The reason couples are rushing to Jamaica for their Caribbean Wedding is, the island’s scenic landscape with mountainous backdrops and cliffs overlooking the Caribbean sea, botanical gardens, and green golf courses. It's a top 5 wedding destination in this region.
Plus, Jamaica’s stunning white sand beaches, vibrant music, tantalizing cuisine, and world-class services together create the perfect setting for the ideal Caribbean wedding or honeymoon.
Love is in the air in Jamaica, and the blinding white-sand beaches, aqua green, water, swaying coconut palms in the balmy tropical breezes, and the never-ending summer sunshine put couples in the mood for romance.
The perfect island for a Caribbean Destination wedding, make it a Jamaica wedding.
Venues/Setting
Jamaica provides a wide variety of venues and backdrops for wedding ceremonies and receptions, including private villas, resorts, lawns, restaurants, places of worship, stunning beaches with breathtaking sunsets, precipices gazing over the Caribbean Sea, and gardens with vibrant colors.
You name it, and your wedding planner will make it happen for you. Jamaica also has a lot of resorts that specialize in weddings and have weddings included in your holiday packages.
Post-Wedding Experiences
After the marriage service, couples can enjoy many fun experiences like diving at world-class reefs in Negril, going on a bar-hopping excursion in Montego Bay, swimming with dolphins, or visiting the famous Dunn’s River Falls in Ocho Rios.
Other tours and activities include exploring the Black River Safari, the Appleton Estate Rum Tour, cliff-diving, and breathtaking sunsets at Rick’s Cafe, river rafting, zip-lining, cruises, and off-the-beaten-path excursions.
Popular Wedding Locations
Montego Bay
Montego Bay is filled with boutique shops, high-end restaurants, clubs, bars, championship golf courses on luxurious resort properties, and historical Great Houses.
The resort town is a mixture of man-made and natural beauty, making it a popular location for weddings. Most couples will opt for the more traditional resort weddings, but there are also many offsite locations like botanical gardens and piers and the Montego Bay Conventional Centre for larger weddings.
Montego Bay is also home to many all-inclusive resorts such as Sandals Montego Bay which is one of the few resorts on the Island with a Chapel.
Negril
Negril is the most popular location for weddings in Jamaica. Negril’s scenic coast is lined with towering cliffs and bustling beaches freckled with numerous all-inclusive resorts, bars, restaurants, nightlife spots, and the most beautiful sunset you can find in the Caribbean.
Most of the resorts on the beach specialize in weddings; there are also some beautiful locations on the cliffs overlooking the glistening Caribbean Sea.
Ocho Rios
Ocho Rios, in the parish of St. Ann which is nicknamed “the Garden Parish,” is also a popular location.
From the beauty of its waterfalls, beaches, and rivers to the elegance of its all-inclusive resorts, it is a popular destination for all types of couples.
Ocho Rios is also the home of Dunn’s River Falls, and this area is also full of all kinds of resorts and private villas for you to choose from.
Port Antonio
Port Antonio is located on Jamaica’s east coast and is the Caribbean’s best-kept secret wedding destination for the rich and famous.
Port Antonio's eclectic history and stunning landscapes make it the ideal destination for couples seeking an authentic Jamaican Wedding
Jamaica also offers cruise ships and shoreside weddings, but cruise ships have to be at the port for six hours or more for them to be valid for wedding ceremonies.
Legal Requirements
To ensure that planning your special day is hassle-free, the following information should help guide you through the process.
Visitors can get married just 24 hours after arriving in Jamaica, given that an application for a marriage license has been made prior.
Important documents include:
N.B. THESE DOCUMENTS MUST BE NOTARIZED AND TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH (where necessary)
If you are not from an English-speaking country and your country has no High Commission or Embassy in Jamaica, you may have requirements for legalizing your documents. Marriage officers are available all over the island and may be registered through the:
Registrar General's Department
40 Duke Street
Kingston
Tel: 876.619.1260
Prices may vary depending on the Marriage Officer that you choose; however, the process remains the same.
Hotel Planned Weddings
Most hotels in Jamaica have wedding coordinators and inclusive wedding packages for you. Ask your travel agent which ones do; most travel agents will even help you plan your wedding.
The process is the same as when using a Marriage Officer; the main difference may be the cost and time frame for sending documents.
Some hotels require that the documents be sent 6 weeks before the proposed date of the wedding. Verify all details with the hotel first.
After Ceremony
A copy of the Marriage Register, which shows proof of marriage will be given to you immediately after the wedding ceremony.
This document is signed by the Marriage Officer, yourself, and a witness. Please note that when handed the Marriage Register it must be certified before it can be used for business.
Certified Copy of Marriage Certificate
The Marriage Officer can apply for your Marriage certificate, and it generally takes between 7 working days to a month to be processed by the Registrar General’s Department (Registry of marriages, birth, and death).
You can also apply for it yourself, and there is an express service available. Ask your Marriage Officer or wedding coordinator when you make initial contact and make your payments.
If you are not from an English-speaking country, then your documents must be legalized by the Embassy representing your country in Jamaica.
After the Jamaican Government issues the authenticated Marriage Certificate, the certified copy is sent to the Marriage Officer who then passes it on to your Embassy.
Only after your marriage documents are legalized by your country's Embassy/High Command will the wedding process be completed, and your marriage will be recognized as a legal union in your country.
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