Don Ramey Logan, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Getting married in Jamaica
Planning the day from somewhere else? I handle the licence, the documents and the travel, for you and for everyone flying in.
The best-connected island in the Caribbean and the one your guests will need least persuading about. Everything from a Negril beach to a Blue Mountain great house, and flights from almost anywhere.
Timing
Around a day on the island first
Every country asks you to be on the ground for a set time before it will marry you, and Jamaica 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: Large guest lists, and anyone who wants the widest choice of venue.
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 Jamaica, start to finish
- The exact document list for your situation, checked before you fly
- Flights into Jamaica 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 Jamaica 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 Jamaica
Somewhere to start if you have not settled on a spot yet.
Dunn's River Falls
A terraced waterfall near Ocho Rios that visitors climb hand in hand, cascading straight onto the beach: one of Jamaica's most-photographed sights.
Blue Mountains
Jamaica's highest range, home to Blue Mountain Peak (2,256m) and the coffee estates that grow the world-famous Blue Mountain coffee, most of it exported to Japan.
Negril and Seven Mile Beach
A long stretch of white sand on the west coast, with the Negril cliffs at its southern end used for cliff diving and sunset watching.
YS Falls
A quieter, less crowded set of seven waterfalls on the south coast, in St. Elizabeth Parish.
Marrying in Jamaica
How long do we have to be in Jamaica before we can marry?
Around a day 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 Jamaica?
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 Jamaica?
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 Jamaica, so do not assume free movement covers it.
Does marrying in Jamaica let us live there?
No. Marrying in Jamaica, 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 Jamaica, 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.