Legal wedding before destination?

[Jen2113]

Am I supposed to get married in the USA before the destination wedding? Does that make the paperwork faster/easier? Then just do a symbolic wedding in Jamaica... if I do that, what is my wedding date? The jamaica date or the official date we get married home if we just go to city hall or however you do it...

[jk1101]

It's a matter of personal preference. Some get married at home first, some get married at their destination. you can use either date as your anniversary - only you and your FI will know the "legal day" if you do it at home first. The one benefit I see to doing it at home first is that you get your marriage certificate right away, where it seems like some of the girls who got married in Jamaica haven't gotten theirs over a month after being married. I don't think you can legally change your name/driver's license/SS card etc without your marriage certificate.

I'm planning to do a legal day here first like a week before my DW and just have our parents come and then do a symbolic ceremony in Jamaica.

[Jen2113]

hmm... that seems like a good idea- thanks for the feedback!

[ali0284]

I'm doing the same thing. I just figure that it will be one less thing to deal with once i'm down there. As for the anniversary, I didnt even think of which day it would be! I think i'll use the day of the ceremony, because that is when we will exchange the rings.

[Royal_lady10]

We too married before our DW, one year to the date exactly.. so for us no one knows but you ladies . So for us, it will be just a renewal of vows in mexico. And no worries about which date to celebrate as its the same date.

[Scarletina]

We live really close to Vegas so we are heading up there the weekend before our DW for a totally tacky and fun Elvis wedding. I would do it after our wedding / cruise but I have a feeling I will be a little wedding'd out. LOL. Yeah right - lets call it what it is! I am totally impatient and the whole Vegas thing will add to the excitement of my DW the following weekend!

[Geralyn]

your wedding in jamaica is recognized in the US so you don't have to have a legal day here

[kdnicholer21]

I spoke to the wedding coordinator at ROR she said that it is legal. I still think that I will go with getting married at home first it makes things so much easier!

[dyanh]

I think you just have to make it clear to the officiant in Jamaica that it is a symbolic ceremony only. You can't have two legal wedding dates. Also, it might be an issue if you are at a resort (such as Sandals) that is giving you and/or guests certain amenities that are tied to having the legal wedding. I recently saw this post from a TA on another board (but this is unique to Sandals):

 

The advice I am about to give may sound redundant (in fact, rather silly): Do Not Get Married Before You Arrive At The Resort. I received a phone call last night from a bride (who did not book with me and btw, in this case would not have made a difference). Last year, she booked her Weddingmoon at one of the resorts to be married sometime later this year. The both of them wanted to move in together but felt that they should wed before doing so. A few months ago they legally got married. They did not realize by doing so that they would void the terms of a weddingmoon, leaving them only with the option of a renewal of vows ceremony. Sandals/Beaches Resorts cannot provide a weddingmoon to a couple that is already legally married because they will be fined. This runs into many complications esp if having a large wedding party (i.e. rehearsal dinner and the rest of the amenities on the Group Weddingmoon Package). Hence my advice: Do Not Marry Before Arriving At The Resort!!

 

She went on to say that the only issue was not the wedding itself but the fact that the bride had many guests attending and had lots of group amenities attached to her package that would be applicable to her guests became nullified because she married before she arrived at the resort. Of course, it is still a personal preference, just a word of warning in case you are getting amenities tied to an actual "wedding" (especially at Sandals!)

[Mrs K 2010!]

I've been thinking the same thing!

 

But unlike everyone else.. I think Im gonna wait and firstly get married in JA since all this hard work, excitement, tears and joy have led up to that special day...I think we will get married firstly there ... Then Hop back home and hitch again once we get back home just for legality reasons.

 

At our 99% chosen resort (lol) they warn of having to wait for up to a year for your legal docu's to arrive... Or for an extra 60$ u can expedite it around 6 weeks but why when u can hitch back home for around thirty ? lol

 

Then its faster ... I personally wont have two dates. Ours is the day we made it in yamaica =)