Destination wedding photography

The first decision is legal, not photographic. A civil marriage in Brazil is made at a Cartório de Registro Civil das Pessoas Naturais after a habilitação filed in person: birth certificates, a declaration of marital status and residence, two adult witnesses, and proof of any divorce. Brazil joined the Hague Apostille Convention through Decreto 8.660 of 2016, so foreign certificates need an apostille, and under Lei 6.015/1973 a document in another language takes legal effect only once it is translated into Portuguese and the translation is registered. Once the file is complete, the registry publishes it electronically and issues the certificate within up to 5 days; the certificate is valid for 90 days. The same statute points the application to the registry where one of the couple lives, so a couple who both live abroad should ask the cartório before planning around it. Many do the legal part at home and hold a symbolic ceremony in Brazil, which needs no paperwork at all.

When the legal ceremony is part of the day, it does not have to happen at a counter. Article 1.534 of the Código Civil sets the civil wedding at the cartório with at least two witnesses, but allows another public or private building when the couple asks and the celebrant agrees, which is how a judge of the peace ends up officiating on a pousada lawn. Agree that travel with the registry early. Since Resolução 175 of 2013 by the Conselho Nacional de Justiça, no registry in Brazil may refuse a same-sex couple.

The venue writes the rest of the rules. Each pousada, resort and beach club sets its own terms for an outside photographer: an outside-vendor fee, liability insurance, registration a set number of days ahead, or a list of in-house suppliers only. Ask for those terms in writing before you sign. Light shapes the timeline too: a beach ceremony that ends about an hour before sunset leaves soft light for family groups and portraits, and every outdoor part of the day gets a covered fallback in the contract. If the plan is the two of you and a celebrant with no party, the elopement page fits better; if you are already married, read the vow renewal page.