Couples who have already started planning their wedding next year are quick to answer the first question - what kind of wedding ceremony do we want? Will it be a ceremony in a registry office, a church or maybe outdoors? Each couple has their own motivations for choosing one of the possible options, however, there will be things to consider and reckon with if you want to get married under the family oak tree of your farmhouse.

We often get questions from brides about what to do and what the order of things is when officially registering a marriage, so LĪGAVĀM compiled the things that are definitely important to know.

An outdoor ceremony is possible and officially allowed!

Outdoor wedding ceremony locations can be very different and carry different messages:

• seashore,
• near the couple's meeting place,
• forest,
• in their native homes and elsewhere.

However, when organizing a different marriage ceremony intended for a specific couple, it should be remembered that the procedure for registering marriages in Latvia is determined by legislation.

If several years ago, the legislation allowed the registration of marriages in the premises of the registry office or other suitable premises, for example, palaces, cultural centers, public houses, then for the last four years a couple can hold a marriage ceremony wherever their heart desires. The only rule is that the couple must provide suitable and appropriate conditions for marriage registration. It should also be considered to what extent the place will also be suitable practically, since the civil registry department officials have to take with them both the stamp and documents, as well as other things intended for the performance of their duties.

NEED TO KNOW:

1. At least 31 days before the marriage, the couple must go to the civil registry department with identity documents - passport or identification card - to submit the application in person.
2. Since 2013, an application for concluding a marriage can be submitted only at the registry office, regardless of the expected place of marriage - at the registry office, outdoors or in a church.
3. The state fee for marriage registration is 14 euros, but a marriage outside the registry office costs more. The fee for the marriage registration service is determined by the municipality, which has developed its own price list for marriage registration and conducting the solemn ceremony. However, if the solemn part of the ceremony is organized by a wedding agency, then the price list changes depending on the wishes of the young couple.

   engaging an agency in the organization of the marriage ceremony gives an opportunity to make the celebration just so special that it is unlike any other marriage ceremony seen before.

   "The wedding organizer will help personify the texts of the ceremony, attract artists, musicians and raise the feelings of the couple to unprecedented heights in this emotionally significant moment.

   For every new couple, we want to find a solution both for their special marriage ceremony and for everything that happens and inspires the moment before it - the first moment of meeting on the morning of the wedding, a romantic walk for two, a swing of flowers and memories, writing love letters and a photo session full of light peace, sometimes happy excitement," says Sigita Daniliča.

4. The Civil Law stipulates that marriages with legal consequences can also be registered by clergymen of eight denominations - Evangelical Lutheran, Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Old Believer, Methodist, Baptist, Seventh Day Adventist, Moses believer (Judaist). If you belong to one of the mentioned denominations and want to get married by a clergyman of your denomination who has the permission of the denomination's leadership, then you will be married according to the rules of the respective denomination.
5. Any foreigner who has the right to stay in Latvia at the time of marriage can also get married in Latvia. In addition to the application and identity document, the foreigner must also submit a document on family status issued by the competent institution of the relevant foreign country. If a person who has been granted stateless status, refugee status or alternative status in Latvia does not have the necessary documents and it is impossible to obtain them, the relevant documents shall be replaced by the person's written declaration about his family status.
   

   PHOTO: BILLY LOTS , LILIANA LEGZDIņA , MICK SCHEL