Don't get married in Hurricane season

[Marlenascruising]

We're back and I'm still single. We never made it to St. Thomas. After the 1st day of the cruise they announced the change in itinerary. Western instead of Eastern. I cried. Marty returned his tux unworn. All my questions and anxieties and emotions for nothing. All future brides who manage to have a destination wedding. Aprreciate how lucky you are to have a wedding of your dreams.

[Xine]

The important thing is that you were together on (hopefully) a fun cruise. Go down to the justice of the peace, or call one of your local florists -- they can probably recommend a notary public (in FL they can marry people) or a minister that can do the ceremony for you.

 

Just think of it as a great story to tell your grandkids one day. :)

[islandmom1980]

I am so sorry for you. What ship were you on? Did you book with an independent company, or were you booked through the cruise lines? If the cruise lines had you booked for St Thomas, they could have made arrangements to get you married in another port. It is almost like wedding hurricane insurance. If you booked with an independent company, they can't help you. I have seen this happen year after year during hurricane season,for over 12 years now with cruises, and the only couples who actually get narried during itinerary changes are the ones who use the cruise line coordinators in port. Did you at least get a refund?:confused: Again, please come back to our island. Maybe to renew your vows someday.

With sympathy,

Beth

[jerseygirl3]

This is the reason we got married in port before we left Miami. You never know if you will make a port. On our very fist cruise, there was a couple who were planning to get married in Grand Cayman. All their friends and relatives were awaiting their arrival. Guess what? The seas were too9 rough to stop in G.C. Port was skipped. I learned my lesson after that.

[loten]

Hi!

I´m so sorry for you. I guess you´ve been married in your dreams.

So it´s for me. But now, I now that this could happend.

We are planning getting married on our cruise, december 5.

The port is Grand Cayman. Now I´ve read many threads about just

Grand Cayman. I wish now that we had booked by a independent

company. But when we found our dream-wedding at a"gazebo" in Cayman.

The wedding experience couldn´t guarantee this Gazebo, so we booked for

ourselves. The "gazebo",horse and carriage,photographer,flowers, a.s.o.

So now I guess that we just have to wish for luck.....

 

I understand that you are real dissapointed. But I hope you had a great time on your cruise.

 

regards Charlotta

[chicaletta]

So sorry to hear the news, I know how excited you were and can't imagine the depth of your disappointment.

What are your plans now? Did you get a refund?

Just remember everything happens for a reason, so I'm sure this means your new wedding date will be more than perfect.

[Marlenascruising]

Thanks for all the kind thoughts.

 

You know it's funny but I think our wedding coordinator , Cheryl Tomer, had a psychic feeling about it. She never took any money from us except for the hurricane deposit. The reason I used an independent contractor was I simply couldnt afford to have a destination wedding with Carnival. It was out of our price range.

 

We did have a good cruise and made the best of it. We got an extra sea day since we couldnt get back into Miami. We were known on the ship as the couple who didnt get married.

 

We're planning a simple ceremony in Oct. at a local retaurant and the mayor will officiate. My son is very exciting to have the mayor officiate and my fiance's oldest son can now attend since he had to work in Aug.

 

One day we'll have a vow renewal at Bluebeard's Beach.

 

Thanks again,

 

Marlene

[DMickey28]

Marlene,

 

I am so sorry! We are getting married in a month at Bluebeard's with Cheryl and are keeping my fingers crossed.

 

When I was booking with Cheryl and talking about hurricane season, I was afraid of that. She stated that she had never had a bride miss the island. I wonder if you were her first.

 

Again, I am sorry but I am sure you had a wonderful cruise. I just sent Cheryl our 50% deposit and she has assured us that if we miss the island we will get all but the $250 court fee back... she said that she did have coordiantors on other islands that may be able to do the ceremony as back up... I can't imagine how crushed I would be if that happened to me....

 

Good thoughts and wishes to a wonderful Fall ceremony now.

 

Christina

[Soon2bMrs]

Marlene,

 

Oh my god I am so sorry that your wedding was canceled.

I know that you were looking forward to it and Bluebeards.

 

I hope that you still have a wonderful and beautiful wedding whereever it may be.

Look at it this way...... you don't have to worry about getting off the ship and running to the courthouse for the marriage license! I still haven't figured out how we're going to do it, it's going to feel like a marathon, but we'll do it. Barring any more hurricanes. Why do we need hurricanes to begin with? What purpose do they serve? LOL

 

Take care

Kathy

10/05/04

[Kellyann]

We just returned from the Caribbean Princess' 9/11 voyage. Our friends were planning to get married when we docked in Jamaica at Sunset Beach Resort. However, the Thursday before we sailed I found out that we were not going to Jamaica and that we were now going to St. Thomas and St. Martin. I called the bride & groom at their hotel in Ft. Lauderdale and gave them the bad news. He said that he would spend Friday trying to make arrangements for a wedding in St. Thomas. I hung up thinking there's no way he can make that happen in the 24 hours before we sail. Well guess what, he managed to make arrangements for them to get married in St. Thomas. Well on Monday night the Captain comes on and says we are not going to St. Thomas in the morning. Oh my God I wanted to cry. It was so sad knowing what they did to make it happen and now the wedding plans were gone. He said he'll make it happen in Jamaica as soon as we find out IF we're going there and whether we're going to Montego Bay or Ocho Rios. When it was confirmed that we were going to Montego Bay, he spoke with the purser about his dilemma. The purser took down all the info from both islands. The purser cancelled the wedding in St. Thomas and managed to rebook Sunset Beach in Montego Beach. I'm happy to say that they had a magnificent wedding under a gazebo on a beautiful sandy beach. The people at the resort went well beyond expectations to make the wedding absolutely perfect. These people had just gone through a horrible hurricane that left devastation everywhere and they went out of their way for my friends. It's a wedding I'll never forget.

[islandmom1980]

As I have said before my husband has been a tour operator in St Thomas for 20 years. I have said it before,and I will say it again, your best bet is to always go with the cruise line wedding department. They can make arrangements for weddings in alternative ports when changes occur usually within minutes. The independents can't do that. If you went with an independent company, and the ship helped you get married, that was very kind of them, but not the norm. Princess can also marry you at sea by the Captain, in certain cases. Princess runs a good ship operation.They alert the tour operators in plenty of time. I am very happy things worked out for you.:)

[valorbride]

Sorry To Hear That You Were Unable To Get Married In St. Thomas. I Am Getting Married Exactly One Year From Today (9/25/05) And Hopefully Next Year At This Time Everything Will Be O.k. I Live In Miami And Today We Are Expecting Hurricane Jeanne. The Port Of Miami Is Closed Today. I Am Planning To Get Married While The Ship Is In Port, So Even That Is Risky. I Agree That Choosing To Marry On An Island During Your Cruise Is A Big Gamble.

[MandyGirl]

They can make arrangements for weddings in alternative ports when changes occur usually within minutes.

Just beware that some ports have residency periods and waiting periods (or even blood tests) for the courthouse marriage licenses that are not very flexible - and I would tend to believe the laws are followed. In those cases, there can be no way around the port's laws no matter who is coordinating the wedding.

An example: The post about Samantha that I made regarding her Key West reroute to another port... the new port had stringent legal requirements that could not be met at the last minute even by her company. She had not booked through a local independent but rather a company that does weddings all over and does them for some cruiselines. Fortunately, Florida had less stringent laws allowing her to marry there on disembarkation day.

An alternative could always be a ceremony without the legal aspect... and do the legal stuff when arriving back home. May not be the desired end-result, but still provides a beach/gazebo ceremony at a beautiful port of call. (Almost like doing a vow-renewal... just no legal part.)

Regardless, my heart goes out to all who are missing their weddings this time of year - both cruise weddings and those who planned destination weddings. :(

[Ta421sBtrHalf]

We have friends who had their wedding planned for Labor Day weekend. They had to cancel because of Frances and guess when they rescheduled for, this weekend. Now the bride is having doubts about the whole marriage thing and thinks it is a sign from God to not marry her intended. He is distraught and doesn't know what to do now. Don't let it get you down, things work out, eventually.

[islandmom1980]

I was making a reference to the cruise line coordinators being able to make arrangements in other ports of call. Jamaica, Grand Cayman, for example. There are no blood tests or STRINGENT requirements. Please, please check your facts.

Accurate information is vital.

[MandyGirl]

Actually, Beth, I did check my facts (reference the link I provided in the previous post). I wasn't limiting my post to solely Jamaica and Grand Cayman which is why I said "some ports" (as opposed to "all ports"). I did not realize your previous post was specifically referring to only two ports of call - I missed that somewhere. :confused:

Not all people are able to do the waiting period when a ship is diverted with short notice (such as St Maarten - divorced women must wait 306 days past a recent divorce) nor are they able to do the blood tests in a timely manner like other Caribbean ports of call require (such as Puerto Rico). Here is an additional website that is resourceful that I have learned from in the past. If it is inaccurate - maybe the websites would be good places for you to notify that they have inaccurate information (I'm just sharing the websites - I certainly did not write them). After researching many ports of call for my own wedding, I chose USVI because it did not have a residency requirement nor a blood test requirement like some other ports.

Samantha's ship was diverted to the Bahamas after its engine problems. According to various websites, that specific port of call has a 24-hour residency requirement. Her company was not able to bend the laws of the Bahamas, hence her marrying on disembarkation day. It didn't matter who coordinated her wedding... the laws still stood.

I totally agree that accurate information is vital, which is why I provided that link previously. :) For someone being diverted at the last minute, I believe that would be a stringent requirement of having to show proof of a blood test in the past ten days or have a residency period longer than the ship's port time. Cruiseline coordinators may be able to make arrangements in other ports of call, but I still contend that they are not able to bend the individual island's laws regarding such things as residency periods or legal blood tests that some ports require.

If the websites I am sharing are not accurate as you contend, please please contact the owners those domains are registered to. I am only sharing their information, and again, I did not write those websites.:)

[islandmom1980]

Many many marriage license agencies due to last minute hurricane diversions have waivers. That is not bending the law, and that is not breaking the law. Those waivers are there for this reason, as well as other last minute situations that arise. Samantha's wedding company was not able to pull off her wedding. Samantha can fill in the blanks if she cares to.

 

Not all people are able to do the waiting period when a ship is diverted with short notice (such as St Maarten - divorced women must wait 306 days past a recent divorce) nor are they able to do the blood tests in a timely manner like other Caribbean ports of call require (such as Puerto Rico). :confused:

 

St Maarten weddings can easily be changed to the V.I. if on the itinerary, and Puerto Rico is a port of embarkation for many cruise lines, so they get ruled out of the equation. Hurricane season is rough on everyone who lives here. Tourism is what drives the economy.

Brides who sail during hurricane season take a risk, but for every one bride who misses her own wedding, there are 20 more who get married where they originally chose to, or were married elsewhere during a diversion.

[seasea]

:D I am living proof that you can and do get married during hurricane season. My HUSBAND and I just got back from our Princess Cruise. We were to be married in Barbados. We got diverted to St Thomas, and YEP, Princess got us married on a beautiful beach in St. Thomas. The purser contacted the coordinators in St Thomas and they emailed the marriage application forms to the ship. We filled them out, the ship scanned them and emailed them back to the coordinators. All the arrangements were made by email within hours. We had the most beautiful beach wedding, and beautiful weather. The minister, Sam, was so sweet and loving. My coordinators had our 10 family members feeling like royalty. Everything went off without a hitch. We had a gorgeous cake, the most beautiful bouquet, that it was as though we had planned to marry there the whole time. It was an adventure we will tell our grandkids about.

[Myon3289]

Thank You MandyGirl for sharing the experiences and information you've come across while planning/since your wedding. Its good to hear from someone who has had a recent wedding and not from someone who trying to sell a service or invalidate ones experience/information/opinion!

[MandyGirl]

Yea SeaSea!

That is terrific! I'm so glad you were still able to have a beautiful destination wedding! :) On the websites I have provided previously, they have stated that the 8-day waiting period can be waived for USVI - which makes it nice if diverting there - and very nice to see you are living proof of that waiver. The onboard internet cafes can help tremendously as you found, and the onboard staff helps brides out - no matter who booked their wedding (we found that out firsthand). That was so nice of the purser to help you out. Was the purser also the cruiseline wedding coordinator? Or just someone helping out a bride in need?

Myon -

Thanks. I just simply try to provide information that can be backed up with other website links as proof of what I share. :)

Beth -

Yes, weddings can be changed TO the USVI very easily. Maybe that's a reason I have made many dozen posts about how great it is to marry there?

But what about those who plan to marry in the USVI and then are diverted ELSEwhere? That is what I am referring to.

MSophia (who created this thread) was diverted FROM St Thomas TO the other side of the Caribbean (her new ports may have had legal requirements she could not meet at the last-minute). The ship I'm booked on for my next cruise recently was diverted FROM St Thomas TO St Maarten on it's 9/11 sailing (so I don't think St Maarten gets ruled out of your equation since that is a very recent example of diversion to St Maarten). True, San Juan is an embarkation port (done a cruise from there before) but for the majority of the brides who post on this board, their embarkation ports are in the mainland US - so a diversion to Puerto Rico is a possibility while on a cruise. (And has also been a diversion in recent weeks)

Ports other than the USVI (according to the websites I referenced) have different legal requirements than the island you live on. I have not seen references on those port websites to waivers similar to what USVI has. It is stated in writing that the 8-day requirement for the USVI can be waived depending on circumstances (as I have posted links to before). But as I have said previously and backed up with website resources here, other ports have requirements... that may be different from your island's... and most non-USVI ports that I have researched do not state anything about waiving the laws on those websites. (Please notice I said "most" and not "all").

Even though we married in March, as I stated in my review, we booked with a coordinator due to the "what ifs" that can - and have - happened on a cruise. We did not book with our cruiseline coordinator for various reasons (one being they told us incorrect legal information regarding marriage in the USVI - the courthouse in Charlotte Amalie told me the facts which were different from what the cruiseline coordinator told me - and I immediately booked with someone local instead). Those "what ifs" on a cruise can - and do - happen anytime around the year and are not limited to hurricane season (although hurricane season can certainly increase the probability of those risks). Yes, we have missed a port before (due to weather, not in hurricane season). Some cruiseships are delayed to pick up people in rafts at sea. Some cruiseships have mechanical problems. Some cruiseships have emergency medical evacuations of a passenger in distress. Though these "what ifs" don't happen very often at all, they are still possibilities. A cruisebride cannot plan to marry on a cruise and think she is 100% guaranteed to make it to that port of call after she boards the ship (fine print in the cruiseline contract - they can change the itinerary for any reason at any time). This board is useful for those so that they are fully aware of those "what ifs" that can and do happen, and brides need to be aware of those risks (I know I certainly was).

True, for every port wedding that doesn't happen, there are many successful weddings that do happen (I don't know those statistics - but if 1 in 20 that you state is correct, that's a 5% failure rate). However, when cruise weddings don't happen as planned, although they can be devastating, a cruisebride has already done her research and knows that sometimes there can be a plan B depending on what port she is diverted to. Sometimes, the port she is diverted to may OR may not be accommodating to her wishes and dreams due to their laws. That is the reason I quoted you earlier: "They can make arrangements for weddings in alternative ports when changes occur usually within minutes." Sometimes, depending on the new port's laws, that is not always true. If a diversion happens on the cruise or just prior, those ports that have residency periods and waiting periods or blood tests can be a concern for a bride in that predicament - especially if they have no waiver in place legally. Brides do not get to pick the ports their Captain diverts to.

And with those non-USVI port diversions, I still contend that a cruiseline wedding coordinator cannot waive the laws any more than anyone else can. (Again, speaking about ports that don't specify a waiver like the USVI does.) By the way - Do you happen to have a website link for the waivers you mentioned with other ports? Again, I've posted previously about the USVI marriage requirements and provided links, but what about the other non-USVI port waivers you mentioned? Not all ships are diverted TO the USVI, but sometimes are diverted FROM the USVI and a cruiseline wedding coordinator may not be able to help depending on what island(s) - if any - the cruise is diverted to. We've missed our last port of call on a cruise and had an extra sea day - no diversion.

Coming from a previous 2003 cruise bride who planned her own cruise wedding, researched several cruiseline wedding coordinators (via phone and email), and has experienced several cruises on various cruiselines in the past few years, these are just my personal opinions backed up with various websites. People posting on this board (as well as the old CC database) are marrying all over the world on a cruise, and it is so interesting seeing the neat photos they come back to share! They are not all marrying in one specific port in one region of the world.

[islandmom1980]

Rather than banter with you regarding legalities of various ports around the world, I would ask you this question. You write:

 

 

Coming from a previous 2003 cruise bride who planned her own cruise wedding, researched several cruiseline wedding coordinators (via phone and email), and has experienced several cruises on various cruiselines in the past few years, these are just my personal opinions backed up with various websites. People posting on this board (as well as the old CC database) are marrying all over the world on a cruise, and it is so interesting seeing the neat photos they come back to share! They are not all marrying in one specific port in one region of the world.

Why then have you then posted 427 times out of 463 regarding this one specific port in one region of the world? Just curious.

Beth

[seasea]

Thank you Mandy for the hip hip hurrah! The purser is the onboard laison that helps the wedding couples when they get to their destination wedding port of call. We did not use the internet cafe onboard. She made all the arrangements with the Princess coordinators in St Thomas. We just filled out the marriage applications they sent, and she sent them all the specifics that were purchased in our original package. The land coordinators took over from there. It was so very, very lovely. I hope that answers your question.

[MandyGirl]

Why have I posted only about my awesome wedding experience in St John and no other ports? Quite simple - Because I have not experienced marrying in any other port!

I enjoy reading about the marriages in Europe and Alaska, but don't post since I have no firsthand experience marrying or researching those ports for a wedding. Honeymoon cruises give me good ideas of romantic cruises to think of in the future. Now when researching where we wanted to marry, we researched a lot of Caribbean ports of call for several months prior to determining our wedding port of call and subsequently booking the cruise. (Did not research other locations around the world) When spending thousands of dollars and taking family members on a vacation unlike anything they have ever experienced, I tend to take my purchase very seriously. :) And all five cruises in the past four years are Caribbean ports of call - Eastern, Southern, Western departing from Florida or San Juan. I have no need yet to post questions about, say, Hawaii ports of call because I have yet to cruise there. This is just as other brides post their experiences in their ports of call - if a bride marries on an Alaska cruise, she is most likely going to share insight on the Alaska threads here (and not the Mediterranean threads). Usually wherever a person has experience is where they will post. That is why I only post about my personal experiences in the USVI and share other websites I came across when researching ports of call closer to home (could have saved a lot of money by driving to Houston or New Orleans and doing a Western cruise itinerary, but still chose the USVI and flying to Florida). And also because I've taken land vacations different years on St John and St Croix, those experiences have given me that firsthand insight from a tourist perspective. Some brides are getting married at a port the very first time they ever visit that region of the world (or on their very first cruise) and are hungry for past experiences - just as I was when planning my wedding. If I can share websites and personal experiences that will help someone make a decision (one way or the other), then I do. I am not here to sell a product nor do I work in the tourism industry. I share my experiences and websites I've come across.

Now, when friends see our wedding video or hear me talk about our vacations and cruises to the USVI, they want to go... and in the last 18 months several friends/families have vacationed in the USVI (some have been twice in that short timeframe - it was USVI or Hawaii). Tourism dollars heading your way versus Hawaii. Would you rather me not be upbeat and positive about our wedding, cruise, and vacation experiences to the USVI? Hubby loved his vacation to Hawaii before we married, but I keep pulling us back to the USVI.

What had caught my eye initially on this thread was your statement in a post above "If the cruise lines had you booked for St Thomas, they could have made arrangements to get you married in another port. " After researching my own wedding and knowing what I have learned over years, that is why I piped in to point out that different ports have different legalities and they are not as flexible as the USVI... and brides need to know accurate information. Some brides marry on their very first cruise and don't have the full picture of what to expect. I try to provide websites that can help share facts, especially when I know something may not be accurate - then I can share a website to show the source of information. Usually online in any message board, if someone posts something, I take it with a grain of salt - but when I can actually see some sort of website that backs up what they say, then I take a more serious look at it.

The old database (CruiseCritic) was revamped in early summer. Old messages were all deleted prior to April-ish, so several of the boards lost a lot of history (some were not able to transfer the posts). You can look at some CC posters who have the 5000+ designation by their names yet their count now is maybe in the 2000s due to the database transition (there are several postings on CC about it). It all has to do with the database on the backend. I've been posting and asking questions on various CC boards since late 2000 (after booking my first cruise) and have learned a wealth of knowledge so that I can maximize our experiences on cruises. CruiseCritic has grown to over 100,000 members in the four years it has been around. I'm not sure where your numbers came from as far as my "427" posts on the Wedding boards here because I see something different by looking at those exact posts here on CruiseCritic.

As far as "bantering" me with legalities of other Caribbean ports, just simply share a website that negates the websites I've shared previously. That would be insightful for all brides to see. If you truly believe the legalities listed on those ports of call are incorrect (from the websites I have posted), please share with the brides here some websites that you feel are correct... and again, please feel free to contact the owners of those domains to let them know that you feel their information is incorrect. I'm not the one who wrote those websites - just merely shared them here as I have before. If those websites are incorrect, then I apologize for sharing them, but when several seem to show the same thing about marriage license requirements in various ports, then one tends to believe they are somewhat accurate.

[MandyGirl]

SeaSea -

Thanks for that insight! I've never dealt with a purser on board - so that is interesting to know. Learn something new everyday. :) I know we had booked a suite for our wedding cruise and the concierge was absolutely awesome. When I first told him we were getting married at a port of call, he wanted to know who was coordinating. He had a list of several coordinators at each port of call, so that was cool to know. One thing he did do to help us was arrange for us to meet in a specific location the day of the wedding and arranged for us to be first off the ship. He did other things throughout the week - he was totally awesome - and we thought that was so nice since we had booked our wedding through a non-cruiseline coordinator.

 

I'm really glad it all worked out for you! We are wanting to try Princess and have had friends cruise on Princess - heard really great things! I believe the Grand (or Golden?) will be cruising out of Texas soon - so that might be a possibility. Never done a cruise from our homestate! :)

When winter rolls around... just take out your wedding pictures and think warm thoughts! :) (My sis-n-law has lived in Boston the past four years... cold!!) Again, congratulations!

[islandmom1980]

This information can be helpful. Again I get quite a bit of information from my husband who is a tour operator here and on St John. This information came from him.

 

 

Here's a quick look at individual island marriage requirements. Fees are given in US dollars.

• Anguilla:Two-day waiting period; $40 fee if one partner resides in Anguilla for at lease fifteen days before the date of marriage; If the stay is shorter, the cost of the license is $284 representing stamp duty.
  No blood test.
  
• Antigua & Barbuda: One-day waiting period; $240 for wedding license.
  No blood test.
  
• Aruba: A law was recently passed making civil weddings legal for non-residents.
  
• Bahamas: 24-hour residency requirement; $40 for marriage license.
  To contact Ministry of Tourism call 242-326-5371 Fax: 242-328-0945.
  No blood test.
  
• Barbados: No residency requirement; fee of $62.50.
  No blood test.
  
• Bermuda: No residency requirement; fee of $205.
  No blood test.
  
• British Virgin Islands: Three-day waiting period; $110 for marriage license, plus fee of $35 to be married in Registrar's Office; $100 to be married outside the office.
  No blood test. If you require other details: 284-494-3701.
  
• Cayman Islands: No waiting period; $200 for marriage license.
  No blood test.
  
• Costa Rica: No residency period; fee of $32.
  Women must take a pregnancy test. This is administered by the Supreme Court of Costa Rica at the Forensic Medicine Office (Medicatura Forense de la Corte Suprema de Justicia) in San Joaquin de Flores in Heredia, Costa Rica. Their telephone number is 506-295-3000.
  
• Curaçao: Three-day residency; $167 for marriage license.
  No blood test.
  
• Dominican Republic: No residency period; $20 for marriage license. Couples must write the American Consulate in Santo Domingo in advance of intended wedding date asking permission to marry in a civil ceremony. All documents must be translated into Spanish. No blood test.
  
• Grenada: Aliens must be resident 3 days before they can make an application & must provide proof of their marital status. Under 18's need permission from their parents or guardians. Fees are US$10.
  
• Guadeloupe: Birth certificate (or copy with raised seal), Certificate of Good Conduct (including certification of "single status"), Residency Card (one of the couple must have resided on the island at least one month), Medical Certificate (including blood test) issued within 3 months of marriage, and French translation of English documents. A "Bulletin de Marriage" is delivered at ceremony.
  No fee is involved.
  
• Jamaica: 24-hour residency; $54 for marriage license.
  No blood test.
  
• *on site coordinator can submit the paperwork the day before due to diversion
  
• Mexico City: No residency requirement; fee of $30.
  Chest X-rays & Blood Tests (Required).
  
• Puerto Rico: No residency; $2 stamp fee for copy of license. A VDRL blood test no older than 10 days prior to the wedding is required.
  
• St. Barts: One person in couple must be resident for 30 days; no fee. Blood test required.
  
• St. Kitts & Nevis: Two-day residency; $80 for marriage license.
  No blood test.
  
• *same
  
• St. Lucia: Two-day residency and two days for license; $198 for marriage license.
  No blood test.
  
• *same
  
• St. Martin: One person in couple must be resident for 30 days; no fee. Blood test required.
  
• French side
  
• Sint Maarten: Residency must be established (one year) prior to marriage. 10 days before the ceremony couples must register at the Office of Civil Registry. Fee $152.
  No blood test.
  
• Dutch side
  
• St. Vincent & The Grenadines: Individual passports plus EC$20 stamps and all legal documents for Divorce & Death of previous spouse. An application for a Special Marriage License should be completed after a stay of 1 day.
  A fee of $185 should be paid to the Treasury.
  
• I do not know
  
• Trinidad & Tobago: Three-day residency; $55 fee.
  No blood test.
  
• same
  
• Turks & Caicos: 24-hour residency requirement; approval by a marriage officer may take two days. $50 fee.
  No blood test.
  
• *same
  
• US Virgin Island: Must wait eight days from receipt of notarized application, but the couple does not need to be on island during this time. $50 for marriage license; $200 fee to be married in the court by a judge.
  No blood test.
  
• *same waiver as we all are aware of