In France, which where this card comes from, you have to be married in a civil ceremony to make your marriage legal. It's up to you whether or not to have a religious ceremony but it's not necessary and can be at a completely different time.
In the UK religious ceremonies are normally all that's required because most priest and ministers are licensed, unless of course, you opt for a civil ceremony instead. For a civil ceremony, you can be married in any approved location as long as the ceremony is conducted by or attended by an authorised person. I'd be interested to know how the systems differ throughout the world.
Back to the card itself, it has a divided back, but with the warning that not all countries accept a message on the back of the card:
"Tous les pays étrangers n'acceptent pas la correspondance au recto. Se reseigner à la poste." That dates the card to approximately 1904-1905.
I am away this week but I'll catch up with everyone on my return.
This is a post for Postcard Friday, which is hosted by Beth Niquette at The Best Hearts are Crunchy.
Here in Austria you also have to be married in a civil ceremony to make the marriage legal. You can have a religious ceremony, but the civil has to take place first. For same sex couples there is only a basic civil partnership ceremony but that is not called marriage but registered partnership. They can have a religious ceremony afterwards, but only in churches where they approve of same sex couples - and that is, as far as I know - only the protestants. As for the location, that depends on where you live because every city has their own locations, mostly it is the town hall, but there are also some touristy locations for example in the Vienna Ferris wheel or even on the Dachstein glacier. Sorry for the long post, I got carried away...I love weddings and will attend another one next weekend :)
ReplyDeleteWeddings are happy occasions and I love to be part of the celebration. In this trying time when the world economy is in bad shape, love is still stronger and I see a lot of friends getting married. In the Philippines, one has to apply for a license first before getting married in church. Afterwards, the marriage is registered in the city or town hall where they live.
ReplyDeleteYup. We've got a wedding coming up in about two weeks - our youngest. I also got a lesson in marriage laws with this post, since I didn't know that France handled it the way they do. Oh, I think I know the reason (I'm a history nut), but that isn't the forum to discuss it.
ReplyDeleteNeat card!
Happy PFF!
ReplyDeleteWhat a stunning coy bride and a rather creepy groom.
ReplyDeleteHappy Pff! I love weddings! I learn something today about France and Austria. My entry for Postcard Friendship Friday is up - My PPF Entry.
ReplyDeleteHappy PFF! My god-son and his wife were considered legally married by signing the register in the local municipal office in Okinawa. They had a wedding celebration many months later. Neither the bride or groom in this card look particularly thrilled! :D :D :D
ReplyDeleteWow...what a cheery pair! I love it! :)
ReplyDeleteLovely couple. I tried to find wedding postcards last October when I was getting married - it wasn't easy!
ReplyDeleteIn the U.S. it varies by state. So if you get cold feet at the last minute, that means there are 50 ways to leave your lover. I've heard that in West Texas, the preferred place to get married is McDonalds, and anyone (unrelated to the bride) can conduct the ceremony and sign the papers. The down side is it isn't legally binding unless you send the papers to France. Please don't think about having your same-sex marriage in West Texas, btw. Just a tip.
ReplyDeleteI only do this because you said you were gone this week, and I don't believe you will actually read your comments.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting! Back in my home country, civil wedding, as we called it, is considered more legal than being married in religious way,but it's not mandatory to get the civil wedding first.
ReplyDeleteI think in the US, you need to have a wedding license and the ceremony has to be conducted by some authorized entity, be they priests/ministers, judges/lawyers, or boat captains!
ReplyDelete