Kim Kardashian and Kanye West to wed THIS WEEK... in 'private courthouse wedding'

It was previously reported that Kim and Kanye were planning to have a ceremony in America, as wel as a further two in France, after their lawyers allegedly recommended a US wedding to avoid any legal issues.

A source said: 'Typically, the U.S. recognizes citizens getting married in France, but dealing with a foreign government and paperwork could be a nightmare.

‘So just to make sure it’s legal, Kim and Kanye will first be having a civil ceremony in Southern California.’

The couple’s wedding plans were almost scuppered last month when they discovered that French law requires at least one of them to remain

in France for at least 40 days before the wedding.

Although Kanye has owned an apartment in the city for three years, it's not his main home and so the local mayor will make the final decision.

At the time a source told Radar: ‘Kim and Kanye were unaware until recently that France required a residency requirement prior to the marriage. Kanye has an apartment in Paris, but he doesn’t live there full time.’

And the French Embassy in Washington D.C confirmed the law saying: ‘All marriages must be performed by a French civil authority before any religious ceremony takes place. The mayor can authorise the deputy mayor or a city councillor to perform the ceremony in the town in which one of the parties to be married has resided for at least 40 days preceding the marriage. 

'These requirements cannot be waived.'

 Their main wedding – which is rumoured to be held at Louis XIV-commissioned Chateau de Louveciennes – is expected to be an extravagant affair.

It’s thought Kim will have at least three outfit changes on the big day, with Azzedine Alaia expected to be one of the designers.

However, in an interview in February, Kim admitted she had changed her mind about what she wanted on her big day and was keen to have a smaller do.

She said: 'We're having a super, super small, intimate wedding. As we go along, we're realizing we want it to be smaller and more intimate than people are imagining and thinking.'

MailOnline has contacted a representative for Kim for comment.

 This will be Kim's third wedding - she eloped with Damon Thomas when she was just 19, and wed basketball player Kris Humphries in 2011

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