I don't qualify for your question because I was a Canadian who got married outside of Canada so I'll just think of this as yet another thread hijack and continue. heh heh.
We got married in the Dominican Republic and it is ABSOLUTELY the way to go. They took care of every last detail from meals to photos. All we had to do is show up and for that they sent a decorated golf cart (OK, maybe that drew a bit more attention than I preferred.)
It totally removed all the stressful planning and just allowed us to enjoy our day. Local wedding planning can be a real test of your pending marital skills. It also makes sense financially as your wedding cost and honeymoon is combined.
Both our families were only concerned that we have a big party upon our return, which we did.
One lesson learned though. Not all embassies are rich looking building surrounded by gates and armed guards like you see on TV. The only task we had to do ourselves was visit the Canadian Embassy and get a document stating that we were not previously married back home. Taxi driver dropped us off in front of an apartment building and pointed to a Canadian flag draped in a window on the second floor like a college dorm. He escorted us inside and up the stairs and waited outside (for our safety and I assume a big tip.) The "Embassy" consisted of a one bedroom apartment and our conversation ouround our fancy paperwork went something like this.
"Mr. Murphy are you currently married in Canada?"
"Miss Garrett, are you currently married in Canada?"
"Very well then, it will take about 20 minutes for this old Macintosh printer to print out the form. Coffee?"
The year was 1997, for those wondering.
