The Legation's Last Wedding

Early this month, the Legation had the honor of special visitors, Ron & Sydney Crawford, pictured above.  They had preceded their visit with this email:

My husband and I were married at the American Consulate on October 3, 1956. The Consul at the time said that we were one of the last to be able to be married under the laws of the United States.  We are returning to Tangier this October and staying for several days.  Would like to visit the building as it is our understanding that this was the home of the Consulate those many years ago.  We will bring our marriage certificate with us and perhaps will be able to remember the room where we had the ceremony.  

 

If you click on the "Certificate of Witness to Marriage," you can make out the name of Vice Consul Charles J. Konya, who officiated.  Tangier was just about to begin its long transition from International Zone to Moroccan city, with independence just weeks later.  The University of Miami students were all of 20 and 21 years old.

Back to the Crawfords:

We had sailed from Miami in July, 1956 on a 92 ft schooner, working as crew as well as making a film for the skipper of the boat.  Traveling down the coast of Spain we thought how wonderful to be married and have the rest of the sailing trip as part of our honeymoon.  

We learned that Tangier was the only place in Europe where we could have a ceremony under US law. The Consul General, who arranged the wedding explained that we would be one of the last couples able to do this as their "Extraterritorial Rights" were ending the same week. That may have been the time that the Embassy changed its status.

Yes, Tangier was officially reintegrated into Morocco on October 29, 1956.  The Legation had already reverted to Consulate General status in June 1956.

Click on the University of Miami newsletter story for a better image of the young couple, whose time in Tangier was a complicated way to start out a marriage:

"Visiting Monaco, the couple decided to elope, and flew to Tangiers, Africa, where they were married for $16.  Immediately after the wedding, Ronny discovered that he was broke.  The only solution was to leave Sydney in a hotel and rush back to Europe for some more money.  All this took place on their wedding night.  Moaned Sydney: 'I'll bet we were the only couple in history separated by two continents on their wedding night.'" 

  

57 years later, the experience doesn't seem to have harmed their relationship.  Wrote Sydney: "It was such a dream come true to have been able to return to the place of our wedding."  Happy anniversary, Ron and Sydney!

Ron Crawford on IMDb.

Gerald Loftus