What legal documents do I need for a Marrakech wedding?

For most couples, the honest answer is to get legally married at home and hold a symbolic ceremony in Marrakech. Official sources allow a legal marriage in Morocco only in narrow cases. GOV.UK lets a British citizen marry there only if the partner is Moroccan. The French consulates say one or both partners must live in Morocco and be Muslim. The American, Belgian and Canadian embassies perform no marriages, and the UK and Canadian governments say a man marrying in Morocco must be Muslim or convert. None of these pages describes a route for two non-Muslim foreigners who live abroad.

If you marry at home first, the Marrakech ceremony needs no Moroccan paperwork. It has no legal effect, so the officiant, the language and the vows are yours to choose. Keep your certificate from home safe: it is your proof of marriage.

If one of you is Moroccan and you want the legal ceremony here, the marriage is drawn up by adouls once a family judge authorises it. Expect to gather a capacity document from your embassy or consulate (a British certificate of no impediment or affirmation, a US or Canadian affidavit, a French CCAM or a Belgian CNEM), a recent birth certificate, proof that any earlier marriage ended, a medical certificate and sworn translations, and allow several months.

Our legal requirements guide lists each country's rules with the official pages to check. Rules change, so your embassy or consulate has the final word before you book anything that depends on a legal ceremony.