Do I need to tell the US I got married abroad?

Are you doing a "real" wedding, with a license and certificate and all that jazz in the US? If not, then yes, you need to tell the US that you are married. If you are..then I'm not 100% sure.

Ginny, you have certified copies of your Germany license? the US should recognize an international marriage.. you will likely just need to provide your license/certificate, which is the same even if you got married in the US.. I forgot if you were moving back to the US or not, so if you are you'll need to do your SS and state license as well..

this may or may not help...

http://travel.state.gov/law/family_issues/marriage/marriage_589.html

We got an international marriage license and the US will honor it so this will be our one and only marriage license. So do i just file my marriage license with my local courthouse the next time I go home, or mail it in from here?

@Jen- everything mentioned on that site is what we had to do in order to get married here. So now I need to know what to do after thanks.

andddd.....I've already been issued my residency here so no problems there. (thankfully)

I would call the local courthouse.

One of my friends from the US was married in Italy to an Italian man while living in France. They did soooo much paperwork locally in Europe, but I think the US paperwork was actually really simple if I remember correctly.

It sounds like your actual legal wedding date will be the one that occurred already, and what you're planning in the US is more of a vow renewal/second party for those who couldn't travel to see the first wedding, is that correct? If so, I wouldn't even inform the state about that party. There's nothing they need to know about it. You just need to file the paperwork so the US recognizes that you are already legally married as of your first wedding date, and then you can change your name anytime you want.

@Kris- yes our Dec 2011 date is our official legal date and our April 2013 is our "spiritual ceremony" with family and friends. We will have an actual wedding but not a second marriage license. As in Germany we were required to do the civil ceremony.

Yeah, I would contact your local clerk of courts in the US and get some advice from them. =)

I think that is what I will do on Monday morning. Thanks for chiming in