Canadian Sponsoring American Spouse - Questions! Courthouse wedding?

[needadviceandhelp]

Hi,

I'm a Canadian female planning on sponsoring my American Fiance. Here is the situation. We have been together for 5 months now, we have met each other's families and friends, and we are currently engaged. He is planning on traveling here to Canada (Calgary) and we would like to get married.

What I'm wondering is if we get married courthouse-style, will our marriage still be considered genuine by immigration Canada? Our relationship is genuine and we have a lot of pictures, emails, chat history, phone call logs, etc to prove it, we just don't have the money saved up for a wedding ceremony yet but we would like to be together.

Has anybody done a courthouse style wedding and applied for Spousal sponsorship after doing so, and were you questioned or interviewed?

Also if we put our family members down on our sponsorship application(s), will they be called by Canadian Immigration? We would like to keep our wedding quiet until our OFFICIAL huge ceremony because our families may be slightly hurt by our choice to do courthouse style.

We want to make sure the government knows we have a real, serious and genuine relationship even if it has only been 5 months of non stop talking and one visit each to each other's homes.

Please help me, I need advice.

Thank you so much in advance.

<3 - L

 

[scylla]

Court house wedding are certainly accepted. However given that you haven't been in a relationship for very long and have only visited each other once - I would recommend a somewhat different approach than you have planned. One of the best proofs that a wedding is genuine is having family there. I would re-consider your wedding plans and include both of your families (i.e. have them attend) - and friends too if possible. Ideally you should have some sort of small celebration afterwards - even if it's just a simple reception at a relatives house. And make sure you take lots of pictures.

I'm sure others will throw in their two cents.

 

[KJG]

Hi,

I'm a Canadian female planning on sponsoring my American Fiance. Here is the situation. We have been together for 5 months now, we have met each other's families and friends, and we are currently engaged. He is planning on traveling here to Canada (Calgary) and we would like to get married.

What I'm wondering is if we get married courthouse-style, will our marriage still be considered genuine by immigration Canada? Our relationship is genuine and we have a lot of pictures, emails, chat history, phone call logs, etc to prove it, we just don't have the money saved up for a wedding ceremony yet but we would like to be together.

Has anybody done a courthouse style wedding and applied for Spousal sponsorship after doing so, and were you questioned or interviewed?

Also if we put our family members down on our sponsorship application(s), will they be called by Canadian Immigration? We would like to keep our wedding quiet until our OFFICIAL huge ceremony because our families may be slightly hurt by our choice to do courthouse style.

We want to make sure the government knows we have a real, serious and genuine relationship even if it has only been 5 months of non stop talking and one visit each to each other's homes.

Please help me, I need advice.

Thank you so much in advance.

<3 - L

scylla is right.....courthouse weddings are most acceptable...but if you do not tell family and friends that is not at all to your benefit and will definitely go against you.....either have your big ceremony now or wait and then sponsor or do yoru courthouse wedding with family and friends and plenty of pictures and a reception even a small one but something that shows the celebration of you two being wed.......

 

[needadviceandhelp]

Thank you both very very much for your reply.

Here's a scenario...what if we have our courthouse wedding and we invite my best friends and some of his best friends to it? And make it more of a celebration?

We will take A LOT of pictures and have a celebration afterwards as well.

Thoughts on that?

Or do you think it is vital to have my parents there? I have a friend who had a wedding ceremony (a more official one though) with her fiance from abroad and they didn't have any of their family there, just close friends.

What's your input? Once again thank you so much for your help. I'm new at this and I love my fiance so much....I just don't want to risk the immigration people not realizing that it's real