So where did that leave me with the Church? Basically, hung out to dry unless I sought an annulment. Well, why the hell should I have to jump through hoops because the Vatican wants some documentation? I did nothing wrong, but just as in civil law, it's hassle, time and money coming out of me. No thanks.
I remarried outside the Church a few years ago. I have no regrets.
"The Vatican" (the Church) doesn't give a damn about "documentation"; its job is to keep the Sacraments inviolate, among which is Holy Matrimony.
Your opinion of the teaching of the Church with regard to marriage is irrelevant. The Church is the Body of Christ, and as such cannot teach error. Here is what the Church teaches on this issue:
The marriage covenant, by which a man and a woman form with each other an intimate communion of life and love, has been founded and endowed with its own special laws by the Creator. By its very nature it is ordered to the good of the couple, as well as to the generation and education of children. Christ the Lord raised marriage between the baptized to the dignity of a sacrament (cf. CIC, can. 1055 § 1; cf. GS 48 § 1).This is what Christ commands. It is not optional. One either believes it and practices it, or one deliberately disobeys Christ. The refusal to cleave to the teaching of the Church on remarriage is no less a heresy than the refusal to cleave to the teaching of the Church on so-called gay marriage. In both cases, an attempt is being made to redefine marriage to suit one's personal whim, which is tantamount to elevating oneself to the status of God.The sacrament of Matrimony signifies the union of Christ and the Church. It gives spouses the grace to love each other with the love with which Christ has loved his Church; the grace of the sacrament thus perfects the human love of the spouses, strengthens their indissoluble unity, and sanctifies them on the way to eternal life (cf. Council of Trent: DS 1799).
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Unity, indissolubility, and openness to fertility are essential to marriage. Polygamy is incompatible with the unity of marriage; divorce separates what God has joined together; the refusal of fertility turns married life away from its "supreme gift," the child (GS 50 § 1).
The remarriage of persons divorced from a living, lawful spouse contravenes the plan and law of God as taught by Christ. They are not separated from the Church, but they cannot receive Eucharistic communion. They will lead Christian lives especially by educating their children in the faith.
Source: Catechism, Arts. 1660-1665
As your fellow sinner and struggling Christian, it is my duty to point out to you that (barring annulment) you are still married to your "first" wife. Your "remarriage" is a sham, invalid in the eyes of God. In charity, I will pray that you will rearrange your life in order to reconcile yourself to the Church, and I hope that you will pray for me that I may turn from my many and equally damnable sins.