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Mexico has some excellent places to get married alongside some picture perfect scenarios. From golden beaches with turquoise waters, to old colonial cities with their charm, old buildings, cobbled streets domes and archways.

Mexico is becoming increasingly popular as a destination for American and Canadians to get married, and given the opportunity to get married surrounded by stunning scenery, it’s not hard to see why!

Why Mexico?

Breathtaking Wedding Destinations: Mexico offers a wide range of stunning wedding destinations, from pristine beaches to historic colonial cities and lush tropical landscapes. Couples can choose from iconic locations like Cancun, Riviera Maya, Puerto Vallarta, or Tulum to create a memorable wedding experience.
Beautiful Weather: With its warm and sunny climate, Mexico provides ideal weather for outdoor weddings. Couples can enjoy year-round sunshine, allowing them to plan an unforgettable ceremony and reception under clear skies and pleasant temperatures.
Rich Cultural Heritage: Mexico boasts a vibrant cultural heritage with a mix of indigenous, Spanish, and contemporary influences. Getting married in Mexico allows couples to immerse themselves and their guests in the country’s traditions, music, art, and culinary delights, adding a unique and enriching experience to their wedding celebrations.
All-Inclusive Resorts: Mexico is renowned for its luxurious all-inclusive resorts that offer exceptional wedding packages. These resorts provide a convenient and stress-free experience, offering everything from wedding planning services to accommodations, catering, and entertainment. Couples can relax and enjoy their special day while the resort takes care of the details.
Affordable Wedding Options: Mexico offers a range of wedding options that cater to various budgets. Couples can find affordable packages without compromising on quality or beauty. The country’s favorable exchange rate and competitive pricing make it an attractive destination for couples looking for value without sacrificing their dream wedding experience.
Stunning Natural Beauty: From turquoise Caribbean waters to lush jungles and majestic mountains, Mexico is blessed with diverse and breathtaking natural beauty. The country provides a picturesque backdrop for wedding ceremonies, ensuring stunning photos and unforgettable memories.
Destination Wedding Experience: Getting married in Mexico offers the opportunity for a destination wedding experience. Couples can turn their special day into a memorable vacation for themselves and their guests, creating lifelong memories together in a beautiful setting.
Variety of Wedding Styles: Whether couples envision a beach wedding, a rustic hacienda celebration, a Mayan-inspired ceremony, or a modern chic affair, Mexico offers a wide range of wedding styles to suit different preferences. The country’s versatility allows couples to tailor their wedding to reflect their unique love story.
World-Class Hospitality: Mexican hospitality is renowned for its warmth and friendliness. From resort staff to wedding planners and vendors, couples can expect excellent service and attention to detail throughout their wedding journey. The local culture’s emphasis on hospitality ensures that couples and their guests feel welcomed and well-cared for.
Honeymoon Paradise: Mexico is not just a fantastic wedding destination but also an ideal honeymoon paradise. Couples can seamlessly transition from their wedding celebrations to a romantic honeymoon filled with relaxation, adventure, and exploration. The country offers a range of honeymoon experiences, from luxurious resorts to secluded beaches, vibrant cities, and ancient archaeological sites.

Wedding Planning Checklist

Determine your budget: Discuss and establish a budget for your honeymoon to help guide your planning decisions.
Choose a destination: Decide on a destination or multiple destinations for your honeymoon. Consider factors such as your interests, weather, activities, and travel time.
Decide on travel dates: Select specific travel dates or a time frame for your honeymoon. Check for any seasonal factors or events that may affect your chosen destination.
Research and book accommodations: Look for romantic and comfortable accommodations that suit your budget and preferences. Consider factors like location, amenities, and reviews. Book your accommodations in advance to secure the best options.
Research transportation options: Explore flight options, train schedules, or any other means of transportation to reach your destination. Compare prices and book your tickets accordingly.
Check passport and visa requirements: Ensure that both of you have valid passports. Check if you need visas or any additional travel documents for your chosen destination and arrange for them ahead of time.
Purchase travel insurance: Consider purchasing travel insurance to protect yourself against any unforeseen circumstances or travel-related issues.
Plan activities and excursions: Research and make a list of activities, attractions, and excursions you’d like to experience during your honeymoon. Look for romantic activities, adventure sports, sightseeing, or any other special interests.
Make dining reservations: If you have specific restaurants or dining experiences in mind, make reservations in advance to secure your preferred times and ensure a memorable culinary experience.
Pack appropriately: Create a packing list based on the climate and activities at your destination. Don’t forget to pack essentials such as travel documents, comfortable clothing, toiletries, medication, and any special items for your honeymoon.
Inform your bank and credit card company: Let your bank and credit card company know about your travel plans to avoid any issues with card usage while abroad.
Arrange for pet care or house-sitting: If you have pets or need someone to look after your house while you’re away, make necessary arrangements in advance.
Set up automatic bill payments: Arrange for automatic bill payments or ask someone to handle them while you’re on your honeymoon to avoid any missed payments.
Share your itinerary with family or friends: Provide a copy of your itinerary, including contact details and accommodation information, to a trusted family member or friend for emergencies or easy communication.

Legal requirements for a marriage in Mexico

Consent

People under the age of 18 may not get married in Mexico without parental consent. With parental consent, boys have to be at least 16 and girls need to be at least 14 years of age.

Foreigners getting married to foreigners

You don’t need to be resident in Mexico in order to get married here, you’ll just need a passport and your tourist permit, plus some other paperwork (see below). If you plan to get married to a Mexican in Mexico, you will need additional documentation – read the section just ahead…

Chest X-rays and blood tests

These must be done locally in Mexico, as the results of the blood tests and the X-ray documentation must be in Spanish and the tests need to be done within a certain time frame of the Marriage Application Form being completed. Not all Mexican States require the Chest X-rays: Check locally or ask your wedding planner.

Four Witnesses

You will need to have 4 witnesses present at the legal ceremony, and they must have valid identification: usually a valid Passport is used, but other forms of government-issued identification would be accepted.

Validity outside of Mexico

Your Marriage Certificate will be valid world-wide, BUT you should get your certificate ‘legalized’ in Mexico to ensure it is legally accepted when you get back home. The process is the reverse of getting your native documentation apostilled for Mexico by the necessary authorities (e.g. State Department) for marriage in Mexico (see below); The registry office in Mexico will tell you where this can be done locally or if you hire a wedding planner, he/she will advise.

Two marriages: civil and religious

The civil marriage

Only a civil marriage is recognized as legal in Mexico. You don’t need to engage in a religious ceremony but if you omit the civil ceremony, the marriage will not be legal. Most Mexicans have two marriages: the civil (legal) marriage and the church (religious) one.

The religious marriage

If you would like to get married in a church in Mexico, this can be arranged, although additional planning and fees will be required. A good wedding planner will be able to make these arrangements on your behalf.

Previously married

Divorced

Each State in Mexico has slightly different laws in regard to when previously married couples may re-marry. Most places require that BOTH the bride and groom are to be are divorced (starting from the date of final divorce decree) at least one full calendar year before re-marrying.

For example, in Quintana Roo, the State where Cancun is located (one of the most popular venues), only women (not men) who have been previously married, may not re-marry there for 300 calendar days following the the date of the final decree of divorce unless during that time they have given birth or can prove “by medical dictate” that they are not pregnant.

You’ll need to check with the local authorities in the State where you plan to get re-married if you have not been divorced for at least a year. Alternatively, hire the services of a wedding planner who will check this for you as part of their service.

Widowed

If either party is widowed, the death certificate of the deceased spouse will be needed as part of the documentation requirements (see below)…

Documents required to get married in Mexico

The couple getting married will be required to present the following documentation and requisites.

Some requirements differ from State to State; check locally, but be prepared to gather together all of the documents listed below.

Important! Foreign documents listed below (with the exception of your passport and travel permit) will need to be:

Translated into Spanish;
Notarized by your nearest Mexican Consulate and;
Be ‘Apostilled’ in the country where you live by the appropriate organization / authorities (see next section about Apostilles)

Documents required:

Marriage Application Forms

These forms are attained from the local registry office in Mexico. You will need to specify whether you will get married under joint or separate property on this form.

Passport

Full Passport; we recommend that it’s valid for at least 6 months, and a copy of same (both the bride and groom).

Travel visa or resident permits

Original and copies of Your Visitor’s Permit (FMM) which was completed at the port of entry or, if you are resident in Mexico, your resident permit.

Birth certificates

These will need to be Apostilled and translated by an approved translator (see Apostille, below)

Divorce decree / Death certificate

If either spouse was previously married, or either partner is widowed, copies of the divorce decree or death certificate, if applicable, (see section above: Previously Married) will be required for presentation.

Chest X-rays

The Plates from the Chest X-rays, if required in the state where you get married. (Always get these in Mexico).

Blood test results

Written results of the blood test, written in Spanish (get blood test done in Mexico).

Legalization procedure – The ‘Apostille’

Before the Mexican authorities will receive foreign-issued legal documents for processing, it’s necessary to get these Apostilled.

See Article: Getting Your Documents Apostilled for Mexico

In the USA, this service is undertaken by the Office of Authentication at the State Department, although every State has its own requirements and you need to Apostille documents in the State that they were issued in.

Note for Canadians: Canada is not signatory to the international Apostille convention, and the procedures do not apply there. Canada has instead a notarization procedure for legal documents.

In the UK, the Foreign Office undertakes this task; connect to the Legalization page the on the Foreign Office’s web site for details about obtaining this service.

In Australia, the Authentication and Apostilles section of the Department of Foreign Affairs takes care of legalization of documents.

And then…

The marriage process

Once you have gathered this merry medley of paperwork and official documents together, you will need to pay your Marriage License fee (approx US$30*), allow the waiting period to go by (anything from 30 minutes to a few days, depending on the state in Mexico where you get married), and then the ceremony may take place and the marriage will be legal.

The least expensive option is to have the ceremony performed at the Local Registry Office. For a further fee, you can arrange for the ceremony to take place elsewhere (hotel, beach, colonial mansion, etc). You will need to make further arrangements with all parties involved, or instruct a local wedding planner to arrange this on your behalf.

Once the civil ceremony has been completed, you will need to obtain a certified copy of the marriage certificate (Acta de Matrimonio). This will prove that you have been legally wed in accordance with Mexican law, and the marriage will be recognized just about everywhere in the world where it can be, including the USA, Canada, United Kingdom / European Union, Australia, et al.

Important Note!

You should get your Mexican marriage certificate Apostilled in Mexico to ensure that it will be accepted as a genuine document back in your home country. This is the reverse process of having your home-country documents legalized by your home country; ask the local registry office or your wedding planner for details about how you can go about this.

*The price varies depending on the State and exact location where you get married. Marriage licenses in Mexico’s most popular resort locations generally cost more (sometimes considerably more) than those in lesser known resorts/places. Check with the local state authorities for details or ask your wedding planner.

Marrying a Mexican National (In Mexico)

So far, the above requirements have assumed that a foreigner is marrying a foreigner in Mexico. If you plan to marry a Mexican national in Mexico, you may need to apply for a permit to marry a Mexican national.

Most districts have done away with the requirement for a foreign marriage permit, but it might still be necessary in the district where you are planning to get married—check with the local Municipality where you plan to get married for the latest policy in force, or ask your local wedding planner.

In addition to all of the documentation listed above, depending on the State in which you plan to get married you may need to obtain permission from the local immigration office, where, for a fee of around US$200, you’ll need to acquire a permit to marry a Mexican national. The document is known as “Permiso para contraer matrimonio con un nacional”.

The office issuing this permit must be the same office that has jurisdiction over the area where the marriage is to take place; i.e. you cannot get the permit from one state, e.g. Mexico City, and then go to e.g. Acapulco (in the State of Guerrero) to get married.

This process can take from two days to two weeks, depending on the State and the people at the local government office: be prepared to be patient if you have to! Your wedding planner (see below), if you hire one, will be able to advise you about this in detail and take care of necessary paperwork on your behalf.