Congratulations?

We recently received the "Certificat de famille" confirming that our American marriage had been registered in Switzerland. A couple of days afterwards, two envelopes arrived from the commune in which we live, one for each of us. Gilles opened his first. "Felicitations!" the commune greeted him, before presenting him with an updated civil status register entry that indicated his new marital status.

I turned to mine. It contained a demand to come to the office to change my permit status and to bring fifty francs to pay for that privilege. That's all.

Congratulations?

Well, they aren't really needed. We're happy enough without. I'm officially Elizabeth Mylastname Hislastname, and we're officially Swiss-ly married. All we need now is for the rest of this little family to follow.