Amanda (amanderson), CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Getting married in Guyana
Planning the day from somewhere else? I handle the licence, the documents and the travel, for you and for everyone flying in.
Mainland South America's only English-speaking country, with a huge diaspora in New York, Toronto and London. Most weddings here are family coming home rather than couples discovering the place.
Timing
A week or more on the island first
Every country asks you to be on the ground for a set time before it will marry you, and Guyana 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: Guyanese families abroad marrying at home, with relatives already on the ground.
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 Guyana, start to finish
- The exact document list for your situation, checked before you fly
- Flights into Guyana 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 Guyana 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 Guyana
Somewhere to start if you have not settled on a spot yet.
Kaieteur Falls
One of the world's most powerful single-drop waterfalls, roughly four times the height of Niagara. No road reaches it; visitors fly in on a small plane over unbroken rainforest.
Iwokrama Rainforest
A protected wilderness known for jaguars, giant river otters and over 500 bird species, with a high canopy walkway through the treetops.
Rupununi Savannah
Open savannah and working cattle ranches near the Brazilian border, for horseback riding, river safaris and wildlife tracking rather than beaches.
Georgetown's colonial architecture & Stabroek Market
18th- and 19th-century wooden buildings and the seawall protecting the below-sea-level capital, plus Stabroek Market, a landmark iron-and-steel market building with a clock tower, open since 1881.
Marrying in Guyana
How long do we have to be in Guyana before we can marry?
A week or more on the island first. 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 Guyana?
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 Guyana?
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 Guyana, so do not assume free movement covers it.
Does marrying in Guyana let us live there?
No. Marrying in Guyana, 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 Guyana, 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.