About us
Documentary and administrative assistance for civil marriages between Italy, Spain and England
Yes, I Do - Legal was created to assist couples who wish to marry in Italy, Spain or England and need to coordinate requirements, documents and procedures across more than one country.
A single point of contact to guide you from the initial check of requirements to the preparation and review of documentation, through to any formalities after the ceremony.
Our aim is to turn a procedure that can seem complex and fragmented into a clear, coordinated and transparent path.
Our story
Yes, I Do - Legal was born from a first-hand experience.
When I decided to get married, I was living in the United Kingdom and faced a choice: hold the marriage in England and then arrange a ceremony in Italy, or find a route that would allow me to celebrate one single marriage, on one single date, with full legal effect.
For me, it was important that the marriage celebrated in Italy should not simply be a symbolic ceremony following a marriage already held in the United Kingdom. I wanted the celebration in Italy to be my only marriage and that date to be my wedding date.
I therefore chose to marry directly in Italy and personally took care of checking the requirements, collecting and preparing the documentation and the related formalities, coordinating the necessary steps between the United Kingdom and Italy.
It was an experience that made me understand concretely how complex it can be, for a couple living abroad, to find their way among different legal systems, authorities, documents, translations, legalisations and requirements that must be met in a precise sequence.
From this experience comes Yes, I Do - Legal: to offer other couples the assistance I would have wanted when I was planning my own wedding.
Today I put this experience, together with my legal training and international professional background, at the service of those who wish to marry in Italy, Spain or England and need to coordinate procedures and documentation correctly across more than one country.
What we do
The four elements that determine the procedure
There is no single marriage procedure that applies to everyone.
The applicable procedure, the competent authority and the documentation required depend mainly on four elements: the place where the marriage is celebrated, the citizenship of each party, residence and previous marital status.
Once these elements are identified, a precise, orderly and verifiable documentary path can be defined.
01
Place of celebration
Italy, Spain and England apply different procedures and requirements.
Depending on the country and the specific case, the competent authority, the preliminary formalities, the documentation required and the timing of the procedure change: from the Italian civil status officer to the Registro Civil or the competent authority in Spain, to the Register Office in England.
02
Citizenship
The citizenship of the future spouses affects the way in which capacity to marry must be documented.
Depending on the case, a nulla osta, a certificato di capacità matrimoniale, a Certificate of No Impediment or other documentation provided for by the applicable procedure may be required.
It is therefore essential to identify which authority – national, local or consular – is competent to issue the required document.
03
Residence and AIRE registration
Residence can determine the territorially competent authority and affect the manner of requesting and submitting documentation.
For Italian citizens residing abroad, any AIRE registration and the relationship with the competent consulate are particularly relevant.
04
Previous marital status
A previous marriage, divorce or widowhood may entail additional documentation.
When the previous marriage or the related order is connected to another legal system, it may also be necessary to verify what formalities are required so that the relevant documentation can be used in the country where the new marriage is celebrated.
Where we operate
Italy, Spain and England
We assist couples who need to coordinate marriage documents and procedures between Italy, Spain and England, offering a single point of contact for the documentary and administrative side of the matter.
Italy
We assist with the preparation and coordination of the documentation required for the celebration of the civil marriage before the competent Italian Comune, verifying, depending on the case, banns, nulla osta, certificates of capacity to marry and any further documents required by the competent authority.
We also follow any formalities after the celebration, including the documentation required for transcription of the deed where requested.
Spain
We assist with the preparation and coordination of the documentation required for the marriage procedure in Spain, in relation to the competent authority in the specific case, including the Registro Civil, ayuntamiento or notary, where applicable.
We also coordinate the documentary formalities required for the use of foreign documents, including, where required, apostilles, legalisations and sworn translations.
England
We assist with the preparation of the documentation required for giving notice at the Register Office and with the verification of the documents required in relation to the situation of the future spouses.
When the marriage is celebrated abroad, we also assist with the management of the documentation required for the subsequent use of the marriage certificate in the United Kingdom, including, where required, translations and legalisations.
Our method
A five-stage path
01
Framing the case
We analyse the citizenship of each party, residence and any AIRE registration, previous marital status and place of celebration.
These elements allow us to identify the applicable procedure, the competent authority and the documentation to be prepared.
02
Documentary plan
We prepare a tailored documentary plan, indicating the necessary documents – including documents relating to capacity to marry, civil status certificates and, where necessary, documentation relating to previous marriages.
For each document we indicate, as far as possible, the issuing authority, the application procedure, any validity period and the order of acquisition.
03
Formal verification of documentation
We verify that the documents are usable in the intended procedure, paying particular attention to apostilles, legalisations, translations and validity periods.
The aim is to identify any irregularities or missing documents before submission to the competent authority.
04
Formalities and liaison with the offices
We assist in the coordination of the documentary and administrative formalities required by the procedure, including, depending on the country, banns, affidavits, expediente matrimonial and giving notice.
When provided for by the service, we also handle correspondence and documentary liaison with Comuni, Registro Civil, ayuntamientos, Register Offices and consulates, in the language appropriate to the receiving authority.
05
Formalities after the celebration
Once the marriage has been celebrated, we verify the documentation issued and assist with any subsequent formalities, such as transcription, consular registration, translation, apostille or legalisation, depending on the country in which the certificate will be used.
Every stage is documented in writing. The concrete procedure remains in any case subject to the requirements and determinations of the competent authority.
Why choose us
Our value lies in documentary precision and cross-border coordination
Documentary review, not simply collecting documents
We do not simply collect the requested documents.
We analyse the documentation before submission, verifying its provenance, completeness, currency, any legalisation or apostille formalities and translation requirements in relation to the applicable procedure.
Three countries, one contact
Italy, Spain and England follow different procedures.
Marriage banns, expediente matrimonial and giving notice are just some of the formalities that may come into play.
Our role is to coordinate the documentation and the various stages of the procedure, avoiding the couple having to manage different contacts and requirements independently in each country.
Qualified liaison with authorities and offices
When provided for by the service, we prepare applications, requests and documentary correspondence in the language and form appropriate to the receiving office.
Precise communication can reduce requests for additional information, misunderstandings and delays in the review.
A file followed from start to finish
Our assistance can accompany the matter from the initial verification of requirements to any formalities after the celebration.
At every stage, the aim is to maintain an overall view of the matter, verifying that the various documents and steps are consistent with each other and with the requirements of the competent authority.
A service designed for international matters
When a marriage involves more than one country, the problem is not just obtaining the individual documents.
It is necessary to understand how the different documents relate to each other, which authority must receive them, in what form they must be submitted and what steps must be completed before and after the celebration.
It is precisely on this coordination that Yes, I Do – Legal focuses.
The team
Pamela Raguso
Founder of Yes, I Do - Legal
Pamela Raguso graduated in Law from the Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca, at the end of the five-year programme, with a dissertation in private law.
She subsequently attended the Scuola di Specializzazione per le Professioni Legali at the Università degli Studi di Milano and completed her practical legal training, obtaining in 2018 the qualification to practise as a lawyer before the Court of Appeal of Milan.
She gained significant international professional experience in the banking sector in London, developing expertise in regulatory compliance, due diligence and data protection.
She also obtained the Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS) certification from ACAMS and the GDPR: Data Protection Officer certification from the University of Derby.
Her path combines legal training, international experience and skills in documentary verification and in managing procedures involving more than one legal system.
From this combination of skills comes Yes, I Do - Legal: a service designed to make a path that can become particularly complex, when it involves more than one country, simpler, clearer and more reliable.