Guide to prenuptual agreements

A prenuptial agreement, antenuptial agreement, or premarital agreement, commonly abbreviated to prenup or prenupt, is a contract entered into prior to marriage or civil union by the people intending to marry. The content of a prenuptial agreement can vary widely, but commonly includes provisions for division of property and spousal support in the event of divorce or breakup of marriage.

prenuptial agreements set out before marriage how the wealth and assets of both parties will be split in the event that the relationship goes down the toilet.

Many countries, including Canada (Quebec), France, Italy, and Germany, have matrimonial regimes, in addition to, or some cases, in lieu of prenuptial agreements.

As of 2007, England and Wales do not enforce prenuptial agreements, but agreements may be upheld at the judge’s discretion. These countries also do not have a provision for marital regimes.  But this is all changing.  There has been a “sea change”

The Crossley case  in the UK now highlights the fact that premarital agreements are being recognised in the English courts and, if properly constituted, are difficult to wriggle out of.  In the past prenups were perhaps entered into in the hope, rather than belief, that they would be binding. Now they offer real protection.

Courts “are looking closely at prenuptial agreements and want good reasons — such as children or significant changes in a person’s circumstances — to depart from them”.

So who should go for a prenup? They are suitable for a wide range of people, including:-

• second-time rounders, in their forties and fifties, who want to provide fully for children of the first marriage and protect their own assets (sometimes against gold-digging former husbands when they meet someone wealthy)
• professionals, young City entrepreneurs in their twenties making money through work, skill and some luck 
• business men and women used to binding agreements in their working lives
• international clients used to prenups in their home jurisdiction
• gay and lesbian clients who may have cohabited for years and now enter civil partnerships
• and those not necessarily “mega-wealthy” who favours “self-determination” and taking control of how financial issues might be resolved on divorce.

So if prenups are such a good insurance policy, why not make them legally binding? 

With hundreds of millions of dollars at stake, Hollywood stars are not inclined to risk it all on what might be a very short and misguided marriage followed by a very expensive divorce.

Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes signed a £22 million prenuptial agreement before they married. The decision for a ‘prenup’ was hardly a surprise as Cruise’s failure to sign a similar deal with ex-wife Nicole Kidman was cited as the main reason behind a very messy and protracted divorce.

Catherine Zeta Jones and Michael Douglas; Liz Taylor and Larry Fortensky, Jane Fonda and Ted Turner are just a few of the A-list couples who have demanded prenuptial contracts.

So before you get married get up to date legal advice from a specialist family lawyer.  Get it all sorted and nailed down before last minute stress sets in. 

Most foreign couples getting married in France need to have a civil ceremony in their home country first and then their religious ceremony in France as the legal requirements for a civil wedding in France are exhaustive - 6 months (not 40 days as it was before thank you Sarkosy) residency requirement with proof of address and they now check it too.  Most guests at a french destination wedding do not even know that the ceremony is not a civil ceremony.  Sorting out a  pre-nup agreement before you leave home does not detract from a fairytale wedding in France.  If you are not mega wealthy you way want to consider a french wedding package at a romantic castle that will not break the bank.

Baroque Castle | Baroque Chateau

A style that is becoming very popular and extending beyond the dress to an overall theme, Baroque-fashioned weddings are one of the latest trends to inspire brides this season and there is no setting more perfect than a fairytale french wedding venue.

In the 17th century Baroque fashion dominated the French court of Louis XIV. Today baroque style is making a comeback in wedding dress style. The new Baroque fashions boast luxurious and extravagant materials that are elaborately detailed and embellished with crystals, metallics, and fine ribbons and fabrics.

The Baroque-inspired fashion of today’s wedding dresses, have intricate bodices and pristine yet full gowns, some of which come complete with overskirts in the fashion of Marie Antoinette.  Wedding Corset styles are very popular.The best thing about corsets is that you do not need to worry about achieving a specific size for your wedding day. 

On the other hand if your method of dealing with wedding strss is to take solace in a tin of biscuits and you put on a few pounds, there is plenty of extra space in a wedding dress designed with a corset top.

Also wedding corsets open up a whole load of wedding photography possibilities.  You must instruct your wedding photographer to take a photo of you getting laced up.  Sepia tones particularly lend themselves to this style of photo and if you have the french wedding venue with chaise longue, mirrored armoires, cherubs and chandeliers, these add that special touch and continu that romantic baroque theme. 

Think royalty, think luxurious, think rich; whether in ornamentation, decor, fabrics, wedding accessories, favors or invitation and stationary design. Add some detail and sparkle to your ceremony decor with crystals and metallic ribbons, for church pews or chair decor accessories. As an idea for a baroque-inspired centrepiece, think candelabras dripping with crystals in silver, or platinum, and continue your theme with a silver and chrome-plated cake serving set.

For a venue, nothing says baroque more than a renaissance  castle wedding venue in France rich with velvet drapes, a ballroom-styled reception room complete with grand chandeliers suspended from the ceiling with light reflected in infinity mirrors and antique chaise longue lining the dance floor.

  Brocade is a popular fabric for the baroque bride and brocade velvet is a good choice for a winter bride. 

For food think rich and sumptuous. 

A bride’s wedding day is supposed to make her feel like a queen for a day.

french wedding chateau

A destination wedding can be a fulfillment of a fantasy like a castle wedding in a wedding chateau.   One of the most exciting things to happen in a person’s life is the wedding.

Planning for a destination wedding will take a lot of work and could be very demanding but the rewards can be worth it. Destination weddings have an unquestionable wow factor.  Your guests get to have a holiday and attend your castle wedding.

Wedding Chateau Venues

The first destination wedding factor to consider is who can attend the wedding location.

Out of town weddings are preferred by couples as a way to lessen the number of guests at the events. Sometimes, when the budget is concerned the destination wedding etiquette is to set aside money for accommodations and transportation for the immediate members of the family and entourage.  You might need to heavily subsidize or simply pay for some travel costs of a close poor relative. 

Destination weddings are usually attended by only a few children usually being immediate relatives.

Guests can turn the out of town wedding into a mini-vacation just by spending their time together at the venue. Do some research.  It is handy if the wedding couple have a wedding website so you can familiarise yourself with the location and possible sight-seeing and cultural activities on offer. 

Just like a wedding at home, family play a big part and help out as much as possible.

Wedding Castle Receptions

When selecting a destination wedding venue accessibility, price and what is included in a package will all factor in your decision. 

· Accessibility – the venue and chapel or wedding location should be near the reception area. This is a destination wedding etiquette in consideration for the family and guests who need to freshen up before the reception.

· Package – some venues offer attractive wedding packages with discounts because of the group booking. Others may include the transportation.

· Price – destination weddings can still be costly, especially if there is a theme involved. But they are typically much cheaper than a wedding in England or America.

You want to have everything sorted before the big day.  As a guideline for your destination wedding:

· Check if your wedding location requires other legal documents to process the wedding. This should be handled by an experienced wedding planner especially if there is a different language involved and you are not fluent yourself.  The last thing you want is not to be able to have your ceremony for some legal technicality.

· Is there a minimum residency requirement?  With a castle wedding most destination wedding couples get married at home in a civil wedding and have a religious or humanist wedding ceremony in a spectacular wedding venue like a luxury chateau or castle.

· Book everything in advance. Making the proper reservations for the hotel, flowers, gowns, music.

We strongly advise you to carry your wedding dress on to the plane when travelling to your destination wedding so there is no risk of it going astray.. A reputable bridal salon can pack your wedding dress for transit.

Ask for it to be wrapped in plastic so that it’s waterproof. bring in a clean towel and ask the bridal salon to  roll the dress around the towel. Insist tahat it not be hard-pressed and folded. This way there are minimum creases in the gown and it is ready to wear when it arrives at it’s destination. Never put a bridal gown in the cargo hold of a plane because you may lose it.
 
Do not iron your wedding dress yourself or you could get stains on it.At your destination wedding venue, get them to professionally press or steam yor wedding dress.