checklist. Potential Problems Encountered Even though the overseas wedding is planned. But there are still chances of haphazard things which might happen. Below are few problems that may be encountered in overseas wedding. Legal Documents: The legal document might change in overseas wedding. As things are to be done in short notice so there can be some mistakes like misspelling of names of bride or groom in visa documents. If something of this sort happen the whole wedding can be cancelled. So while filling the important document for the visas should be given due attention. Luggage Misplace: As the bride and groom attire also play an important role in overseas wedding. They generally carry their attire and jewelry in their luggage. It can happen that their luggage goes missing. Budget: The changes made in the last movement give great impact on the budget. As if the names of the bride or groom got misspelt in visa documents, then correction work would give an additional cost to the wedded couple. Language: The coordinator should arrange for a translator. As in different countries there are different languages and legal work is done according to that country. So for getting married there would be need of a translator who would play a role of an intermediate between the registrar and the wedded couple. Visa document for the guest: Visas for the parents and the important friend may not be approved by the embassy, which would result in them not being able to attend the marriage (Matlins, S.,2000). Food: It may happen that the guests would not get the food of their choice. As different countries have different cuisine. So the coordinator has to pay extra attention towards the arrangement of food. Conclusion It might sound bit difficult an event to coordinate keeping in mind the aspects such as legal requirements and being within the law of the overseas country. It does require lots of coordination, but if proper planning and effort is made well in advance, then this could be memorable event not only for the bride and groom but also for the guests attending their wedding. While selecting the country for their wedding the bride and groom should also make sure that they are aware about the law of that country and the legal aspects which would come into the picture. References Beverley, J. (2009).The secret wedding. Waterville, Me.: Thorndike Press. Matlins, S. (2000).The perfect stranger's guide to wedding ceremonies. Woodstock, Vt.: SkyLight Paths Pub. Statham, A. (2004).Getting married abroad. London: Foulsham. Stein, M. and Graham, W. (1988).The Catholic wedding book. New York: Paulist Press Thomas, S. (1990).Your wedding in the Church of England. Mayhew Wedding bells. 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