Getting to your Grand Cayman Beach Wedding

We have been getting quite a few requests for large group weddings from couples visiting on cruise ships.  We have recently begun working with another company to handle these requests.  For your group transportation needs, for the last couple of years we have been using Joselene Vegiz.  As a tour operator, Joselene will meet you at the cruise landing and bring you to our office, or take you to the wedding site. After the wedding she will take you back to the landing. You can contact Joselene at latinavegiz@yahoo.com, or through Simply Weddings at mywedding@candw.ky.  We have the fullest confidence in recommending Joselene to you, she is friendly, efficient and professional.

Joselene Vegiz

Joselene with one of her modern air-conditioned buses

If you are thinking of a Destination Wedding, Cayman-style...

This morning I was looking at an article which talked about a survey done by the Cruise Line International Association.  The fact that I was most interested in is that cruise weddings have increased 60% in the last ten years.

When you begin to consider a Destination Wedding or a wedding vow renewal, you will see that if you are travelling on a cruise ship you can usually have the wedding on-board ship or at one of the ports of call.  You can be married on board ship by the captain, if the cruise-ship is registered in a country which recognises all marriages in international waters.

Different rules apply for getting married in one of the ports of call.  Some countries have residency requirements ranging from 24 hours to a few weeks.  The Cayman Islands has no residency requirements, you can be married the same morning you arrive if you are visiting on a cruise ship.  The Cayman Islands is the easiest place to be married in the western Caribbean.  We have been catering to Destination Weddings for more than 25 years, when the Cayman Islands were still "the Islands that Time Forgot."

The reason the Cayman Islands has such a long history as a Destination Wedding location, is that we have a strong Marriage Law which was enacted in 1962 and which is based on English Law.  You never need to worry about the legality of your Cayman wedding.  Your Cayman Islands Registered Marriage Certificate is legal world-wide.

Whether you arrive on a cruise, or as a stay-over visitor, you have to be married by a Special Marriage License which cannot be obtained until you are physically on the island.  The easiest way to be married in the Cayman Islands is to contact one of the companies with a Civil Registrar/Marriage Officer, on staff.  Your officiant will do all the advanced work, including securing and checking your documents, and signing off on your Special Marriage License.  Everything will be ready, awaiting your signature when you arrive on the island.  This is very convenient when you are on a cruise and you only have a couple of hours to get everything done, and see a bit of George Town as well.

Stay-over visitors are equally well-catered to.  You can visit us at our Registry Office on North Church Street,  one of the capital's main streets or in some circumstances we will visit your hotel or condo to get the relevant information and signatures needed for your Special Marriage Certificate.

According to the survey mentioned at the beginning of this article, 23% of agents booking cruise weddings say that the top reason clients give for booking is "value".  35% of agents say their clients want to combine the wedding and the honeymoon, and a whopping 80% agents say that the Caribbean and the Bahamas are the top choice for a Destination Cruise Wedding.

Whatever you choice, you never have to compromise on quality when you choose the Cayman Islands for your Destination Wedding.   You can have all the features of your mainland wedding, and if you're bringing guests, well we love a party too!

Wedding Vow Renewal Ceremony on Your Grand Cayman Vacation

Yesterday I did a wedding vow renewal for a North Carolina couple, married 10 years.  After their ceremony, they took off for a helicopter ride over the island! I do vow renewals all the time, and everyone is special to me.  I love to see the surprise in husband or wife’s eyes when their spouse does or says something so tender and romantic.  Most of the people choosing to renew their marriage vows are  ordinary people like you and me, just  a very loving, and  thoughtful spouse.

Last year I officiated a 50th wedding vow renewal ceremony for a couple from Virginia.  They were on a cruise with their grown children and grand children.  I used the ceremony my own parents , Vernon & Francine Jackson had used for their 50th wedding vow renewal.  This was probably my most memorable vow renewal.

You don’t have to have a vow renewal for one of the big anniversaries however, you can have them just because you want to do something special to remind your spouse of how important your marriage is to you.  I have had husbands and wives do all sorts of special things.  Special flowers, for example, special readings, and vows they wrote themselves.  Some husbands and wives duplicate the whole wedding ceremony, even going so far as to have new rings, and to have members of their original wedding party present as witnesses to their renewal.

My hands-down favorite is a wedding vow renewal with the couple’s children present.  I try and include the children in the ceremony in some way, to create a happy memory which they will always remember.  As a teacher, a mother and a grandmother, I strongly believe in showing by example.  I never lose an opportunity to highlight my belief in the institution of marriage.

Sometimes a couple have only been married a few years, and if they have had a civil ceremony in a courthouse of judge’s chambers they want to have the traditional vows, flowers, champagne and photos in an exotic location like Grand Cayman.  In these cases I do a “Wedding Blessing” and the ceremony has a different structure, which is much more like a wedding ceremony.

Wedding Blessings have become quite popular with cruise visitors as well, and  is good value for money, since there is no Special Marriage License necessary. Simply Weddings has one low price for a wedding vow renewal  or  a wedding blessing, and we provide complimentary champagne and or sparkling non-alcoholic cider served chilled on the beach.

To book your Grand Cayman wedding vow renewal or wedding blessing, download the form here and email, fax or scan and send it to mywedding@candw.ky

So You Want to Get Married in Grand Cayman?

Grand Cayman’s popularity as a  destination wedding location is growing.  There are many reasons for this, but the main reason is that it is easy to have a legal wedding on this British island. Over 20 years ago, the Cayman Islands lawmakers made it possible for visitors to be married without a residency requirement.  This means you can be married the same day you arrive in the Cayman Islands, there is no waiting period as in some other islands and vacation spots.

As a visitor, whether cruise or stay-over,  you must be married by Special Marriage License.  This license costs $250 and is available through the Governor’s Office.  There is no need for you to get the license yourself. All Simply Weddings packages include the Special Marriage License, the responsibility of obtaining it, and all the requirements for a legal Cayman wedding.

All Cayman Islands weddings must be performed between the hours of 6am and 8pm by a government – licensed Civil Registrar or  Marriage Officer.  There must be two witnesses over the age of 18 years present at the ceremony.  Under the Marriage Law, your Civil Registrar/Marriage Officer must ask you certain questions, to determine that you are free in law to marry.

Weddings in the Cayman Island are performed under the Marriage Law.  Once the ceremony is performed you must get a document called a “Registered Marriage Certificate”.  It is your Civil Registrar or Marriage Officer’s   responsibility to make sure you get this very important document as quickly as possible after your wedding. All “Simply Weddings” packages include this Registered Marriage Certificate.  Additional copies can be obtained for a small fee.

There is one other document which you are given on your Grand Cayman wedding day, and this is a signed certified copy of your Marriage Registrar.  Here is a copy of the decorative  certified copy that each  Simply Weddings’ couple is given.

Guide to your Cruise-Ship Wedding in Grand Cayman

Congratulations, you are planning to visit the western Caribbean’s most popular port, Grand Cayman. Grand Cayman is clean, modern, safe and beautiful. It is also becoming well-known for weddings. Every year over 1000 visitors chose to be married on pristine Seven Mile Beach, and the other stunning locations found on this tropical paradise. You can be married aboard your cruise ship where your wedding will be just another wedding of the several scheduled for that day, or you can have a simple, elegant, personalized wedding where you are the focus of attention!

Simply Weddings, located in George Town, Grand Cayman is the leader in cruise ship weddings on the island. Conveniently located less than a mile from the Rayal Watler cruise landing, we pick you up and take you and your witnesses to our modern air-conditioned offices where you can get dressed in our Bridal Room.

How can it be so easy? We have our own wedding officiant on site, and we take care of all the advance preparations which allow you to have a seamless event. We schedule only one wedding ceremony per day, to ensure you get our full “day-of” attention.

We work with experienced professionals to offer a variety of services, including flowers, photography, videography , champagne, group transportation etc. Check out our most popular “All Inclusive Cruise Wedding package” or see our A la Carte menu. If you need something not offered, let us know.

All our packages include all the legal requirements for your Cayman wedding.

What to do first? You have already taken the first step in finding our website. Make sure to check out the 300 real weddings featured on our Blog to get lots of ideas.

Next, download the application form which will be send to Peggy, our wedding coordinator.

Once you have paid the deposit to book the date and time for your Cayman wedding, Joy, our wedding celebrant will begin working with you to personalize your wedding ceremony. See what other couples have said about us on our Testimonial page .

We look forward to hearing from you, and don’t worry you can ask us all the questions you would like. We get compliments on our customer service all the time!

Want recommendations on things to do while your ship is in port, places to eat, what to buy? See Simply Weddings Recommends or ask us. This is our home, we live here 24/7 and there’s not much going on we don’t know about.