Q: “We really want to know what destination wedding paperwork requirements there are for a Weddingmoon? How long does it take?” – Tony Phillips
A: “Hello Tony,
Ah, one of our most popular questions! As you are aware, before the fun and relaxation of a Weddingmoon, there is the pesky notion of legal documentation required to have a dream wedding experience in the Caribbean.
No need to panic; at Sandals & Beaches, we take great pride in making this process as easy and stress-free as possible for all of our couples. Just one of the luxuries of having a pre-travel wedding planner is that once you provide the requisite paper work, our team will take care of handling all the preparation of the marriage documents!
Tony, you will find that some of the documentation requirements will vary by island. Sandals and Beaches Resorts are found all over the Caribbean and as I’m not completely sure which resort or island you prefer, I will outline for you all the islands and the associated paperwork requirements. Please forgive me, we’re about to get a little technical. Please note that Residency Requirement means the number of hours you must be on the island before you can legally be married.
For Jamaica and Turks & Caicos only: All documents must be mailed to our office.
- Notarized copies of the bride and groom’s state-issued birth certificates (card not accepted).
- Notarized copy of a divorce decree final judgement with the court’s stamp and judge’s signature (for Bride and Groom if applicable).
- Notarized copy of spouse’s death certificate and related marriage certificate (if applicable).
- Notarized copy of legal adoption papers or legal name change (if applicable).
- Notarized affidavit of spinster-ship and bachelorhood, with raised seal must be dated within 90 day prior to wedding date, if applicable. (For Turks & Caicos only.)
- Notarized copy of legal translation of all documents to English along with original documents in original language (if applicable).
- Notarized copy of passport or driver’s license. (Turks & Caicos only.)
- All original and court certified documents must be hand-carried. (Turks & Caicos only.)
- Residency Requirement: 48 hours (2 business days NOT including day of arrival, weekends or holidays).
- Government Fees:
- Jamaica: US $95
- Turks & Caicos: US $400
For The Bahamas/ St. Lucia/Antigua/Barbados: All original documents with certified court seals must be hand carried to the island.
- Country issued Passports or State issued birth certificates of the bride and groom.
- All pages of divorce decree final judgement with court’s stamp and judge’s signature (for Bride and Groom if applicable).
- If applicable, spouse’s state issued death certificate and related marriage certificate.
- Legal adoption papers and legal name change document (if applicable).
- Legal translation of all documents to English (if applicable).
- Residency Requirement: 48 Hours (Jamaica, Antigua and the Bahamas). St Lucia: 72 hours.
- Government Fees
- Bahamas: US $205
- Antigua: US $288
- Barbados: US $325
For Grenada
- Original state issued birth certificate or passport.
- All pages of all court certified final divorce decrees, if applicable.
- State issued death certificates with related marriage certificates, if applicable.
- Legal name change or legal adoption documents if applicable
- Sworn affidavit (or letter from a clergy man, Lawyer, Registry or Notary Public; must be on letterhead with applicable notarization stamps, seals, etc.) attesting that neither party has not been previously married.
- Residency Requirement: 72 Hours.
- Government Fees: US $180
To make this rather boring part of the process really easy on you, we generally ask that your documents are submitted to us at least 60 days prior to your arrival date (so you can have time to plan the fun stuff). However, in the event that you have a wedding booking date within a shorter time frame than 60 days, we will be more than happy to review your date preferences. These are all issues that any couple can review with our expert pre-travel wedding team.
The most important assurance I can offer to any couple is that our entire wedding team will be there to guide you along every step of the way. Never forget that if at any time you have a question about your upcoming wedding, you can contact one of our warm and friendly wedding concierge at 1-877-SANDALS. Leave preparing the paperwork to us; you’ve got a honeymoon to think about!
For more information on destination wedding paper work at Sandals Resorts, please visit here!
Happy Planning! ”
– Marsha-Ann
Remember, if you have a question about having a destination wedding or about your own upcoming wedding, here’s how to ask our wedding expert:
- Send your question to weddingmoons@uvltd.com.
- Follow us on twitter @Weddingmoons and Marsha-Ann Brown on Twitter at @Marshaannb.
- Tweet us your questions using #AskMarshaAnn and we’ll make sure she gets it.
- Check us here at sandalsweddingblog.com every Monday to see if your question was answered by Director of Romance, Marsha-Ann.
It’s as easy as that! Whether it’s a question about color palettes, venue suggestions or wedding tips and ideas, Ask Marsha-Ann has got you covered!