Getting married in France — a destination wedding guide for UK couples

It's easy to understand why so many couples dream of getting married in France. It's basically the land of romance, with excellent food and wine, and the architecture and scenery is Instagram gold. It has a certain je ne sais quoi charm.

To help you plan your destination wedding in France, we asked Emma Reeve to write a guide. She's an experienced wedding planner who specialises in creating epic celebrations in the UK and France.

About our expert

Emma's journey into wedding planning started in 2019 with a coffee morning for new wedding planners at The Savoy. She's never looked back! Since then she's organised tonnes of weddings, both in the UK and overseas. But it's her personal history with France that makes her our go-to expert for destination weddings here. "My grandparents moved to France back in the early 2000s. I spent loads of summers visiting them, travelling all over the Loire and Brittany," she explains. "I'm a big fan of French culture, and even now, I go every year to check out the antique markets, wander around old towns, hit up the vineyards and scout out wedding venues in France."

So, if you're dreaming of saying "I do" abroad, Emma's guide to getting married in France is here to help. She'll untangle the local legal requirements, advise when to start organising your destination wedding, and explain why a wedding registry can simplify your celebration in the best possible way. Consider this your go-to resource for making your French nuptial dreams come true. But enough chitchatting from us — over to you, Emma!

I say the same things to all my couples who want to get married in France. Make sure you understand the legalities, and give yourself — and your guests — enough time to plan for it. So before you skip ahead to the fun parts of your wedding planning checklist, these questions are worth knowing the answers to:

1. How to get married in France as a foreigner

Essentially, there are two ways to make your destination wedding in France legal. The first option is the easiest:

Marry legally in the UK and have a symbolic wedding in France

To choose this option, you need to have a legal wedding in the UK first. You can do this at a registry office or a registered wedding venue. A registry office wedding in the UK needs to be arranged via your county's office, where you book an appointment. You attend this together and provide relevant identification documents. Your registry office will talk you through all the information you need to provide, and the choices you need to make for your legal ceremony. Depending on how busy your local registry office is, we would recommend booking your appointment 3-6 months prior to the date you’d like to marry. Since you will already be legally married in the UK, you can be more inventive with your service in France. Think about hiring a celebrant or humanist, or asking a family member or friend, to create a more personalised wedding ceremony.

Marry legally in France

The second option is a bit more complicated. For a marriage ceremony in France to be legal it must take place at the local town hall — or Mairie. Weddings at hotels and other venues are not legal and considered symbolic only.

To be eligable to get married at the Mairie, you, your partner, or one of your parents must have lived in France for at least 40 days before your wedding ceremony. Or, if any of you have a French holiday home, that sometimes satisfies that criteria. To organise your ceremony you’ll need to contact the Mayor of the village or town you or they have resided in, and complete some forms via the British Consulate. The ceremony is then conducted by the Mayor or one of their delegates.

For the marriage to be legal, you'll need to provide a selection of certified ID documents and may also be required to provide a certificat de célibat (certificate of celibacy, or marital status) and certificat de costume (certificate of custom). Any non-French documents will need to be officially translated in advance. It's important to note that your marriage in France will only be recognised in the UK if it follows the correct processes according to the law in France, and would also be allowed under UK law.

If you were picturing getting married in France on a vineyard or at a cheataux, then after this legal ceremony, you can have a separate humanist or celebrant service for your wedding day. Many of my couples have done this!

Pro Tip: The UK Government website is the best place to check for all the most up-to-date information on what is required when planning a wedding in France.

2. Does France allow same sex marriage?

Yes! A gay marriage was officially legalised in France in 2013. The fact that this law extends beyond the mainland to include all of France's overseas departments and territories means that same-sex couples have the right to marry anywhere in the French Republic.

3. When to begin planning your destination wedding in France

We recommend planning your destination wedding in France 18 months in advance, as this gives you ample time to plan your wedding, and your guests enough time to put it in their diary and book their travel and accommodation.

1. Hire a wedding planner

To make planning smoother, consider hiring a wedding planner with local knowledge. Often, your planner will have visited all the nearby venues themselves previously and used many of the vendors. This means they can provide you with ideas that align with your vision, and answer any questions you have.

That's not the only reason to hire one though. A common challenge couples face when planning a destination wedding in France (or any other country abroad!), is the language barrier. If you don't speak French, ensuring you get exactly what you want from suppliers at the best price will be tricky, especially if you're not aware of the market and cultural differences. A wedding planner with local knowledge can be invaluable in overcoming these challenges. They can also assist with more logistical considerations for on-the-day delivery and advise on the different and more complex paperwork requirements if you would like to legally marry in France rather than have a symobolic wedding.

2. Set up a wedding website

Wedding websites are a must for destination weddings. They provide a one-stop shop for all your guests to access the information they need to plan their travel and accommodation. This will make the guest experience smoother and reduce the admin hours you’ll spend as a couple providing information to your guests. At Emma Reeve Weddings, we provide a bespoke website service for our couples which includes integrated accommodation booking, RSVP function, and all logistical information guests need, such as airport locations, taxi phone numbers, maps, gift registry, venue information, and an itinerary. But there are lots of companies offering wedding website services these days, so shop around.

3. Think bigger than one day

Guests have different expectations when attending a destination wedding — they anticipate that festivities will extend beyond the day itself. So decide how else you want to celebrate with your loved ones, as that may influence your venue choice. Also remember that often weddings in France and other European countries will take place later in the day too (to avoid the mid day heat during the summer), so factor that into your plans and intinerary.

4. Create a wedding registry

To make things super easy for your guests, we’d recommend an online wedding registry — like Prezola. That means guests don’t need to travel with their gifts or sums of money (read Prezola's handy tips on how to politely ask for money as a wedding gift if you're hoping for cash presents). Couples can then schedule their gift delivery for when they return home, which prolongs the wedding bubble! We suggest popping the Prezola link on your wedding website and on your wedding invites to keep everything in one place for your guests.

Apart from being practical, creating a wedding registry is fun too! I loved curating mine. If I were to create my gift list again, I know what I would add!

Emma's wedding registry recommendations

• ASPINAL OF LONDON ACCESSORIES: For timeless wedding gifts, Aspinal of London offers a collection of luxury leather goods. Consider an elegant Weekend Travel Bag, perfect for a romantic minimoon or future getaways, or the beautifully designed Wedding Album, ideal for preserving the precious memories of your special day.
• FORTNUM & MASON FRENCH WINE QUARTET: Return home after getting married in France and relive the memories of your big day with this exclusive case of French wines.
• OKA HOME DECOR: Whether you are already living together or will be joining homes after your nuptials, anything from Oka is the perfect addition to your house. I love the patterns and shapes in the Talasa Mirror, Salvador Cushion Cover and Isphahan dinner plates.
• SCRUFFS PET BED: We are pet lovers at Emma Reeve Weddings, and if you are a dog lover, then we love you too! Treat your pooch to a premium bed from Scruffs — I know my dachshund has his eyes on the Supersoft Alpine Box Bed.
• LUXURY BED LINEN: For the ultimate luxury sleeping experience, upgrade your bed linen to Piglet in Bed. I love their beautiful fabrics and colours that only get better with time, wash after wash. Mix and match your patterns — for me, I'd choose the mushroom gingham duvet cover for a serene and peaceful sleeping space.
• BARISTA-STYLE COFFEE MACHINE: My world revolves around when the next great cup of coffee is being served. Start your marriage the right way with a cup of coffee in bed, perfect for slow Sunday mornings. I love the Sage machines and have all my Sage appliances in sleek, stylish Black Truffle.

So, there you have it — a guide to getting married in France as told by our expert, Emma Reeve. While you’re in wedding planning mode, why not make a start on your wedding registry with Prezola? Mix and match epic honeymoon funds, stylish homeware, and exciting experience days to make your wedding present list as unique as you.

Still on the fence about whether a gift list is the right move for you? Our guide explaining what a wedding registry is will help clear up any worries. For destination weddings, a registry like Prezola, that handles delivery, is a win-win: no more guesswork or logistical headaches for guests, just a straightforward way for them to give you something you'll truly love.

Emma Reeve is an award-winning UK & Surrey-based wedding planner, specialising in marquee, country and destination weddings. Follow her wedding planning studio, Emma Reeve Wedding, on Instagram.

The main image is Villa et Jardins Ephrussi de Rothschild. Images courtesy of Emma Reeve and the credited wedding venues.