BY Clay Larroy
Traveling has great
educational value and increases of our knowledge. While travelling, a person
comes across people of different races, religions, regions, etc. and also visits different places. Each place has
a historical importance of its own. Traveling is also a source of great
pleasure. It gives us respite from our dull and dreary routine. It relieves us
of our worries. It enables us to meet
new people and know their customs, habits and traditions. We can also know the different
kinds of food eaten by people belonging to different regions. Whenyou want to plan a vacation contact me!
A Wedding in Scotland
By Mark’s Wife
Handling the details of an overseas wedding ceremony
is no small task to be sure, owing to the complexities of foreign laws,
residency requirements, civil versus religious services and, most importantly,
ensuring that the couple’s union will be recognized by their home country upon
their return.
Such conundrums were something my husband Mark and I
discovered firsthand when we decided to exchange our wedding vows in one of
Scotland’s most breathtaking fortresses - Stirling Castle. Not only was our
chosen date subject to multiple revisions - including an instance involving Her
Majesty the Queen - but yours truly nearly caused an international incident at
the altar by not being quite as submissive as a certain Scottish minister would
have preferred.
Despite the fact that my best friend is a Travel Agent
and handled the logistics of getting us to the Highlands with our wits still
intact, there were times I had every expectation we’d end up saying ‘I do’
in the gift shop or out on the parking lot. Though I wouldn’t trade our magical
experience for anything in the world, we came away from it with insights worth
divulging to similarly-minded romantics.
DIFFERENT COUNTRIES/DIFFERENT RULES
There’s much to be said for tying the knot on foreign
shores - the excitement, the glamour, the mystique! Not to mention that the
expense of providing food, champagne, and several hours worth of dancing for
300 people at a pricey hotel or country club has inspired many couples to seek
less costly arrangements. For the two of us - both previously married and in
our 40’s - the glitz and fanfare of a traditional wedding and reception was
less important than the opportunity to spend an extended amount of time
together at our honeymoon destination.
That such destination would be Scotland was never in
question. Not only did my betrothed have Scottish ancestry (the clan Keith) but
I’d fallen in love with the country four years earlier while researching a
novel I was writing called The Spellbox. Though our itinerary was
not without obstacle, Scotland holds a certain advantage over other countries
as a wedding venue.
Consider, for instance:
- France requires 42 days residency, a
medical exam for both partners conducted by a French doctor, and a
certificate of celibacy. In addition, France does not recognize religious
marriage ceremonies unless the couple has had a civil ceremony first at a
French city hall.
- In Spain, a notice of intent (similar to
banns) must be posted on the consular notice board for 21 days in advance
in case anyone cares to object. The ceremony itself must also be performed
in Spanish even if the entire wedding party doesn’t understand a word of
it.
- Kenya calls for three weeks residency
unless a special permit has been procured from the Registrar General in
Nairobi.
- For weddings in Thailand, an affidavit and
prior registration with one’s home embassy are required.
- Japanese law specifies that all weddings
must occur in a city office or local ward. A separate church or temple
service can take place later but only if the signed certificate is
presented.
Unless you’re pretty intrepid, or have friends or
relatives in your country of choice who can do the research and submit
applications on your behalf, it’s well worth the cost of retaining a solicitor
who practices where you want to marry, investing in a guidebook on foreign
weddings, or hiring a bridal consultant who specializes in this area. Travel
agents can often assist in gathering together some of the local addresses, telephone
numbers and contacts you will need.
Our agent found for us the the General Register Office
for Scotland to bring us up to speed on the necessary legal requirements. Most
countries have a travel/tourism/census authority online that provides
comprehensive information on current laws, regulations and restrictions related
to getting married, along with many other topics.
Although my husband is an accomplished attorney, he
nonetheless blanched at the prospect of navigating another country’s
bureaucratic waters, especially since we were both required to produce
notarized and certified documentation (the latter bearing embossed seals) that
deemed us legally eligible to re-wed. With everything else we had to stress
about as the date drew near, the last thing we wanted was to travel 6,000 miles
only to realize upon arrival we’d left some of the essential papers back home.
To that end, he used the Internet to locate and retain
a spunky Scottish solicitor named Fiona to manage the details. ‘Odd,’
she quipped on the first day with her rapid-fire Scottish brogue, ‘but tis
usually the back end o’ marriage we be handlin’ ‘n’ not the beginnin’.’
Vows that are going to be exchanged before a county
magistrate, she informed us, are generally easier to arrange than those
requiring a church blessing. While the Scots are happy to perform either one,
there are varying permits and fees required depending on whether the ceremony
will be held in a public setting or a private home. Likewise, some clergy
members can only be retained if the service is in a church (preferably their
own).
Again, the benefit of having someone onsite to make
inquiries saved us a lot in terms of time, postage and long-distance calls.
KEEP THOSE ERASERS HANDY!
One of the perks of having a small wedding party and
taking them with you is that it’s easy to keep them in the loop regarding
scheduling changes. That our travel agent was handling everyone’s tickets and
hotel reservations was another plus, especially since the date was changed on
us no less than 11 times in 6 weeks.
While Scotland has no residency requirements, the
downside is that if you’re getting married at a castle, you’re at the mercy of
whomever owns it. In our case, it was no less than the Scottish government.
Since our trip was planned during the winter off-season when the absence of tourists
and locals typically spells an economic slump, the powers-that-be recognized an
opportunity to not only tweak with our timeframe but inflate their prices as
well.
A month before our departure, for instance, we were
informed the Queen was planning a visit to inspect the Highland regiment and,
accordingly, Stirling Castle was not available for private functions.
‘Goodness,’ I remarked, ‘it’s not like we
couldn’t invite her.’
A different castle, of course, might be procured for a
‘slightly higher sum’ if we wanted to keep that specific slot.
We asked instead for the next available opening.
A week after penning the new date, we were told the
staff was conducting a tour for Japanese golfers that same afternoon, and we’d
been rescheduled, without our consent, for the following Sunday.
Four days later, yet another message arrived. Not only
had our Sunday nuptials been moved up to Saturday morning but could we please ‘get
on with it’ by 10 since they wanted to close at noon.
Understandably, our optimism was wearing thin. Even
the reps at Virgin Atlantic joked with my best friend that they’d started a
pool. For $1 a square, I might have joined it myself.
We resolved to stay positive and hired a driver who
would collect us at the hotel and take us to Stirling. We’d say our vows in the
same chapel where Mary was crowned Queen of Scots in the 16th century. After
taking lots of photographs, we’d hop back into the limo and go off to a bridal
lunch.
It seemed like such a simple plan.
REFERENCE
SITES:
http://www.travelresearchonline.com/
For most couples, the first event
they plan together is their wedding.
Lenny Platt
Travel to create marvelous memories for you and your
family or friends!
