Quebec City is a French-speaking city. Not in the way that Montreal is bilingual with French dominant: Quebec City is genuinely French-first in a way that most anglophone visitors notice within the first hour. Restaurant menus, street signs, civic infrastructure: French. This is not a barrier to an extraordinary elopement but it is a practical reality that English-speaking couples from the US, English Canada, and internationally should prepare for rather than discover on arrival.

Couple in elopement attire standing in the historic Rue du Petit-Champlain in Old Quebec City with the French-language shop signs and the narrow stone-walled street creating the distinctly Québécois atmosphere around them — Old Quebec is genuinely French in a way that the rest of Canada is not. The atmosphere is part of what makes it extraordinary as a destination. Navigating it as an English-speaking couple requires preparation, not avoidance.

Language Reality in Quebec City

The day-to-day experience for English-speaking couples in Old Quebec is manageable. Hotel staff at properties accustomed to international visitors, restaurant staff in the tourist areas of the Upper and Lower Town, and vendors who work regularly with destination elopement clients speak functional to excellent English. The boutique properties in Old Quebec, including Le Saint-Pierre, Auberge Saint-Antoine, and the Château Frontenac itself, are fully equipped to serve English-speaking guests.

The legal and administrative dimension operates in French. Quebec government documents, including the marriage act the notaire prepares, are in French. Any required documentation from Quebec provincial sources arrives in French. This is not a problem as long as you know it in advance: I send couples a pre-trip document that explains exactly what each French-language form contains so they know what they are signing. The notaire I work with for English-speaking couples conducts the ceremony bilingually, with all required legal recitations in both French and English so both partners fully understand what is being said.

Couple in winter elopement attire on the Dufferin Terrace in Old Quebec City with the Château Frontenac lit against the winter sky, the French-Canadian heritage of the city evident in the architecture and atmosphere — The Château Frontenac and the Dufferin Terrace are the visual signature of Quebec City as a destination. The French language and Québécois culture are inseparable from what makes this city photographically distinctive.

Finding an English-Speaking Notaire

The Chambre des notaires du Québec website has a search function that allows filtering by language of service. Quebec City has a number of notaires who work regularly with anglophone elopement couples and who conduct the ceremony in English or fully bilingually. I maintain a current referral list and make the introduction directly for couples who book elopement sessions with me. The key point when contacting a notaire independently: specify at first contact that both partners are anglophone and that the ceremony should be conducted in English. Notaires who do not work in English will tell you immediately and redirect you to a colleague who does.

Couple in wedding attire at a formal ceremony moment in a Quebec City heritage setting with the notaire visible performing the legal ceremony and the witnesses present on either side — A bilingual notaire ceremony: the legal recitations happen in both French and English. Both partners understand exactly what is being said and what they are agreeing to. This is the non-negotiable requirement I advise all anglophone couples to confirm before booking.

Witnesses: What They Need and What They Do

Quebec law requires two witnesses for a legal marriage ceremony. The witnesses must be at least 18 years old. They do not need to be Quebec residents or Canadian citizens. They do not need to speak French. Their function is to be present during the ceremony and to sign the marriage act. I have served as a witness on elopements where the couple had no family or friends present, paired with a second witness arranged through the notaire or the couple’s accommodation. If you want your ceremony to be genuinely private, with no one from your personal life in the room, this is achievable: two anonymous witnesses, a bilingual notaire, and the two of you. The marriage is equally legal.

Documents to Bring from Home

The standard document list for non-Quebec-resident anglophone couples: valid passports for both partners, original long-form birth certificates (or notarized copies with certified translation if not in French or English), and if either partner was previously married, the original divorce decree or death certificate. Many non-Canadian couples will also need a Certificate of No Impediment, called a certificat de coutume in Quebec procedure, which confirms that no legal barrier to marriage exists in your home jurisdiction. In the US, this document is obtained through your state’s Department of Health or a comparable office. In the UK, through the General Register Office. The process and timeline vary by country: allow four to eight weeks to obtain this document and factor that into your ceremony date planning.