Advice on Barbados Wedding Planners?

[HOFOhio]

My fiance and I wish to be married when our cruise ship stops in Barbardos on April 8th and I've contacted two wedding planners - "Dreamy Weddings" and "Weddings Beyond Your Imagination" (d/b/a/ Cupids Way). It'll just be the two of us and we want only the most basic package - no frills, non-religious. Has anyone dealt with either of these two companies, or some other, and was your experience positive or not? We've already scuttled plans to tie the know in St Kitts and San Juan due to combinations of the difficulty and lack of clarity on the requirements and we look at Barbados as our last hope for an intimate, romantic wedding on our cruise.

[Mands&Ian]

My fiance and I wish to be married when our cruise ship stops in Barbardos on April 8th and I've contacted two wedding planners - "Dreamy Weddings" and "Weddings Beyond Your Imagination" (d/b/a/ Cupids Way). It'll just be the two of us and we want only the most basic package - no frills, non-religious. Has anyone dealt with either of these two companies, or some other, and was your experience positive or not? We've already scuttled plans to tie the know in St Kitts and San Juan due to combinations of the difficulty and lack of clarity on the requirements and we look at Barbados as our last hope for an intimate, romantic wedding on our cruise.

 

Hi there,

 

The OH and I were married in Barbados almost one year ago. We started the planning less than 8 weeks before our wedding. Does that help some?

 

For practical reasons we needed to not only marry on a Sunday but get our licence the Saturday one week before. No other combination of dates was possible.

 

I contacted 5 Barbados-based wedding planners. One did not reply. Two told me that what I wanted, gaining the licence on a Saturday, wasn't possible. Of those two one backtracked and said it could be done but that she'd never dealt with such a case before.

 

Of the remaining two both offered to help. One was part of a larger organisation; one was a one-man band. The prices reflected the type of organisation. However, we got a better feel from the individual than the company so that is the route that we decided to follow.

 

We arrived late on the Friday. She picked us up on the Saturday and took us to get the appropriate paperwork. When I commented that other planners had told us that this wasn't possible she laughed and said "hmmm, they might not have done it, but that doesn't mean it isn't possible".

 

On Sunday we disappeared on cruise #1. A week later we docked in Bridgetown, got into a car, went to Bottom Bay and got married. We then got back into a car, headed to lunch then back to the same ship and sailed across the Atlantic for cruise #2.

 

Talk to Wendy Harp; she can make this work for you. Tell her that her Cypriot hashing friends send their best regards :-)

 

Our anniversary is just a month away. I very much wish that we were able to be in Barbados to celebrate it.

 

Best of luck with your plans,

Mands

[Johnthed0g]

Well....I was under the impression that you had to reside on the island for a period, I suspect your planner...erm.. gave the impression you were on the island while you were away. I doubt you could get marry there on a one day visit, hope I am wrong.

[Mands&Ian]

Well....I was under the impression that you had to reside on the island for a period, I suspect your planner...erm.. gave the impression you were on the island while you were away. I doubt you could get marry there on a one day visit, hope I am wrong.

 

Many islands have a minimum residency requirement; Barbados does not.

 

It is perfectly possible, and legal, to get a licence and marry the same day.

 

A random google throws up the following;

 

http://www.definitivecaribbean.com/GenericArticlePopup.aspx?i=201

 

Barbados does not have a residence period before a wedding is permitted to take place. You can simply go to the Ministry of Legal Affairs and obtain a Marriage Licence (which takes about half an hour) and you may then get married that same day.

 

It is for that reason that many cruise ship weddings take place in Barbados.

Mands

[HOFOhio]

Thanks for the replies, they're helpful.

 

MandsandIan, we've started looking seriously at doing it ourselves on Barbados, as you did. We've contact the Barbados Tourism Authority in the USA and they've been helpful too. Our time in Barbados is brief but we think we can do it. Were you able to secure any arrangements in advance of your arrival there? Did you have a religious ceremony or civil? Did you pay in cash or credit card - if cash, what currency did you use?

 

Many thanks for any further insights you can offer and congratulations on your upcoming anniversary!

[Johnthed0g]

I have been in touch with one of my spies on the island, who say YES you can marry in a day now (it was 3 days) BUT it has to be a weekday to get the licence.

[Mands&Ian]

BUT it has to be a weekday to get the licence.

 

No, it doesn't; your acquaintances are mis-informed.

 

As I have already stated our licence was issued on a Saturday.

 

The licencing office has regular office hours during Monday to Friday. On Saturdays and Sundays they will open especially but there is a fee involved. From memory it is about 50% of the regular cost of a licence. I got the impression that a decent amount of the weekend-opening premium went directly to the staff involved; they were certainly happy to see us rather than resentful of being in work on a weekend.

 

Perhaps unintentionally you have twice now implied that I have behaved illegally or provided false information. Firstly a suggestion that I colluded with the wedding planner to deceive the authorities about the length of time on the island. Secondly that I was untruthful about when and how our licence was issued.

 

Neither is true and both suggestions are distasteful. That you are unaware of current practices and legislation is unfortunate.

 

Mands

[Mands&Ian]

Thanks for the replies, they're helpful.

 

MandsandIan, we've started looking seriously at doing it ourselves on Barbados, as you did. We've contact the Barbados Tourism Authority in the USA and they've been helpful too. Our time in Barbados is brief but we think we can do it. Were you able to secure any arrangements in advance of your arrival there? Did you have a religious ceremony or civil? Did you pay in cash or credit card - if cash, what currency did you use?

 

 

 

Hi there,

 

All the planning was done before we arrived on the island. We applied in person for licences on the the day before cruise #1 started, we could have been married that day.

 

We paid using a credit card; from memory a 20% deposit and then the balance after the event. Extras that we picked (flowers, cake, wine, additional copies of the certificate) were also charged to the card after we were done. The whole thing was charged in USD.

 

Ours was a non-religious service; Minister Paul Williams officiated.

Mands