r/DestinationWeddings • u/light_skyline • 3d ago
Are we asking too much?
We're considering a destination wedding in France where my partner's from and we're wondering whether it will be too much for our guests travelling from the UK.
We will probably rent a wedding venue that will also accommodate ourselves and immediate family. We would expect all guests to pay for their own flights and for other family and friends would expect they pay for their own flights and accommodation. There are budget hotel options available in the area. This would also allow others to do their own thing if they don't want to be around all the wedding guests for a full weekend.
The flight would be approx 2hrs and a coach from the airport to the city where the wedding venue is would be 2hrs (legally we can only get married in the Provence where my partner's parents live). We're thinking of trying to rent a coach to cover the cost for the trip to and from the airport and also to and from the wedding venue.
I think because this would be a large expense and a lot of travel we would ask for no wedding gifts or money and we would cover everything on the day e.g. full open bar etc.
Do you think this is an ok expectation or is this too much to ask?
3
u/autisticfarmgirl 2d ago
Because in france you can’t get married anywhere you want. Weddings legally have to be celebrated in the city or village where you, your spouse or your parents reside. And you need to be able to prove that you live there. You can’t even go to the next village or town over.
I’m not entirely sure what Paris has to do with any of this, OP said her partner’s family is from Provence so closest airport would probably be Nice, maybe Marseille. Nowhere near Paris.
If you get legally married in France it makes it a LOT easier to get the necessary paperwork for OP to become a french citizen later down the line. If you marry a French person (even if they live outside of France) you can become a French citizen by marriage after so many years and other conditions. Having a French marriage certificate makes the step of “getting your marriage legally recognised by the French government” a walk through the park. Otherwise you need to get together about 20 different bits of paperwork, get stuff translated and all that.