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Destination Weddings Discussions
josgirl
member
Legal Marriage in Bali
Hi !
Question, I finally found my dream wedding destination in Ubud, Bali. The only thing is they seem to have complicated and highly religious marriage laws (you must declare the same religion, religion must be recognized in Indonesia, my fiance's religion is not recognized)
The resort coordinator said many Australian couples have a symbolic ceremony in Bali and file the legal paperwork when they get back home... Does this sound insane? Does anyone else have to do this or know anyone who has?
We may or may not have guest (at most our 2 best friends and our parents, more likely they wont come) They would understand completely, but at one point I read on here that it is unfair to say you wed on XXX day when you are legally married on a different day,.
SOS
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Re: Legal Marriage in Bali
If you were to have a "symbolic ceremony" in Bali, and "file the paperwork" afterward, what you refer to as filing the paper work, would ACTUALLY be your wedding. A wedding happens when two people get married. Marriage is a binary state. You either are or aren't. And trivializing the legal aspect of it is insulting to people that aren't afforded that right. It sucks that you're being denied the right to marry where you wish due to someone else's religious beliefs, but ya know, there are people dealing with that exact situation every day, only they're being denied that right in their own back yard, not in some exotic location far from home.
this is the exact reason that we chose to marry in Australia versus the Maldives. However, I could have still done the Maldives thing because I didn't have any guests. It would have only inconvenienced me and my H. It was just super important to me that our ceremony be our legally binding ceremony.
If you are dead set on Bali, and your VIP guests are willing to spend the money to travel there (to me, that is A LOT to ask of people), then ABSOLUTELY, 1000% tell them your intentions up front. Just come out and say, "Hey, we decided that we really like Bali, but we'd have to legally marry in the US after our ceremony. We realize it's not our official wedding that you'll be witnessing, but we'd still like for you to join us." Gauge their reactions. At that point, you'll be honest with everyone attending, you'll be legally married AFTER Bali, so it's not a true re-enactment, and the people who know can make a well informed decision if they really want to attend. Be prepared that some people may not want to spend $5K+ to fly to Bali and not see the actual wedding.
How about holding your wedding in the USA, and then having a privatte vow renewal in Bali on your honeymoon? Your guests will thank you.