Wedding Witnesses and Photographer

[Ryan]

Hi,

My fiancée and I are getting married in Helsinki on 7 November 2012 (or at least planning for that date, if all goes well with Maistraatti's investigation); it's a holiday/wedding/honeymoon visit for two weeks. (We're not going there to live.)

I'm just going through and making sure everything's sorted, but two things left: witnesses and a photographer.

We're just going there alone to do it, not with family and we don't have friends in Finland either, so we're short of the two witnesses. I have read some stories and it seems like at the Maistraatti it will be possible to get some people from the office to be witnesses. I was going to ask about it when we submit our documents for investigation, or has anyone else gone through similar and have other advice?

I have been trying to find a photography studio close to the Helsinki Maistraatti or Eerikinkatu (where our hotel is) for a photo shoot. My fiancée would really love some studio photographs, so why not - we're only getting married the once. I've been searching and also using Google Maps/Street View to try to identify one not too far away, but so far no luck. (I found a few photographers, but they don't seem to be the type for wedding photography.) Does anyone know of a studio in this area? Otherwise, I will just hire someone to do a photo shoot at the Maistraatti when the wedding happens.

[Pursuivant]

Yeah, they shanghai their staff for witnesses if need be. Try [quote=http://www.tomaswhitehouse.com/]Tomas Whitehouse[/quote] for the photos.

[interleukin]

As Pursuivant said, you can ask them to find two staff members to act as witnesses, just remember to ask for this in advance. And on Friday afternoons or the day before a holiday, they will not provide this service (or at least not guarantee it), so that´s something to keep in mind.
You can book a time online, and there should be a space there to add extra requests (like having it in English, not Finnish, asking for witnesses to be provided, etc).
Just remember that you will need to have the papers showing you are allowed to marry fixed in time before the wedding! This may be extra complicated depending on your citizenships, which countries you´ve been living in, etc. Do your homework on that part really well to avoid any panic later. Ask Maistraatti for info so you know.

good luck

[Ryan]

Hi all,

Thanks for all the advice, Pursuivant and interleukin. That has put my mind at ease regarding the witnesses. I got a good (at least going by their portfolio) photographer sorted out for the day.

Documents such as no impediment to marriage, etc, for Maistraatti are sorted.

I tried booking an appointment online for "Investigation of impediments to marriage of foreigners", but it didn't list Helsinki (or at least not in a way I understand). Just:

Hämeen maistraatti - Hämeenlinnan yksikkö
Hämeen maistraatti - Lahden yksikkö
Itä-Suomen maistraatti - Iisalmen yksikkö
Itä-Suomen maistraatti - Kuopion yksikkö
Itä-Suomen maistraatti - Varkauden yksikkö
Länsi-Suomen maistraatti - Vaasan yksikkö

So, I have sent an email requesting it instead. I also asked about the marriage date again. I had contacted Maistraatti at the end of July, and again at the beginning of October, asking about booking the date, but each time received a response that we just book it on the day we submit our documents (it seemed a bit unusual to me, but I accepted this as being accurate as it was information from Maistraatti). Just now I checked the dates for marriage ("Marriage and registration of partnership at the local register office"), the Helsinki office was listed for this one, but no dates are available for the two weeks we are in Finland, it seems. I really hope this isn't the case! Well, I just have myself to blame if it is, as I should have pushed further, especially as it seemed odd to me.

[Ryan]

Well, this issue is resolved (in a way). The wedding has been booked for Tampere instead (as we will be there from 8-11 November anyway) and visiting at the beginning of our stay to deliver the documents. Spoke to a very nice and helpful lady earlier today who really helped clear up the whole situation.

So back to finding a photographer again.