Legal Ceremony in Jamaica

This type of ceremony also referred to as a Civil ceremony can be requested 7 days a week except on Jamaican holidays. Unlike in Mexico; Civil marriages in Jamaica are performed by a Non Denominational Minister and are considered Civil/Legal in Jamaica. However you must legalize your marriage at your local court if you want it to be recognized as legal in your country of birth/residence. All wedding couples hosting a Civil Wedding Ceremony will receive 2 different documents after the wedding ceremony:

  1. CERTIFIED COPY OF MARRIAGE LICENSE: This document is received right after the ceremony but is not the official Marriage certificate. It can be used as such to change your social security, bank accounts, living wills, insurance policies, credit cards, driver licenses, automobile insurance, mortgages, Internal Revenue Service, passport and voter's registration, just to name a few.
  2. MARRIAGE CERTIFICATE: This document is mailed to the wedding couple via FedEx approximately 14 days after the wedding ceremony and should be used to register your marriage at your local courthouse.

REQUIREMENTS FOR A LEGAL CEREMONY IN JAMAICA

BIRTH CERTIFICATES: Certified copies of Bride & Groom's birth certificate. If father's name is not on the certificate an explanation must be included with the documents.

PASSPORTS: Certified copies of the passports are required to process the marriage license. The passports are needed to enter Jamaica and are also mandatory for a legal wedding to be performed. Passports must be presented to the On-Site Wedding Coordinator at the time of the wedding consultation.

DIVORCE DECREE: Certified copy of divorce decree if applicable. If bride is divorced and has returned to her maiden name, there must be an official document to show the change.

DEATH CERTIFICATE: Certified copy of death certificate if applicable.

CIVIL WEDDING REGISTRATION FORM: Completed Civil Wedding Registration Form which will be provided by your Wedding Designer indicating witnesses name, age, nationality, home address and occupation. Witnesses - Legal wedding ceremonies require two witnesses at least 18 years of age or older. The hotel can provide witnesses at no extra cost.

ADVANCE HOTEL STAY: Bride & Groom must arrive at their hotel 3 business days prior to the legal wedding ceremony in order to complete the document processing. Saturday and Sunday are not considered working days.

  1. The above documents need to be sent by DHL courier to the Wedding Designer at the hotel at least 45 days prior to arrival. Physical documents are still required at the Hotel.
  2. Any documents in any language other than English must be translated and the translations certified.
  3. Certified copy of any name change document if applicable must be provided.
  4. Italian nationals must notify their embassy and have a certified copy of their marriage certificate forwarded to their embassy to be legalized and translated.
  5. French Canadians need a notarized translated copy of all documents and a photocopy of the original French documents.
  6. Blood tests are not required.