Previously, I discussed three things you need to determine when choosing your destination wedding location. Today, I wanted to expand on that blog post briefly by discussing another factor to take into consideration. Just as your options of where to host your destination wedding are plenteous, so are the rules and regulations in many locations.

Another factor to determine when choosing the location is whether or not you envision a religious or civil ceremony for your destination wedding. This is very important because in some locations a religious ceremony may not be legal or vice versa. For example, if you have your mind set on a having a religious ceremony and your top choice to host your nuptials are in the Mexican Caribbean, then you should note that only civil ceremonies are legal in Mexico. You can still have a religious ceremony, but you will have to opt to do both a civil service and religious ceremony for it to be binding.

On the other side of the coin, if you wish to get married somewhere like Bali, a beautiful and exotic island of Indonesia, you should note that only religious ceremonies are binding. Civil ceremonies are not acknowledged. In other words, you must declare a religion to be married in Bali and the wedding ceremony has to be performed in accordance with the laws of your religion. Even more, both parties must have the same religion. So, if you are a Christian and your fiancé is a Buddhist, one of you will have to file a written declaration to change your religion to that of your partner’s to be legally married in Bali.