Unusual features for these Cruisers Cayman Beach Wedding

This couple had a lot of special features in their Cayman cruise wedding, some of which I had never seen before. The bride planned every detail of her personalised wedding script, and the wedding included special order flowers, special order cake, a conch-shell aisle and flowers on the sand representing the couple's married name.

The Bride's father had a few words to say before handing over his daughter to the groom.
This was the set-up on the beach at Governor's

The Bride and Groom wore these little containers containing salt, around their necks

These are some of the words in the 'Covenant of Salt':

Joy: "Because Groom and Bride desire to seal this commitment between each other and God, they are giving each other permission to hold each other accountable to the promises made here today. Because they want to preserve these promises they will now partake of the Covenant of Salt.

Groom and Bride, today you join your separate lives together. The two separate bottles of salt symbolise your separate lives, separate families and separate sets of friends. They represent all that you are, and all you'll ever be as an individual. They also represent your lives before you today. As they two containers of salt are poured into the third container, the individual containers of salt will no longer exist, but will be joined together as one. Just as these grains of salt can never be separated and poured again into individual containers, so will your marriage be."

The salt was poured into this hand-made wooden container which was crafted by the bride's father.

The bride and groom take the forefingers of their right hand, dip it into water in the earthenware bowl provided, and then put their finger in the salt which they have both poured into the wooden container. They then put the salt in their spouse's mouth (usually on their tongue). Just before the salt is put in the mouth, the one receiving the salt says,

"I agree to do all that I promise for my (husband/wife), so help me God."

This beautiful two-tier cake was made by Faith at CayKes.

A wedding kiss on the pink sands of Seven Mile Beach

These photos were shot by Yvette McField for Island Photo.

Find out more about our company Simply Weddings -Grand Cayman Wedding Celebrants and Planners by visiting our website, and "like" us on Facebook at SimplyWeddingsCayman

to see daily weddings, great locations and other facts and ideas about your Destination Wedding in the Cayman Islands.

Governor's is in Top 10 of Wedding Beaches in the World

There is a growing trend towards Destination Weddings, especially in these tight economic times. If you're thinking of combining a cruise vacation and a wedding, look no further than the Cayman Islands. Grand Cayman, the largest of the three Cayman Islands is a popular port for most cruise-ships sailing in the Western Caribbean.

Most of the clients we see at Simply weddings want to be married on world-famous Seven Mile Beach, which is consistently voted in the Top 10 beaches for a romantic wedding by travel magazines.

The "We did it!" shot

These outstanding pictures are all by Heather Holt Photography for Simply Weddings

On a week-day morning, Seven Mile Beach is virtually deserted in this area

Governor's Beach is about 5 miles away from the cruise-ship landing. You can see the ships in the background of this picture. It is very simple to arrange a tour bus to take you here, and bring you back to the capital, George Town, after the ceremony.

This beach will take your breath away, and your Cayman beach wedding is so simple to plan.

Our Cayman Wedding packages start at $700 for a "no-frills" wedding. You can add pictures like these, wedding cake, champagne for toasting , a wedding bouquet, and transportation for under $2000 for you and your group. Call Simply Weddings, your cruise wedding specialists today at (345)9499933 and speak to Joy or Isobel.

Be sure to visit our new Simply Weddings website for lots more information. Come join us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/SimplyWeddingsCayman and see our featured daily wedding as well as vow renewals.

Grand Cayman Beach Wedding for Swedish Bride

This Swedish bride wanted a special, romantic Grand Cayman wedding on world-famous Seven Mile Beach. We took the couple to Mary Molly Hydes Beach, and although the water was quite rough that day, Heather Holt, their photographer, got some fantastic pictures.

While we were setting up, the bride frolicked in the water

I called this image the "Hollywood" shot


This couple were a delight to work with.

I wanted to share these pictures of Mary Molly Hydes beach with my readers. This is a quiet spot in the district of West Bay that we often use with groups. It was very impressive on this particular day. The next week the wave action had temporarily removed a lot of the sand, but in a few weeks time it'll be back, pristine as ever.

We always have a back-up wedding location, because we want to make sure our couples are 100% satisfied.

The colours in these pictures really popped. We were happy that this couple were able to take their images with them, to share with family and friends.

Please visit my new website to find out more about getting married in Grand Cayman

New Grand Cayman Wedding Location Rocks!

Yesterday 10/10/10 was considered by many to be the perfect day in history for a wedding, and a local couple found the perfect place. Camana Bay, is fast becoming the social centre of Grand Cayman. You only need to go over there on a Saturday morning to see all the activities going on.

However, yesterday afternoon's wedding on the island in the lagoon was private, and beautiful.

There is a promenade deck leading to the island, perfect for a wedding aisle

This sandy area on the north side of the island was perfect for this simple, casual wedding.

One end of the island s sandy, and the other end has decking and built in benches, and...a hammock! You don't have to go far to get many opportunities for great wedding pictures.

This young couple both work for the Cayman Islands Red Cross

Camana Bay has recently opened a Discovery Centre, which you can visit and learn about the project. Of course there are many other attractions, including a 3D cinema, some of my favourite restaurants, a bookstore and the number of retail shops and services are growing exponentially.

Find other FAQs, wedding packages, real weddings and wedding locations, application forms at the Simply Weddings website and visit Simply Weddings on Facebook to see our daily weddings .

Interested in a romantic beach wedding, or a stunning sunset wedding? See the best Cayman wedding locations at Cayman Beach Weddings also on Facebook.

Getting to your Cayman Cruise Wedding

Getting on a tender to go ashore
Originally uploaded by gailf548

Grand Cayman does not have a cruise terminal, although its in the works. You have to take a small boat called a 'tender' to get to the cruise landing.

Once you get ashore, I will meet you and take you to my spacious air-conditioned office where you can relax and get ready for your wedding in our Bridal Room while I go and apply for your Special Marriage License.

You will be married and enjoying George Town in less than two hours. Visit my new website at www.cayman-islands-weddings.com for FAQs, lots of pictures, application forms and contact details,

Cheers!

Joy

Meet your Cayman Wedding Officiant here

Downtown Fountain
Originally uploaded by CaymanIsBest

I wanted to show you the fountain near where I meet my wedding couples. These are the instructions to meet me. When you arrive in Grand Cayman the tender will bring you to the Rayal Watler Cruise landing.

When you exit this area, turn right. You will walk past a large white church, then Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville. Keep walking about 100 yards and you will see a red-roofed building. This is Bayshore Mall, and this is where the fountain is located, on Harbour Drive.

The Simply Weddings SUV and your Cayman Islands Marriage Officer will be waiting for you, just walk through the mall til you see the Hagen Daaz cafe.

Find out lots of FAQs, check our wedding packages, and download our application form and contact details on my new website http://www.cayman-islands-weddings.com

Thunder Bay Couple tie the Knot in Grand Cayman

This couple have recently arrived with their son, to live and work in Grand Cayman. They were referred to me by another couple I had married recently. Because they are residents, they had to be married by Banns, and not a Special Marriage License.

Getting married by Banns, means that the couple must come in and see me for an interview and to provide the documentation necessary for their Cayman Islands wedding. The Banns must be published, in this case outside my Registry Office for 7 clear days.

This is the basic difference between a visitor wedding, and a resident's wedding. Whether you live here, or are visiting you still have to get a Registered Marriage Certificate, and in the case of clients who are married by Special Marriage License, my company gets this and mails it to you as part of your Cayman wedding package.

This afternoon at My Secret Cove

Saying their vows

Signing the Marriage Register

The wedding was witnessed by a Guyanese couple I had married last December. Since this couple knew limited people, I was happy that we managed to get another of my couples to be the witnesses required by law.

Joy congratulates the newly-weds

Please visit my website at www.cayman-islands-weddings.com to see lots of weddings and to book your wedding with Simply Weddings today.

Half-Way Around the World for this Cayman Island Wedding

It was a beautiful,quiet afternoon on Seven Mile Beach. After some heavy showers, the beach was virtually deserted, and just before sunset, the light was remarkable for this Saturday afternoon wedding.

The couple were visiting from Muscat, Oman. They told me they had been together for 18 years. I did a traditional wedding ceremony with the 1 Corinthians reading "Love is patient..." in the new English version.

The beauty of Seven Mile Beach at sunset never fails to touch my heart.

The bride's friend did the decorating, with lots of orange rosebuds set in conch shells, draping tiki torches, and the bridal bouquet.

The decorations were simple, yet elegant

The beach at the Island Club, the happy couple and friends

The "proof" shot. In the background the Island Club condominiums, a great place to stay right on Seven Mile Beach, and a great place to be married.

"We did it!"

This condo complex , the Island Club is "wedding friendly" and so I want to give them a plug. Believe it or not, not all the condominium complexes on Seven Mile Beach allow weddings, or vow renewals on their beach, and some of them are nasty about it.

If you are staying a condo, be sure to ask whether they allow wedding ceremonies on their beach before you book. You can also check with Simply Weddings to see what our experience with that particular condo has been. Another option of course, is to rent a villa if a private beach wedding is a pre-requisite for your Cayman Islands destination wedding.

Please note that Simply Weddings is experiencing difficulties as we transition to our new website, so bookmark our new site here and be sure and visit for lots of informations, FAQs and to download the application form needed to book your Cayman wedding or vow renewal.

Why this Wisconsin Couple Chose Grand Cayman for their Wedding

I have quite a few clients from Wisconsin, and Minnesota and I'm glad to know that my blog is reaching the mid-west. I try to blog as many weddings as I can, but often it boils down to whether or not I have the pictures I need to tell your wedding story.

I love when brides have the opportunity to have their dad walk them down the (beach) aisle

When there is a large group of family and friends, I like to have them form two lines and clap the bride and her escort down the aisle to the groom and his bestman. This group were all good sports, and that's why they all had a good time and made the wedding fun.

Governor's Beach today for a large group wedding

The bride and groom had requested a Unity Sand Ceremony which would involve the bride's young son.

This turned out to be one of the most beautiful Memory Vases I had seen.

The bride told me that they picked Grand Cayman because they wanted a simple, casual wedding which their family could enjoy. When I left them they were all getting ready to go for a swim and enjoy Seven Mile Beach before rejoining their cruise ship and heading for the next port.

Hamming it up in Grand Cayman, the gang's all here!

Thank you Daniel, for your wonderful pictures today

These pictures were taken on my Olympus camera by Daniel, who did an excellent job in capturing the whole event. So today's blog-post was brought to you by Joy & Daniel.

I hope that you will visit my new website Simply Weddings - Grand Cayman. Here you will find lots of answers to your Frequently Asked Questions, tips for your Destination Wedding in Grand Cayman, and most importantly, Contact Us forms and other neat things.

Of course you can get right to us by emailing mywedding@candw.ky as well.

How to make sure your Cayman Islands wedding is legal.

The question I am asked most often by visitors who want to be married in the Cayman Islands is "Will my marriage be legal when I get back home?"

Joy, a Civil Registrar, with a newly married couple, and their two witnesses to the marriage

Every so often I try and address this question, and this is what you have to do, in easy steps.

1. You have to get a Cayman Islands licensed Civil Registrar/Marriage Officer to perform your wedding ceremony, and then register your wedding with our public records office (also known as the General Registry).

2. You will need a Special Marriage License issued by the Governor's Office, which gives you permission to be married in the Cayman Islands once certain requirements have been met.

3. This Special Marriage License is issued to the Civil Registrar/Marriage Officer who must sign off that your documentation is correct.

4. The Cayman Islands Marriage Law requires your Civil Registrar/Marriage Officer to give you a "Certified Copy of the Marriage Register" at the time of your wedding ceremony. THIS IS NOT YOUR LEGAL MARRIAGE CERTIFICATE.

5. As soon as possible after your wedding ceremony, your Civil Registrar/Marriage Officer will file your marriage with the government authorities.

6. Immediately after the filing you will be able to get a Registered Marriage Certificate, which shows that you have been legally married in the Cayman Islands, and that your marriage has been registered with the public records office.

7. Your Cayman Islands Civil Registrar/Marriage Officer or your wedding planner should arrange for this document to be posted or delivered to you within days of your wedding.

8. Your know you have the correct document if it looks like this:

• the reverse has the words "Secure Copy"
• the front of the Registered Marriage Certificate has all your details, the names of your witnesses, and the name of your Civil Registrar/Marriage Officer.
• on the left hand side you will see a number and some initials eg VJB 501 This tells you that that particular wedding was number 501 for that Marriage Officer/Civil Registrar.
• the coloured Coat of Arms of the Cayman Islands is a watermark in the middle of the document.
• On the bottom right you will see the raised seal of the Registrar General.

If you have lost your Registered Marriage Certificate or if you neglected to get one from your Marriage Officer, you can email me at mywedding@candw.ky

Simply Weddings- Grand Cayman Wedding Celebrants and Planners is the company of choice for visitors and residents wishing to get married in Cayman. Our wedding packages all include the legal requirements for your Cayman wedding, including the Registered Marriage Certificate.

Cayman Islands residents must be married by Banns of Marriage, following the an interview and the completion of a document called a "Notice of Marriage". Call the Simply Weddings office at (345)949-9933 to make an appointment. Residents are responsible for obtaining their own Registered Marriage Certificate from the General Registry, Citrus Grove, Goring Avenue, GT unless special arrangements have been made with the Simply Weddings office.

The Fierce Dinosaur & The Other Lovely Dinosaur on Seven Mile Beach

At first this appeared to be just another vow renewal on Seven Mile Beach. In fact, it was quite a special afternoon. The couple who were accompanied by their 7 year old daughter, were celebrating their 10th wedding anniversary. They are from Pensford, Bristol in the United Kingdom and were vacationing in Grand Cayman.

Mother and daughter had matching dresses & bouquets

The wife is a wedding photographer in the UK and Rebecca Davidson, Cayman's premier wedding photography shot the event. (These unofficial shots, I hastened to say, were shot by me on my Olympus 370).

What made the event so special was that the wife read a story about "The Fierce Dinosaur and The Other Lovely Dinosaur" which touched everyone and reduced us all to tears, since it was light-hearted but full of significance for them. The husband, not to be out-done composed and read an original poem called "Seven Mile Beach" for his wife.

Signing of the Vow Renewal Certificate

The Certificate has the details of the couple, date, place and is signed by witnesses and countersigned by me as the celebrant.

Toasting the occasion with champagne and sparkling cider

Mary Molly Hydes beach is part of Seven Mile Beach

This couple put a lot of thought into making this a special afternoon for each other and their daughter. Special touches made it an afternoon that everyone who took part will remember.

Please visit my new website Simply Weddings - Grand Cayman for details on weddings, and vow renewals in the Cayman Islands. There you will find answers to Frequently Asked Questions on Destination Weddings, cruise weddings, visitor weddings and resident weddings. You can download our booking form, view pictures and testimonials and choose from many beautiful beach and other locations for your wedding ceremony in the Cayman Islands.

Booking your wedding in Cayman just got easier.

I feel great. Sam and I are about to jump on a plane and go celebrate our 38th wedding anniversary, and last night the new Simply Weddings website went live! Thanks to Christine at Think Like a Bride, and to Debbi Ballard for getting us together.

Everything about booking your destination wedding in the Cayman Islands just got easier! You can download the application form, ask questions, see locations, and see the day's wedding (or two) on our Facebook page or Twitter feed. You can find us on the map, and see the weather in Grand Cayman.

I like many things about being a wedding celebrant and planner, but one of the best things is being a part of the wedding industry, and meeting so many people who are happy to network and share their expertise.

Thanks to all my couples, past, present and future. We are committed to making your Grand Cayman wedding an event that you will always remember. We promise never to rush you, and to give our wedding couples all the attention that your special day deserves. We will continue to serve you with professional and integrity, and the sterling customer service you are used to.

Thanks to Peggy Moorhead, my wedding co-ordinator and soon to be daughter-in-law for all the things she does to ensure that our business functions smoothly and efficiently. Thanks to Samantha Paul, my daughter for her help and encouragement and for naming the business and the blog and for being a great sounding board. My mother told me once there's a special place in heaven for the mother of three sons, but my sons Dax, Brett and Jesse are fantastic, special young men. I learn from them constantly, although they are now calling me "techo-mummy."

Thanks to all our wedding services vendors, it is a pleasure for me to work with such a great group of people. My associate Marriage Officers, thanks for filling in for me when I need you.

So, bookmark our new site right now and head on over there for lots of pictures and information,

www.cayman-islands-weddings.com

The Daniels Family Hosts a Grand Cayman Wedding

This was the scene for today's wedding, the very popular Rum Point Club in North Side. The Rum Point Club is a Caymanian institution, especially for a Sunday afternoon at the beach. The catamaran pictured runs across the North Sound to Safehaven. If you're staying in George Town this is a great way to enjoy dining at Rum Point without having to drive for an hour.

Photo by Chris 'George' James

The Rum Point Club is so popular with the Daniels family, that son Chris chose it for the spot for his wedding today. Paula, his bride said she wanted water on both sides as they said the vows they had composed for each other.

The bride and groom get ready for their wedding on the Rum Point pier

John & Wendy Daniels with the newly-weds

Surrounded by family and friends

Joy congratulates the couple, and announces them to the gathering as Mr & Mrs

This is Evan Daniels, self-portrait.

Evan was my photographer for the event. He was also the ring-bearer and one of the readers (together with Chad, and Wendy) for the wedding ceremony.

Evan & Chad read "Happiness in Marriage" and Wendy read "Blessing for a Marriage."