krista_nf

Nope, it really is that easy when you're getting married in Cuba! It was a little more complicated for us because my husband had previously been married, so we needed his divorce certificate translated and legalized by the Cuban Embassy. But if neither you or your fiance have been married before, all you need to do is fill out the form from the resort and give them copies of your passports/birth certificates. Once you're married, the wedding coordinator at the resort takes care of getting your marriage certificate legalized and sends it to you in the mail once it's done. It took 3-4 months to get ours.

I went to a different Service Canada location and got the name changed on my social insurance card without any problem! They had no issues taking my Spanish marriage certificate at all... the lady was even pretty interested with the different stamps and seals on it I got my new card in a week or so. So I'd say if you run into any trouble at one location... try a different one, lol... it seems to all depend on who you talk to

Thanks! I think I'd rather keep my maiden name on my social insurance card before I'd pay to get the marriage certificate translated, lol... tho I will try a different Service Canada centre.

Just wondering if anyone who has gotten married in Cuba has had any issues getting their name changed afterward with the Cuban marriage certificate. We got married at the Melia Varadero in April and just received our marriage certificate in mid August. I got my driver's license changed without any problems... they were fine with accepting the Spanish marriage certificate; but when i tried to get the name changed on my social insurance card they say they can't accept it unless its translated and notarized. Before we got married we had to get my husband's divorce certificate translated which cost $400... so I really don't want to have to get the certificate translated. Just curious if anyone else had this problem... or if I should just try another Service Canada centre, lol. Â Thanks!

I guess I should have added this in my review, but if you want to contact me my email is [email protected] I don't go on the forum too much anymore since the wedding, but I'll be more than happy to answer any questions on the resort... or send you pics

Thanks guys! Fireweed - Our wedding package was actually free, because we had over 17 people staying with us. But the packages are listed here http://www.weddingcubachannel.com/pr...ddings-package I emailed you some pics

The wedding coordinator is Daili and her email is [email protected]. She is actually filling in for the regular wedding coordinator, Joyma, who is on maternity leave... but she did a fantastic job. I have tonnes of pictures, but for the life of me I can't figure out how to attach them to a thread, lol... sad I know. If you send me your email address I can send you some

We just got back from our wedding at Melia Varadero… and I’m not sure if I can even describe how amazing it was. Everything was perfect and it turned out even more beautiful than I could have imagined. The resort: Beautiful!! We had 35 people in our group, and everyone loved it. The resort is about 20 years old, and could probably use a coat of paint here and there… but I’d go back in a second. The main building is a 5 story building with an open air atrium in the middle. It was easy to find your way around, and everything was close. No big walk to get to your room or the beach. Food: This was our first trip to Cuba, and I’ve heard that generally the food isn’t great. I didn’t hear a single complaint about the food the whole 2 weeks we were there… it was great! The buffet had a huge selection for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Always lots to choose from, even for the pickiest of eaters. The resort has 3 A La Carte restaurants and Chinese one next door at Sol Polmares that you can book as well. The 10 minute walk to the Chinese restaurant is definitely worth it… it was delicious! Our wedding coordinator (Daili) I can’t say enough wonderful things about this girl, she was soo helpful and took care of everything for us. After we arrived we realized she had upgraded our room to a superior suite… it was incredible. Instead of the standard room the rest of our group had, our room had a separate living room and bar area, 2 bathrooms, a walk-in closet, and a balcony that was big enough that we actually could have had the wedding reception there, lol. We met with her the first day we arrived and went over all the details. She had drinks and dessert delivered to us while we talked with her. I gave her the wedding favors and place cards we had and she arranged them on the tables the day of the wedding. She had a little rehearsal with us the day before just so that everyone knew where they were supposed to be, and she arranged a table for our whole group at the buffet for a sort-of rehearsal dinner as well. She also gave us reservations to all of the a la cartes for various nights during our stay, and before we left she had “just married in Cuba†Tshirts for both of us. She was just amazing and made the whole experience wonderful and totally stress-free. The wedding: I’m not even sure where to start… the whole day was wonderful! We started at about 11 am when we got our hair done at the salon at the resort. I had requested that we get it done earlier in the day because I didn’t want to be rushed just before the wedding. I was kind of nervous about the hair and not knowing what to expect – I had gone to my own hairdresser for a trial run and brought lots of pictures of the whole process. It turned out beautiful – I think it was even nicer than when my own hairdresser did it (I hope she doesn’t read this, haha) My MOH, bridesmaid, and my mom also had their hair done after me, and they all turned out great. Our ceremony was in the wedding gazebo, which overlooks the beach. It was supposed to start at 3pm, but because our flowers were late arriving, it didn’t start until about 3:30. I was getting a little anxious waiting, but we didn’t really stress over it. It was ok for us seems we were waiting in our air conditioned room, but I think our guests were getting a little hot waiting in the sun. The ceremony was beautiful, and pretty fast. As soon as it was over the champagne started flowing. They kept popping corks for our guests while we were off taking pictures. We had the most amazing photographer. We had tried to arrange a destination wedding photographer to bring with us, because we had heard that the resort photographers in Cuba aren’t generally great. It didn’t work out because the guy who I had been contacting seemed to disappear and all of a sudden didn’t return any of my emails. So we went hoping for the best with whoever was going to be shooting our wedding from the resort. We were so happy with who we got – he wasn’t really a “resort photographerâ€, he works for Crucero Del Sol (which is a huge tour operator in Varadero, the same people who do the catamaran tours to Cayo Blanco) . He was wonderful! He had an awesome camera, and really knew what he was doing. He kept us laughing and having fun all during the pictures. He had a lot of shots in mind, but he was open for any suggestions. He also came back for our TTD shoot a couple of days later… which turned out amazing! He came to our room a few days after the second shoot, and showed us all the photos on his laptop. He had 2 sets of DVDs burned off for us with all the original photos. We could have had them printed as well, but because I work in a photo lab and my husband is a photographer as well, we were more interested in the digital files rather than the actual prints. Our reception started at 6pm. We had a private reception at the Carilda Oliver Salon, which is outside next to the wedding gazebo, but covered with a roof. It was beautiful out there, watching the sun set over the ocean while we ate. We had chosen the menu previously, and it turned out great. We had the best wait staff, who ended up dancing with us later in the night. They had a music system set up for us to use, and a microphone for speeches. We went with an MC for the night just to keep things organized and to announce our first dances n things. After our meal was finished, they cleared the tables back to make a dance floor… and then the party started. We cut our cake later in the night rather than right after supper. We had already had dessert with our meal, so we figured we’d wait until the cake would actually get eaten. The cake was great and as soon as we made the first cut for pictures, the wait staff cut it all up for us. We danced and partied until 11:30, we couldn’t stay out there any longer because there was guest rooms just above us and the noise would have been a bit much. Well I think I’ve covered most of it, I feel like I could sit here and write for a week and still not think of everything. We had a wonderful 2 weeks and people are still talking about just how beautiful the wedding was. I’m so glad we decided to do a destination wedding… it was everything I could have dreamed of and more. Thanks so much to everyone on this forum – you guys were so helpful! If anyone is considering this resort for your wedding or even just a vacation, I promise you you won’t be disappointed… we’re already hoping to go back for an anniversary

We are getting married at the Melia Varadero... NEXT WEEK! So excited!! lol... anyways... if you are still considering that resort I can answer any questions about it when we get back.

You need to get a certified copy of his divorce certificate made here in Canada (by a notary public or lawyer). Send that to the Cuban Embassy in Toronto and they'll translate it in Spanish and certify it. I'm pretty sure it cost us $400 even, but check the total with them for sure before you send it, I had my money order made out for a little more than what they needed and they had to send it back for me to do a new one. Tho I just noticed you are located in Toronto, so maybe you can just bring it by there... that'd be much easier. Good luck!

Wow, it would have been nice if they told me that in the beginning, lol. Before all the hassle of trying to figure out when we could be married that wouldnt have to fall on a weekend. I was under the impression it had to be 3 days as well. Great Info for future brides!

Thanks so much! That sounds like a much better option for us too, if its available. When my brother n his wife went they weren't keen on the big bus load of people either... they said it was a very boring drive where hardly anyone spoke. Not like the usual happy kind of atmosphere you get on other excursions. And I think going in a couple smaller vans would also take care of some of the issues with getting dragged on for money and stuff. I'm assuming people in the city know when the big bus tours come by so they know when to hang around. (Don't get me wrong, I don't mind giving out a few dollars, lol... but it got a little intense they said) Thanks again!

My FI and I are thinking about doing an excursion to see Havana while we're in Cuba next month. Just wondering if anyone has any suggestions about what one to do. My brother and his wife did the tour of Old Havana last year and weren't too impressed. It was pretty rushed and there were a lot of people (and children) grabbing them and begging for money. Just curious to hear someone else's experience before we decide on a trip. We'd both like to see Havana and figure it'd be a nice excursion away without the rest of our wedding group. Any thoughts on this would be great

We are getting married at the Melia Varadero, which is in the same line as the Paradisus resorts. Check out this website: Wedding Cuba Channel. Wedding & Honeymoon at Sol Melia Cuba Hotels They have great wedding packages, and if you have over 17 guests most of it is free. I was interested in this resort too, but we thought at the time that some guests would be bringing their kids, and its an 18+ resort... looks beautiful though... good luck!

I didn't say I'd have a full bag of clothes to dryclean, lol... I know the daytime clothes is pretty easy to pack... bathing suits n shorts... but we're gonna be there for 14 days, so that is a nice bit of night time clothes between me and FI.

Thanks! I'm hoping we can pack enough clothes so we don't have to worry about it, but you never know.

Just wondering if anyone has used the laundry service at resorts in Cuba. (We are staying at the Melia Varadero) I got the gist of it from my wedding coordinator... there is a bag in the room you leave your clothes in for the maid and you get it back the next day. Apparently the price list is in the bag in the room, but it'd be nice to have some idea of the cost before we go. We're staying for 2 weeks, so if we can get a few things washed while we're down there it'd cut down on the luggage a little. I've got my travel agent looking into it too, but so far she hasnt mad much luck getting any prices.... hopefully someone has some experience with it

I'm looking forward to seeing your pics as well Nicky. We are getting married at the Melia Varadero in April, so I imagine the resort photographer there would be about on par. I thought we were taking a photographer with us, but that seems to have fallen through seems he hasnt emailed me back lately :S

I was debating the same thing! I'd kind of like to keep it more relaxed and not have a lot of formal speeches and stuff... probably just have a mic there and then anyone who wants to can get up and say a few words. We're having a private reception, so I'm wondering what to do about announcing the first dance and stuff if there is no MC... soo much to think about, lol

We are arriving on Wednesday and getting married on Friday... so I'd say you're safe

I'm having the same problem! I live in a fairly small place so I don't have a whole lot of options... and this time of year there is nothing Spring-like out at all! I know there will probably be lots of choices once the Spring clothes come out shortly after Christmas.... but it makes me pretty anxious to wait that long, lol.

My fiance is also divorced, and we are getting married at the Melia Varadero in April 2010. We had to first get his divorce certificate notarized by a lawyer here in Canada to say for sure it was legal. Next we mailed that and a money order for $400 to the Cuban Embassy here in Canada... that is for them to translate it to Spanish and to legalize it. We didn't have to get anything done with our birth certificates or passports, just have to take them with you. Hope this helps!

Your welcome... I hope you get the date your looking for!

We were told that the notary in Cuba perform weddings from Monday-Friday, but you can request to have them work on the weekends for an additional fee of $150. There is no guarantee that they'll accept your request, but its an option. Contact [email protected] she'll know all the details. She's the girl who books all the weddings at the Melia/Paradisus resorts in Cuba. Good luck!

His name is Josh Brown ( email [email protected]) He shot my cousin's wedding last year in the Dominican and the pictures were absolutely beautiful. The TTD session he did for them seriously looked like something out of a magazine. I couldn't find any info on the resort photographer from Melia, but from what i've been reading here the resort photographers in Cuba aren't that great (due to old equipment and stuff). I haven't booked Josh for sure yet, because I am waiting to find out if he has others booked to share the cost. Would be a tad expensive to pay his way down myself, lol. So hopefully you guys like his stuff! This is his website: Josh Brown Wedding Photography