Good afternoon Todd,
Welcome to Brasil. I am trying to understand your post correctly in my head before I say anything wrong...
So, I think you are wanting to marry your lovely Partner here in Brasil? And then apply for a resident visa? They actually define this visa as a VIPER, and is under Humanitarian purpose and called Family Reunion. I just went thru the process.
First, you will Need the Permission of Brasil to get married. Many documents are needed for this. I would check with your local Cival Cartario (in Brasil it is the Government that legally marries people, a church wedding is non binding legally and is done secondary after the Government marriage Ceremony to people who want a church wedding for religious reasons) The Cartario is who would marry you, get Appointment etc...
The Cartario will tell you of all the documents that he requires. One thing I and all expats have learned here in Brasil is that the law is applied differently by different people, one Cartario in Rio let's say may require different documents than a Cartario in Porto Seguro...So, I would Find out exactly all the documents needed from the Person who Will make your wedding, but you will need quite a bit, certified birth records, certified Divorce documents if applicable to you as well as resident documents he may want such as rent reciepts etc...
I will tell you this from my first hand experience.
The Cartario where I live In Porto Seguro Bahia was demanding all kinds of documents from me before he would marry me and my then fiancee. And also keep in mind that they will all require that any document they demand such as birth record must be translated and certified by the Brasil Consulate in your home country...
It was going to take many months securing and getting all the documents needed, translated and certified.
My wife and I went an easier route. We flew to Buenas Aires and got Married there, Because Argentina has a very relaxed law on marriage. We were able to get married within 2 weeks after our arrival in Argentina. The only documents needed under Argentine law is Your Passport! And you make an Appointment to get married on the internet, it is quite easy!
After our marriage in Argentina, we brought the required documents back to Brasil and had the marriage acknowledged legally here and were issued a Brasil marriage document that is legally binding for Brasil (and all countries of the world)
I in turn recieved my Reunion Visa pretty easily after this.
But if you really want to get married here be prepared for a long wait and many many document's.
After you are married, then you are able to recieve your Family Reunion Visa (VIPER) and then a new list of documents will be needed from the Entity such as Federal Police that will issue the Visa. You probably will have all the documents needed for your reunion Visa if you get married here in Brasil, but One Document That I am sure you will need On top of all the documents needed to get married is a Police Certificate from your Home country and certified by the Brasil embassy or consulate in your home country. This Certificate Has to be issued within the last Six months. So, no matter where you get married I would start working on obtaining your Police Certificate from your home country.
I hope I have not rambled on too long and hope that I didnt make things confusing for you.
As I said, I just within the last month have gone thru this pocess and if you want more specific info I would be happy to help. My wife did all the paperwork for us as she is the Brazilian and she and i can answer any questions you and your partner may have,
Regards
Lawrence