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."

Our 100th Wedding in 2010, at MSC of course!

Today was a scorcher, it was 90F by 8:30 a.m. when I picked up this couple from Chicago, and their witnesses who came in on one of the Carnival ships. They chose My Secret Cove for their wedding spot, and I was happy for this, because little did they know, but they were our 100th wedding couple for 2010 and we added complimentary champagne served chilled on the beach, to make their wedding even more special.

With their Certificate of Marriage, after the ceremony

Of course, we had to have the "We did it!' shot

This table set-up comes with all our wedding packages (flowers supplied by Bride)

Champagne kisses!

The did the "Champagne Ceremony" my couples are familiar with. Link your arms, take a sip, close your eyes and make a wish, and then kiss.

Searching for the champagne cork, good thing the best-man could swim

Traditionally it is the Best-man's responsibility to secure the cork, once the Groom has opened the champagne. This can provide a lot of hilarity, as this did, because the Groom shot the cork into the water and the Best-man swam out to get it! Not to be out-done the Bride and Groom jumped in too, and I'm sure they got some great shots of this part of the event.

The newly-weds cool off in the water at My Secret Cove

After the ceremony the four of them headed down to the Tiki Beach Club on Seven Mile Beach for snorkling and celebrations before heading back to their ship.

You have lots of time to enjoy the town, or take in an activity like snorkeling in the crystal clear water of Grand Cayman. Ask us about ways to enjoy your George Town, Grand Cayman visit and see our page "Simply Weddings Recommends."

The Wedding must go on, rain or shine

A teacher, from Pittsburg, this bride was very involved in planning all the details of her Grand Cayman wedding. She was very happy about the way everything turned out, and I was too.

This Bride was fabulous on her wedding day in Grand Cayman

The ceremony at Mary Molly Hydes Beach

The Bride and Groom say their vows

Each Memory Vase is as unique as the couple who create it.

These were fortunate to have both their mothers present, and the mothers laid down the foundation for their Memory Vase, and added their blessing.

Still smiling after the rain shower that paused, but did not stop their wedding

Posed shots after the ceremony

And time to play in the pink sand of Seven Mile Beach

Thank you to all the wedding vendors who made this possible: Peggy, our wedding coordinator, Cayman Weddings for decorated chairs, Trisha's Roses for arch and florals, VIP productions for video, Bobby Joseph of Island Photo for photography, Faith Gealey-Brown for wedding cake, Michael Lemay for steel-pan music.

Early Morning Wedding on Seven Mile Beach

This couple from Pennsylvania were in town staying at the beautiful London House on Seven Mile Beach, and they decided to have their wedding early in the morning, because they loved the colour of the water early in the day.

All ready for their Cayman wedding day

At his time of the morning the beach was deserted

With Joy and their Certificate of Marriage

Just another special day on this fabulous, pristine beach

I liked this photo in the hammock

If you're staying at one of the luxurious condominiums on Seven Mile Beach, ask your condo manager whether marriages and vow renewals are permitted on their beach. This can be a great private, alternative for your special event. We like to work with condo properties like London House, who are "wedding friendly"

Rain or Shine, this Pittsburg Bride tied the knot

Hey, all you Pittsburg fans, Christina and Mark got married today. This is not the official blog entry with the official pictures. No one else has these pictures, except perhaps Kelly. Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that everything went beautifully. Christina wasn't even nervous. She did not freak out when we had a short shower right in the middle of the Unity Sand ceremony.

I looked at her to see whether she wanted me to take a break, and she said "Keep on going". Does that sound like Christina?

Seen here at the Simply Weddings office signing their Special Marriage License application

The happy Bride pins on her Groom's boutonnière

This is a very special wedding garter, medallion from Karen's wedding (mother-in-law)

Well in just a few minutes, the sun came out and dried up all the rain and the wet people. Then we had cake and champagne on the beach. They went back to the cruise-ship and continued on their way toCozumel, Honduras and Belize.

"Thank You" to all who came along on the cruise, and who contributed to this very special day

When I found out the Bride was Roman Catholic, (so am I) I said a special wedding blessing for them. Then I took them for an unscheduled brief visit to Hell. (This was to give Peggy a chance to red0 their ceremony script etc. which had gotten soaked at the beach!)

Here they are, Hell, Grand Cayman, sharing a coconut with the Devil

Watch for the official pictures of their wedding ceremony on Seven Mile Beach, in a few days.

Thanks to all those vendors (and family!) who made this such a special day for this couple.