Martina Jackson, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Getting married in Trinidad and Tobago
Planning the day from somewhere else? I handle the licence, the documents and the travel, for you and for everyone flying in.
Trinidad brings the music, the food and the biggest Carnival in the world. Tobago, a short hop away, brings the beaches. Plenty of couples use both: the wedding on one island, the rest on the other.
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 Trinidad and Tobago 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: Big, loud family weddings, and anyone timing it near Carnival.
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 Trinidad and Tobago, start to finish
- The exact document list for your situation, checked before you fly
- Flights into Trinidad and Tobago 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 Trinidad and Tobago 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 Trinidad and Tobago
Somewhere to start if you have not settled on a spot yet.
Pitch Lake
The world's largest natural deposit of asphalt, at La Brea in southwest Trinidad: a semi-solid, walkable lake covering about 40 hectares, in use since Sir Walter Raleigh caulked his ships with it in 1595.
Caroni Bird Sanctuary
A mangrove swamp on Trinidad's west coast, famous for the nightly return of thousands of scarlet ibis (the national bird) to roost, best seen by guided boat tour at sunset.
Asa Wright Nature Centre
A rainforest reserve and former plantation house in Trinidad's Northern Range, known for birdwatching: hummingbirds at close range and dozens of other species on its trails.
Fort George
An 1804 hilltop fort overlooking Port of Spain and the Gulf of Paria, built by enslaved labourers led by Jonas Mohammed Bath. Its cannons never fired in anger, but the view over the capital is one of the best on the island.
Marrying in Trinidad and Tobago
How long do we have to be in Trinidad and Tobago 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 Trinidad and Tobago?
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 Trinidad and Tobago?
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 Trinidad and Tobago, so do not assume free movement covers it.
Does marrying in Trinidad and Tobago let us live there?
No. Marrying in Trinidad and Tobago, 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 Trinidad and Tobago, 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.