Getting married in Spain can be a very complicated and stressful process. Spanish law allows marriage between different-sex couples and same-sex couples and both members of the couple must be over 18 years old.
The majority of consulates and embassies recommend starting the process 3 months prior to your Spanish wedding but we strongly advise starting the process at least 6 months in advance to ensure there are no tears on the big day. Below we explain what is needed for a civil or religious wedding in Spain:
Civil Wedding
For a civil Spanish wedding, at least one of the couple must be registered as “empadronado” with the town hall where the marriage will take place. To make the application, the following paperwork is needed :
- Completed application form (available from the local registry)
- Birth certificate
- Passport and photocopies
- Certificate of “empadronamiento”
- Consular registration certificate (available from your embassy or consulate)
- Consular certificate of no known impediment to the marriage (available from the civil registry in your home country)
- If either party has been previously married, you will need to provide evidence that the relationship has ended, i.e divorce certificate/death certificate.
The application to get married in Spain must be made in person by the couple along with two witnesses, both of whom must bring their passports and a photocopy.
All official documents must officially translated and legalized. UK citizens can find how to do this here and Irish citizens here.
Religious wedding
Roman Catholic, Protestant, Muslim, and Jewish marriages are recognized in Spain, although only the Roman Catholic church has the ability to register a marriage.
For a Spanish wedding in a church, along with the documents listed above, you will also need to provide Baptism and Confirmation certificates of one half of the married couple.
Church weddings involving a foreigner requires permission from the diocese Bishop and can be arranged through your local church as the request is passed through the church hierarchy.