Questions & Answers
Frequently Asked Questions
The questions couples ask us most — about getting married in the UAE, the documents it takes, our Editions and The Gift, and how payment works. Each answer is short; where there is more to say, it links to the page that says it.
Last updated
Getting married in the UAE
Who can marry here, which route fits, and how long each one takes.
Can foreigners get married in the UAE?
Yes — residents and visitors alike. Most international couples marry in a civil ceremony at the court in Abu Dhabi or Ras Al Khaimah; couples marrying under Sharia hold a Nikah; and couples who cannot travel together may be able to marry online. Which of those routes is open to you depends on your nationalities, your faith and your documents, and we confirm it for your case before anything is booked.
Which type of marriage is right for us?
Three questions settle it: do you need a legal marriage, a religious one or both; where does the certificate have to be accepted; and how soon do you need it. A civil marriage suits most international couples. A Nikah is the route for couples marrying under Sharia, an online marriage for couples who cannot be in the UAE together, and express is civil marriage for a date that cannot move.
How long does it take to get married in the UAE?
It depends on the emirate far more than on the paperwork. A civil marriage in Abu Dhabi: appointment in about 3 months on the regular route, 1–2 working days on express. In Ras Al Khaimah: about 3 weeks on the standard route, 7 working days on express. Each of those clocks starts once your documents are ready — and papers that have to come from abroad are usually the longer part.
| Emirate | Regular / standard | Express |
|---|---|---|
| Abu Dhabi | Appointment in about 3 months | 1–2 working days |
| Ras Al Khaimah | About 3 weeks | 7 working days |
Abu Dhabi and Ras Al Khaimah compared Express marriage, for a fixed date
Do we need to live in the UAE to get married here?
Not for a civil marriage in Abu Dhabi: the court asks for no residency, and many couples marry there while in the country on a tourist visa. Ras Al Khaimah sets its own conditions on where the partners live. What the visa does not change is the paperwork: each of you still needs your own documents, prepared — and often legalised — in the country that issued them.
Do we both have to be in the UAE on the day?
For a civil marriage, yes. Both partners attend in person or, at the Abu Dhabi court, by video if you both live in the UAE and hold valid Emirates IDs. Everything before it can be handled remotely. If you cannot be in the country together, an online marriage lets you join one ceremony from two countries. It is recognised in fewer places than an in-person marriage, so we check your country first.
We live in Dubai. Where would we get married?
Most often in Abu Dhabi: its court marries residents and visitors of any faith, Muslim UAE citizens excepted, and if you both live in the UAE with valid Emirates IDs you can attend by video. Ras Al Khaimah is the other emirate where we arrange civil marriages; there both partners must be non-Muslim, and the court sets its own conditions on where you live. The celebration can still be in Dubai.
Court marriage for couples living in Dubai Venues and partners in The Circle
Documents, legalisation and recognition
What you need to bring, and what makes the certificate count at home.
Which documents do we need to get married in the UAE?
At the core, both passports. At the Abu Dhabi court each of you declares on its own form that you are free to marry; other routes may ask for a certificate of single status. Papers may also need legalising where they were issued, and a certified translation. If either of you has been married before, the document that ended that marriage is part of the file. We send you the exact list before anything is booked.
Will our UAE marriage be recognised in our home country?
In most countries, yes, once the certificate has been attested by the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA). What differs is the last step. Some countries accept the attested certificate directly, with a certified translation; others want their own embassy in the UAE to legalise it as well. The authority that will receive it decides which, so we check with that authority before you choose a route.
What is MOFA attestation?
It is the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirming that your marriage certificate is a genuine UAE document. Almost every authority abroad expects it first, and we arrange it after the ceremony. On its own it does not settle recognition: it is the step that allows the next authority — your registry at home, or your country’s embassy in the UAE — to accept the certificate.
How MOFA attests a UAE marriage certificate MOFA attestation and embassy legalisation, explained
Do our documents need to be translated?
Often, yes. A document in a language the receiving authority does not accept needs a certified legal translation — the papers you marry with here, and the certificate you take home. Which documents need one, and into which language, depends on your nationalities and your route. We tell you before anything is submitted, and we arrange the translations.
One of us has been married before. Does that change anything?
You can still marry in the UAE; what changes is the paperwork. The decree or certificate that ended the earlier marriage becomes part of your file. The Abu Dhabi court takes it as it is, translated if it is not in English or Arabic; Ras Al Khaimah asks for papers from abroad to be legalised first. It is the document that most often decides how quickly a marriage can happen, so we ask about it in the first conversation.
The Editions and The Gift
The printed editions and the gold keepsake: what they are, who can order them, and how long they take.
What is an Edition?
A printed editorial book of your wedding — edited, designed and written like a magazine feature rather than laid out like an album. It comes in three depths: the Editorial Feature (20 pages), the Signature Edition (40 pages) and the Heirloom Edition (60+ pages). Every edition includes a digital archive as a PDF, and nothing is printed before you have read it.
Do we have to marry through Bridal Edit Studio to order an Edition or The Gift?
No. An Edition is made from the photographs you already have, whoever took them, and The Gift stands on its own — for a wedding we arranged, one we had nothing to do with, or an anniversary years later. Each has its own short enquiry, so ordering either never involves questions about marriage routes.
What is The Gift?
A personalised keepsake with a bar of 999.9 fine gold — 24 karat — set into its face, beside the couple’s names, their wedding date and one photograph from the day. The bar weighs one gram, or more if you would like a heavier one. The back carries a message in your own words. It arrives in a presentation box, and it is made to be kept, not worn.
Can I order The Gift for another couple?
Yes — it is made to be given as much as to be kept. Send us the couple’s names, their date, one photograph and the words for the back, and tell us where it should go. It arrives in its presentation box, and nothing in the parcel says who ordered it.
How long do an Edition and The Gift take?
An Edition takes four to eight weeks from the day your photographs and answers are with us, plus printing and delivery; the review step is yours and has no clock on it. The Gift depends on when the photograph and the wording reach us, so we confirm a date with you rather than quote one. If you are working to an occasion, say so in your first message.
Can we see the Editions and The Gift before we order?
Yes. Both can be seen in our private atelier near Dubai, by appointment. Choose the atelier when you start your journey, or ask for it in an Editions or Gift enquiry, and we will suggest a time.
Payments and bookings
How payment works, what we accept, and what happens when plans change.
Accepted
Payment methods
- Visa Credit & debit
- Mastercard Credit & debit
- Tabby Pay later
Your card details are entered on Network International’s page, never on this site or in a message to us. We see that you paid, how much and when — never your full card number.
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Your proposal
What it covers, the amount and when each payment falls due — agreed in writing before anything is paid.
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A payment link
Sent by email or WhatsApp. A card payment opens Network International’s secure page; paying later opens Tabby’s checkout.
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Confirmation
The payment page confirms your payment as it goes through, and we confirm your booking to you in writing.
Charged in UAE dirhams (AED) unless your proposal says otherwise. Pay later with Tabby is offered where Tabby approves you, under its own terms. Read the payment terms
Which payment methods do you accept?
Credit and debit cards — Visa and Mastercard — paid through a secure payment link that we send you. Card payments are processed by Network International and charged in UAE dirhams (AED) unless your proposal says otherwise. You can also pay later with Tabby, in instalments, where Tabby approves you. Every payment follows a proposal agreed in writing, which is why there is no checkout on this site.
How does paying by payment link work?
Once you have accepted your proposal, we send a payment link by email or WhatsApp. It opens Network International’s secure payment page, where you pay by card — no account or app needed. Paying later with Tabby runs through Tabby’s own checkout instead. Check that the amount matches your proposal before you pay, and never use a link you were not expecting: write to us first.
Is it safe to pay by link?
Yes. The link opens a payment page hosted by Network International, which handles card details under the payment industry’s security standard, PCI DSS. Your full card number never reaches us — we see that you paid, how much and when. Your bank may also ask you to confirm the payment, for example with a code sent to your phone.
When is our booking confirmed?
When we confirm it to you in writing, after the payment your proposal asks for at booking has reached us. An enquiry, a consultation or a payment link on its own does not hold a date, an appointment or a place in production. Where a date depends on an authority — a court or an embassy appointment — we confirm it once that authority has confirmed it to us.
Do we pay a deposit, and when is the rest due?
Your proposal sets that out before you pay anything: whether a deposit applies, how much it is, and when the balance falls due. Where there is a deposit, it is what secures your booking, and the final payment is due by the date the proposal names. Each payment is requested with its own link, and each is confirmed to you in writing.
What happens if we cancel or need to change the date?
Tell us in writing, as early as you can. The cancellation terms in your proposal apply, and what can be moved or refunded depends on what has already been done or paid on your behalf — a court or embassy fee, a translation, a venue, a print run. Amounts already paid to an authority or a third party often cannot be recovered; we tell you which before you book.
How do refunds work?
Where a refund is due under your proposal, it goes back to the card you paid with — a card payment can only be refunded to the card that made it — and we confirm it to you in writing. How quickly it then appears on your statement depends on your bank. If you paid with Tabby, the refund goes back through Tabby, which adjusts your instalments.
Can we pay in instalments?
Yes, with Tabby, where Tabby approves you. Tabby splits the amount into instalments and shows you the plan it can offer before you confirm. The instalment agreement is between you and Tabby, under Tabby’s own terms; your proposal and our cancellation terms apply to the booking exactly as they would to any other payment.
Working with Bridal Edit Studio
What we do, how the first conversation works, and how we look after what you tell us.
What does Bridal Edit Studio do?
Bridal Edit Studio arranges legal marriages in the UAE, introduces couples to a curated circle of wedding partners, and turns weddings into printed Editions and a gold keepsake. It is not the operational planner of the day: we look after the legal side and the lasting one, and the celebration is created by you, with the partners you choose.
How do we start?
With the short form under Start Your Journey — who you are, what you are planning and roughly when. We reply personally within 48 hours with the route we would suggest and what it needs from you, then arrange a consultation: online, or at our atelier if you would like to see the Editions in person. Sending the form commits you to nothing.
How quickly do you reply?
Within 48 hours. Enquiries sent from our express marriage page — couples marrying to a fixed date — are answered within 24 hours. Every reply is written by a person; the only automatic email is the one confirming that your message has arrived. For anything urgent, WhatsApp reaches us directly.
Where are you based?
In the UAE. Bridal Edit Studio FZE LLC is registered in Sharjah Publishing City Free Zone, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, and we work across the emirates: the marriages we arrange take place in Abu Dhabi and Ras Al Khaimah, and our private atelier is near Dubai, where most of the couples we work with live.
What is The Circle?
Our curated network of wedding partners in the UAE — venues, photographers and filmmakers, planners, florists and the other people a wedding needs. Partners join by invitation and are chosen for their work; it is not a directory anyone can list in. We introduce couples to the partners who suit their wedding, and couples work with them directly.
How do you handle our personal information?
We collect what you send us, use it to answer you and to carry out the work, and never sell it. Card details go to Network International’s payment page, never to us. You can ask what we hold, have it corrected or have it deleted at any time by writing to hello@bridal-edit.studio.
Not Answered Here?
Ask Us About Your Case
Tell us your nationalities, what you are planning and roughly when. We reply within 48 hours with the route that fits and what it needs from you.