The person who officiates at your Cayman Wedding is called a "Marriage Officer". A Marriage Officer will be either a Civil Registrar of Marriages or a member of the clergy. In Cayman there are 90 ministers of religion licensed to perform weddings for their congregations. A few of them also perform weddings for visitors.
There are two Civil Registrars of Marriage on Grand Cayman. These are Mrs Francine Jackson of Cayman Weddings, who was the first Civil Registrar appointed and who has performed almost 3000 wedding ceremonies; and Mrs Joy Basdeo (pictured above) of Simply Weddings who officiated at more than 500 weddings.
(These two ladies are the wife and daughter of one of Cayman's best known and loved Marriage Officers, Mr Vernon Jackson, OBE, JP who has been conducting weddings in the Cayman Islands for 26 years.)
Your Civil Ceremony
A non-religious or civil ceremony can be just as meaningful as a religious one. Once you have discussed it with your Civil Registrar you can write your own vows and/or incorporate readings, music and themes into the ceremony. You can also incorporate a Unity Sand Ceremony and create your own Memory Vase as a lasting memento of your special day.
Your Religious Ceremony
If a couple practices the same religion and are members of a church, then you can request a minister of religion from that church. We have arranged Cayman weddings for members of the Lutheran Church, the Church of Latter Day Saints (Mormons), Jehovah's Witnesses as well as other denominations. Special arrangements can be made for Roman Catholic weddings if you have had 6 months of pre-marital counseling with your own parish priest.
We have several male associates who are Reverends and who can perform your religious ceremony if this is your preference.
Your Interfaith Marriage
We often write special ceremonies for our interfaith couples. Last week I performed a ceremony where the Groom was Hindu, and I wrote their wedding vows based on the Seven Blessings of a Hindu Marriage ceremony. I have often used the Apache Wedding Blessing and the Cherokee Wedding Blessing, as well as the rituals from a Jewish Wedding ceremony.
The Role of Your Cayman Wedding officiant
All Marriage Officers in the Cayman Islands are governed by the Cayman Islands Marriage Law (2009 revised) This law dictates how legal marriages in the Cayman Islands must be conducted.
Same sex marriages are not legal in the Cayman Islands.
It is of paramount importance that your Civil Registrar of Marriages/Marriage Officer send you the Registered Marriage Certificate (RMC) following the wedding ceremony. This is your legal marriage document. You should NOT have to wait more than a week or two to receive this if you are a visitor. If you are a resident you can obtain it on the second working day after your wedding.
It is your wedding officiant's responsibility to scrutinise your documents (passports, divorce decrees if applicable) and determine if you are free in law to marry. The wedding officiant then applies for your Special Marriage Licence (if you are a visitor) or publishes your Banns of Marriage (if you are a resident).
The law requires certain questions to be asked during the ceremony. This is why you cannot be married in Cayman by just signing the appropriate papers. You must have a formal marriage ceremony no matter how brief.
The Cost of Your Cayman Wedding Officiant
Your Civil Registrar of Marriages/Marriage Officer, is a professional which certain legal responsibilities and legal sanctions if these responsibilities are ignored. Since most Marriage Officers work with wedding planning firms or hotels, their fees are most often incorporated into the total cost of your wedding. At Simply Weddings, the cost of the Marriage Officer is always included in our Cayman wedding packages.
Your Choice for a Simple, Inexpensive wedding in the Cayman Islands
Here at Simply Weddings - Grand Cayman Wedding Celebrants and Planners we specialise in simple, elegant, personalised weddings for both visitors and residents. Call Joy or Peggy today at (345) 9499933 to book your date. See us for all your wedding services, flowers, cake, champagne, limousines, photography, videography from Cayman's premier wedding services vendors.
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