Johnmartindavies, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Getting married in Barbados
Planning the day from somewhere else? I handle the licence, the documents and the travel, for you and for everyone flying in.
The easiest of the twelve to organise around, and the best fed. Barbados has the most direct flights from the UK and North America, which matters enormously when your guest list is spread across both.
Timing
Little to no waiting once you land
Every country asks you to be on the ground for a set time before it will marry you, and Barbados sits at this end of the range. What exactly applies to the two of you depends on your circumstances, and sorting that out is where we start.
Best suited to: A guest list flying in from several countries at once.
What I take off you
I handle the legal side and the travel. The florist, the photographer and the person running the day itself are local, and I will point you to them.
- The marriage licence for Barbados, start to finish
- The exact document list for your situation, checked before you fly
- Flights into Barbados for the two of you and for guests coming from different countries
- Accommodation, including a block of rooms held together for your guests
- Airport transfers and moving everybody around on the day
- One travel page for your guests, so you stop answering the same question forty times
You don’t have to do this yourself
I can handle the licence, the documents and the travel for a wedding in Barbados for you. I work out what your country and your destination actually ask for, get the paperwork in order, and keep it moving, so you are not the one chasing offices and re-reading forms to figure out what happens next.
A few corners of Barbados
Somewhere to start if you have not settled on a spot yet.
Historic Bridgetown and its Garrison
A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2011: colonial architecture, the careenage waterfront, and the Garrison Savannah, once a British military headquarters.
George Washington House
The only house outside the continental US where George Washington lived: six weeks in 1751, aged 19. Now a museum within the Garrison, with access to old tunnels.
St. Nicholas Abbey
A well-preserved 1658 plantation house with its own rum distillery, gardens and a heritage railway.
Carlisle Bay
A calm, clear bay near Bridgetown with several shipwrecks close to shore, popular for snorkelling and swimming with sea turtles.
Marrying in Barbados
How long do we have to be in Barbados before we can marry?
Little to no waiting once you land. The exact requirement depends on which licence applies to you and on your circumstances, and it is one of the first things I pin down, because it decides your flights and everybody's leave.
What do we need to bring to Barbados?
That depends on where you were born, where you live now and whether either of you has been married before. The form the documents take matters as much as having them, and getting it wrong is what sends couples back to a registry a second time. I work out the exact list for your situation and check everything before you fly.
We are CARICOM nationals. Is it easier for us in Barbados?
Getting in is easier, and staying long enough is simpler. The marriage licence itself is the same process as for anyone else who does not live in Barbados, so do not assume free movement covers it.
Does marrying in Barbados let us live there?
No. Marrying in Barbados, or marrying a citizen, does not by itself give you the right to remain. That is a separate immigration question. If moving there is the real plan, tell me at the start and we sort both together.
Looking at more than one country? Compare the twelve and I will help you pick.
What it costs
$100
A Move Planning Consultation covering your wedding in Barbados, the licence, the documents and everybody's travel, is $100, and it comes off the booking if you go ahead. Tell me what you have in mind and I will tell you what it actually takes.