Photo Credit: AngelM
Among the many wedding topics discussed on this blog, I covered the few things you should know if you want to have a church wedding in Tahiti, and the n° 1 requirement is that you can only have a church wedding in Tahiti if you have been legally married already. I rarely get asked for church weddings, since as a Life-Cycle Wedding Celebrant I specialize in secular ceremonies, but now, you know.
When I surveyed all my subscribers to know what topics they were interested in reading about (feel free to submit a topic for the blog by clicking the link now), this was the number one question:
What Does A Tahiti Legal Wedding Cost?
Actually, I got over two dozen different questions about having a Tahiti legal wedding, so I have been doing a series of posts in which I tried to cover everything I was asked about.
Want a shortcut to the best article that sums up everything I shared about legally marrying in Tahiti? Here it is: Legal Wedding In Tahiti: The Definitive Guide To Marrying In The Islands.
First things first, one couple must determine whether or not getting legally married in Tahiti fits in their budget.
Sounds intriguing, right? So now I got you to wonder:
Is It Expensive to Get Legally Married in Tahiti?
Yes and no.
NO, because there are no costs or fees charged in Tahiti for having a legal wedding there. You won’t have to pay for a marriage license and you won’t have to pay for the wedding certificates that will be delivered to you : it is free of charge.
Most City Halls will even give you the “Livret de Famille” (family book that you receive from the Mayor after you’ve been pronounced married, see above photo) for free, while a few (very few) will charge something like Xpf 1,500-2,000 for it (as of March 2018 : 15-20US$).
Even the Apostille stamp that some countries require on the marriage certificates to be valid back home is delivered for free in Tahiti (as long as your dedicated-beloved Wedding Planner me goes to the court in Tahiti to get it for you so you don’t have to pay for a courier service). It’s all FREE!
However, YES it is somewhat expensive to get legally married in Tahiti, as there are costs involved at home for ordering certificates + getting them stamped for international use + getting them translated into French, and also for shipping the documents to French Polynesia.
Those costs vary from one country to another (and from one state to another) but here are some rough estimates I received from my real-life couples who legally married in Tahiti, and how much it has cost them :
** last updated: March 19, 2018 **
Tahiti Legal Wedding Cost:
United-States:
– Ordering certificates 120-150$
– Getting certificates stamped with an Apostille 100-200$
– Translation 36-50$/page
– Shipping documents 150-165$
– Total between 600 and 900US$ (depending on the number of pages to be translated i.e. if you had a divorce you’ll need to get the divorce certificate/decree translated, if you have a pre-nuptial agreement notarized, you’ll need this translated, too)
Tahiti Legal Wedding Cost:
Australia:
– Ordering certificates 400$
– Getting certificates stamped with an Apostille 162$
– Translation 25-35$/page
– Shipping documents 55-100$
– Total between 800 and 950AU$ (see above)
Tahiti Legal Wedding Cost:
Hong-Kong:
– Ordering certificates 1800$
– Getting certificates stamped with an Apostille 2000$
– Translation 750$/page
– Shipping documents 600$
– Total between 7400 and 10400HK$ (see above)
Tahiti Legal Wedding Cost:
European Countries:
They are the least expensive as ordering certificates in most EU countries is free of charge, and getting an Apostille is very cheap, so overall the total cost was ranging around 200 Euros, with the largest part being the shipping costs to Tahiti.
So that is definitely something you want to take into account when planning your wedding in Tahiti.
Does That Work With Your Budget?
In another post I explain what are the legal requirements for a civil wedding in Tahiti, and how long one must be on Tahiti to get legally married there (hint: just get off the plane!).
All Other Posts In The Tahiti Legal Wedding 101 Series:
- What official documents do I need to organize
- How to finalize the paperwork
- After the wedding wrap up
I am experienced with assisting my couples from around the world in this process and will guide you step-by-step, to make it as easy as possible on your end. I will also be there on the day to act as the translator during the ceremony (into English) and will be accompanied by another staff to act as your witnesses when you don’t have any guests or family traveling with you.
