Church of England, Church of Ireland Wedding Ceremonies and Blessings in Bosnia
Having a religious ceremony in Bosnia is fairly straight forward. But the first thing to know is that any religious wedding is not recognised by Bosnian law, and everyone must also have a civil ceremony as well if they want their wedding to be legally recognised.
In this guide we concentrate on Anglican Wedding in Bosnia (Church of England and Church of Ireland). Catholic Weddings are dealt with on this page. Details for other denominations are available if you call our office number.
For Anglican Weddings (Church of England and Church of Ireland):
Firstly, there are only a handful of ministers in Bosnia and Croatia so you will need to book with them early. You should contacts us as soon as possible to book a minister in Bosnia to ensure your dates. Most do not speak English so you will probably want a translator as well, which should be arranged at the same time as the ministers. If you wish you can bring your own minister as well. This requires inter-church communication, details of which are available when requested.
Visiting your minister before the ceremony is not absolutely necessary but would be the ideal situation. If you have time before your wedding day it would be advisable to visit the minister and go over your documentation, to talk through the ceremony and ask any question you might have. Doing everything on the wedding day is possible but not advisable.
Documentation Required for Anglican Weddings (Church of England and Church of Ireland):
To arrange an Anglican Wedding (Church of England and Church of Ireland) in Bosnia it is important to contact us as soon as possible. There are few ministers in Bosnia and Croatia (we are proud to be working with all of them) so they are quite busy and an early booking is advisable. You will need to fulfil the requirements of the church in order to get married in the Anglican church.
Your Banns will need to be read in church. It is best for this to be done by your local ministry and obtain a note stating that this has happened. Having your banns read in Bosnia would be near meaningless plus require you to make a special trip to Bosnia to arrange.
You will need the following documentation:
- Baptismal Certificate or Confirmation Certificate
- Note stating your banns have been read, with dates of readings and signatures
- Birth Certificates
- Valid Passports
- Confirmation of freedom to marry (Affidavit, Certificate of No Impediment, Certificate de Coutume)
- Decree Absolute, if you are divorced
- Previous spouse's death certificate, if you are widowed
For UK citizens, your Certificate of No Impediment is obtained from your local Registrar after you register your intention to marry (see here).
For Irish citizens, your Certificate de Coutume is obtained from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (see here).
The documents (excluding your passport) will need to be translated into Bosnian.
