Mallorca has long been a popular place to celebrate despedidas de soltero (stag nights or hen nights). The island is now also increasingly becoming a choice place for wedding ceremonies. Getting married in Mallorca is really easy but then, it is also really complicated. It all depends.

If you want to get married in Mallorca, things are easy if one of the couple is a Spanish national. Church or civil weddings are easy in that case because all you need is a Libro de Familia and the Spanish DNI identity card. It is more difficult if neither of the betrothed is of Spanish descent. One of the two has to be at least empadronado in a Mallorcan town hall. In addition to that, a number of documents are required and all of them have to be presented in a court accepted translation. You would need a passport, a birth certificate, a Certificat de empadronament, a Certificate of Non Impediment, a Certificate of Civil Status and a confirmation by your National consulate that a public edict of your wedding intentions has been published or is not necessary in the country of your origins. You also need two witnesses of whatever nationality and with no requirements to be residents or empadronado in Mallorca, and their passports. You will need a fair amount of patience, a lot of time, quite a measure of determination and resolve, and off you go. If you do not want to get married in church the local Juzgat de Pax will act as the Registry Office where you declare that you want to contract matrimony and where you present the requested documents and their Spanish translations. The registrar will process your application and forward it to the district judges where your file might sit for six to eight weeks. After that you can hire a limousine, a photographer, a band and a wedding venue, and prepare yourself to exchange the rings.

The photo was taken near Campos del Port, Mallorca, Baleares, Spain. The date: August 14th, 2010. The time was 17:09:12.