Worried about wedding size

[Apple Bee 272]

When my husband and I got married in Morocco back in April, it was a very small thing at his house. Just me and him, his parents and his best friend. We took lots of nice photos of me in different dresses, with dates and milk, etc but I'm concerned that because it wasn't a huge celebration, the embassy will think its not genuine. His sisters really wanted to be there but one of them was still home recovering from a c-section and the other one lived too far away. We plan to have a big party here with my friends and family and some of his friends that live here once he (hopefully) gets the visa. Does anyone think this will be seen as a problem? Thank you

Edited October 30, 2018 by PersaisX

[pushbrk 12,898]

Evidence of a bona fide marriage is about the relationship, not the party.  If you deviated from local tradition in other ways as well, be more concerned about that.  For example, if the bride is significantly older than the groom, particularly a divorced bride with children or too old to bear children marries a younger man in that culture, it's a far bigger red flag than the size of the wedding or party.

 

 

[EandH0904 1,184]

45 minutes ago, PersaisX said:

 Does anyone think this will be seen as a problem? Thank you

Unfortunately, this is something that - even if it is seen as a problem, you can't fix right now. 

Make sure your husband is able to answer questions, should they arise, about your wedding party. Was there a reason that he did not invite friends to go? Co-workers? Other family members? (You don't have to answer these questions - just things he should be prepared to answer if they ask). 

 

It's hard to know what they focus on in Casablanca - as you will see (or perhaps have seen) what is relevant to some couples is less relevant to other. Same with when you get married. We had a relatively easy time but others have been asked for extra things - verification of non-pregnancy, translation of driver's license - it seems that there are different standards sometimes. I know it's frustrating but just concentrate on answering questions well and things you can fix rather than dwelling on a problem from the past. 

[David & Diana R 1,005]

52 minutes ago, PersaisX said:

When my husband and I got married in Morocco back in April, it was a very small thing at his house. Just me and him, his parents and his best friend. We took lots of nice photos of me in different dresses, with dates and milk, etc but I'm concerned that because it wasn't a huge celebration, the embassy will think its not genuine. His sisters really wanted to be there but one of them was still home recovering from a c-section and the other one lived too far away. We plan to have a big party here with my friends and family and some of his friends that live here once he (hopefully) gets the visa. Does anyone think this will be seen as a problem? Thank you

NO.  There is no requirement to have a large wedding.  You can get married in a courthouse...all that matters is that you have a certified marriage certificate.  You DO NOT need to have another wedding.  Take a deep breath and relax.

[lierre 224]

59 minutes ago, PersaisX said:

When my husband and I got married in Morocco back in April, it was a very small thing at his house. Just me and him, his parents and his best friend. We took lots of nice photos of me in different dresses, with dates and milk, etc but I'm concerned that because it wasn't a huge celebration, the embassy will think its not genuine. His sisters really wanted to be there but one of them was still home recovering from a c-section and the other one lived too far away. We plan to have a big party here with my friends and family and some of his friends that live here once he (hopefully) gets the visa. Does anyone think this will be seen as a problem? Thank you

When I sent proof of a bonafide marriage, I sent our marriage certificate, and  a few pictures of us, with our families, and that's it. We had a celebration with 80 guests, but that wasn't even asked at the interview. The certificate and maybe pictures are what you will need for sending in proof.

 

But, having another party is always a great excuse to celebrate again! 😁

 

 

[Derik-Lina 230]

1 hour ago, pushbrk said:

Evidence of a bona fide marriage is about the relationship, not the party.  If you deviated from local tradition in other ways as well, be more concerned about that.  For example, if the bride is significantly older than the groom, particularly a divorced bride with children or too old to bear children marries a younger man in that culture, it's a far bigger red flag than the size of the wedding or party.

 

 

I could not have said it better; Agreed 1 million percent.

[Derik-Lina 230]

1 hour ago, PersaisX said:

When my husband and I got married in Morocco back in April, it was a very small thing at his house. Just me and him, his parents and his best friend. We took lots of nice photos of me in different dresses, with dates and milk, etc but I'm concerned that because it wasn't a huge celebration, the embassy will think its not genuine. His sisters really wanted to be there but one of them was still home recovering from a c-section and the other one lived too far away. We plan to have a big party here with my friends and family and some of his friends that live here once he (hopefully) gets the visa. Does anyone think this will be seen as a problem? Thank you

It is not a problem nor would it be at all. The Ceremony is a smaller piece of the entire picture.

[Apple Bee 272]

Thanks all. You've eased my mind a bit on this.

[Rachgo & kati 1]

its not a prb to be big or small party actually but they will ask him (in those pics) about who attended to the party ? Why her family doesnt come? Where is ur family? How many ppl ? How many times ur wife visited u in Morocco ? This last qst is very important in addition to the period which should be like a month or more and not one week for instance.

Ask ur husband if he joins to some Moroccan s groups in fb where he can ask any qst still not clear for u. Good luck  

[Apple Bee 272]

11 hours ago, Rachgo & kati said:

its not a prb to be big or small party actually but they will ask him (in those pics) about who attended to the party ? Why her family doesnt come? Where is ur family? How many ppl ? How many times ur wife visited u in Morocco ? This last qst is very important in addition to the period which should be like a month or more and not one week for instance.

Ask ur husband if he joins to some Moroccan s groups in fb where he can ask any qst still not clear for u. Good luck  

Yes thank you another VJ member actually did provide me with a link to an FB group and my husband has joined it. We knew that marrying on the first visit was  a red flag so we're trying to combat that with many visits. My first visit was 23 days, 2nd visit was 38 days and I already have my ticket to go back and seen him in January 2019 for two weeks.. I'm also planning to be there for him when he has his interview as well. 

Edited October 31, 2018 by PersaisX

[mtempelaar 190]

14 hours ago, PersaisX said:

When my husband and I got married in Morocco back in April, it was a very small thing at his house. Just me and him, his parents and his best friend. We took lots of nice photos of me in different dresses, with dates and milk, etc but I'm concerned that because it wasn't a huge celebration, the embassy will think its not genuine. His sisters really wanted to be there but one of them was still home recovering from a c-section and the other one lived too far away. We plan to have a big party here with my friends and family and some of his friends that live here once he (hopefully) gets the visa. Does anyone think this will be seen as a problem? Thank you

Morocco is a notoriously difficult embassy but if it makes you feel any better, my husband and I married at the last minute with a friend officiating and two friends as witnesses.   We took a ton of pictures.   For our CR1, those pics were included.  Once he moved here, we had a large second wedding ("I Do, Take Two") and had family travel in from all over the world.   ln our removal of conditions application 2 years later, I included photos from BOTH weddings and had a special wedding invitation that clearly showed it was a second wedding.   We had no problems

[Jeanne Adil 1,651]

The celebration of marriage is not the marriage itself/ u married in the clerk's office by signing an agreement

then the marriage certificate is issued

afterwards you celebrate the marraige as tradition goes

the important thing is the marraige certificate with the offical seal from Rabat

it would be important to show the photos with family as acceptance of the family especilly his mother

mine could not be at my marraige celebration

and some of his family was in Europe and unable to make it

we only did a 1 day 3 dress celebration

[Apple Bee 272]

21 minutes ago, adil-rafa said:

The celebration of marriage is not the marriage itself/ u married in the clerk's office by signing an agreement

then the marriage certificate is issued

afterwards you celebrate the marraige as tradition goes

the important thing is the marraige certificate with the offical seal from Rabat

it would be important to show the photos with family as acceptance of the family especilly his mother

mine could not be at my marraige celebration

and some of his family was in Europe and unable to make it

we only did a 1 day 3 dress celebration

Yes I have plenty of pictures with his parents especially his mom. She LOVES me, thank God.

 

Thanks again everyone who replied, your answers made me feel better!

[Boiler 45,525]

I would focus on the totality of the situation especially as you married on first visit.

[Jeanne Adil 1,651]

19 minutes ago, Boiler said:

I would focus on the totality of the situation especially as you married on first visit.

Ouch

not  a good idea

you need several visits