For those among you considering a legal Tahitian wedding, that is, a wedding that will be recognized legally back home, know that in France, and as such in Tahiti, a ceremony must take place before the mayor at the City Hall to be deemed legal.
That means that you’d have a legal ceremony at the City Hall, and a celebratory ceremony on the beach or anywhere you’d see yourselves exchanging vows: two different ceremonies.
If you will be having a Tahiti legal wedding, there will be additional costs at home for ordering documents, getting them stamped, translated into French and shipped to French Polynesia. From past experience this can range between 600-1000 US$ (see costs’ details here) and all documents must be received no later than 45 days prior to the planned wedding ceremony in Tahiti.
I am experienced with assisting my couples from around the world in the process and will guide you step-by-step to make it as easy on your end as possible, and can also organize your witnesses at the City Hall as well as the translator for the ceremony.
Can We Do Our Tahitian Legal Wedding And Celebratory Ceremony On Different Days?
Sometimes, your travel itinerary will make it easier on your end to have the two ceremonies on different days, or on different places.
Alece & Michael for example were headed for Taha’a to get married (the off-the-beaten-path island of Tahaa is a wonderful wedding location in Tahiti that I have presented in this post) and only needed assistance with their legal Tahitian wedding so instead of flying me to Taha’a for just the quick City Hall ceremony (they already had their traditional Tahitian wedding ceremony with the local folklore and dances all taken care of by their resort), they decided to legally marry in Moorea where I am based, since they had a couple of days booked there as well. They also seized the opportunity to do a photo shooting around Moorea!
So in short, the answer is yes, you can absolutely have the Tahiti legal wedding and your celebratory wedding ceremony on different days!
While I typically offer assistance services with a legal Tahitian wedding as an add-on to my own personalized ceremony services (I’m a professionally trained Life-Cycle Celebrant – officiant – with a diploma in weddings) I can also help you with your legal wedding in Tahiti as a sole service when you have your symbolic wedding ceremony all taken care of already.
Photo Credit: Jean-Philippe Yuam Photography
Do You Need Help With Your Tahiti Legal Wedding? Contact Me Here!
