What you need to know to celebrate your civil wedding in Colombia

If you have decided to get married and celebrate a civil wedding and you have some doubts about the legal procedures that you must carry out to achieve it, this blog is for you!

We know that a marriage is the result of a very deep love between two people who have decided to accompany each other for the rest of their lives. However, we must not forget that before the law, the marital union represents a patrimonial and conjugal partnership with rights and duties.

To carry out a civil marriage in Colombia, it is necessary to follow a series of requirements depending on the state you are in and at Wink, we have listed them for you:

If you and your partner are still single under the law:

• You must have the completed and authenticated civil marriage application, presented by you and your partner or by a proxy if necessary.
• Do not forget the importance of having each one’s birth certificate, valid for no more than 3 months.
• It is extremely important to make a photocopy of the citizenship certificates.
• You can also grant a special power of attorney to a relative or a close person, in the event that you or your partner cannot personally present the civil marriage application or even cannot attend the ceremony.

If you marry a foreign person:

• If one of the two is Colombian, you must follow the same steps as in the previous point.
• For your foreign partner you must have: a copy of the passport, civil birth certificate apostilled and translated if necessary, single certificate or its equivalent apostilled and translated if necessary, a special power of attorney if you cannot attend.
• Also, remember that if the documents are written in a language other than Spanish, they must be officially translated and if your partner does not speak Spanish, you must have an official translator at the ceremony, identified with his ID and translator’s resolution who will sign the document. writing.

If you and your partner are single but have children from a previous union:

• In addition to the requirements of the first point, a solemn inventory of the minors’ assets and the birth certificate of the children are required.

If you and your partner are single but have children together:

• In this case, you must also meet the requirements of the first point and you must also attach the civil birth certificate of the common children for their legitimization.

If you or your partner are getting married for the second time:

• To the basic requirements that we mentioned in the first point, you must attach the birth certificate with a note of divorce, dissolution and liquidation of the conjugal partnership.
• If you have a previous marital union declared by a notary or judicially, the civil registry must also have marginal notes of the dissolution and liquidation of the patrimonial company.
• If you were widowed, you must have the death certificate of the deceased spouse.

Did you know that in Colombia it is possible to carry out a marriage or civil wedding between minors?

• So is! In Colombia, minors between the ages of 14 and 17 are allowed to marry, as stipulated in the Civil Code (Article 117), as long as they have the consent of their parents or guardians.
• To get married, they must have such consent in a written permission that is explicit about the marriage, together with the basic documents mentioned in the first point.

Now that you know the procedures to celebrate a civil wedding, how about we talk about costs, extra recommendations and some tips from Wink for your big day?

The cost of a ceremony or civil wedding in Colombia is approximately $40,000 pesos. However, it is possible that you must assume other notarial expenses such as copies of the deed, authentications, edicts and shipments with a final value that can range between $100,000 to $180,000 pesos.

At Wink, we recommend you check with your notary to see how many guests can attend your ceremony or civil wedding, or even if you can broadcast it via video call so that family members or friends who live far away don’t miss out on this great moment.

Marriage is an act of love, courage and delivery and deserves to be celebrated in style. If you want to hold a party, brunch or lunch after your civil wedding, we are here to make it happen! We have the freshest ideas, the most divine decoration, the most delicious food and a lot of memories captured in photography and video of the highest quality.

We wish you every success in organizing your wedding and if you need help, we are just a click away!