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#1
- Pick a date, time and location for your wedding. |
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Date
& Time
- If you can avoid weekends and holidays then do so. If
you are coming in on a cruise ship on a weekend or holiday
then it is best to have your wedding as early as possible
to avoid crowds. Typically it will take about 45 minutes
to get from the cruise ship to the court house and to
most wedding locations. Check with your cruise ship to
find out what time you can reasonably be off the ship
(different than docking time). If you can be off the ship
by 9:15am then you can easily make a 10am wedding.
If you are coming by cruise ship note that SOME
cruise ships do not change their clocks to our time zone.
Please ask your cruise ship to verify St. Thomas'
time in relation to your cruise ship time.
Otherwise you could think you are getting off the ship
at 9am to find that it is 10am on St. Thomas!
This is applicable fall to spring (beginnning of Nov to
mid of March) when we are one hour ahead of the US East
Coast.
From spring to fall we are on the same time as the US
East Coast. ( EST )
The courts are open-
8am to 5pm Monday to Friday
Saturday 10am to noon.
Sunday 9:30am to 11am.
Holidays - times vary - good to call ahead -
.. Check here for a list
of St.Thomas holiday
dates.
*
If you are coming in on a weekend or holiday (or near
a holiday ) then call ahead to verify the court house
hours ahead of time - 340-774-6680 (ext 6207) or ask for
marriage license department).
There
is a $150 extra fee for going to the court on Sundays
and most holidays. If you are staying on island then you
can go to the court house days before your wedding.
The court house is closed on some holidays all
day.
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Location
- Depending on whether you wish to be married barefoot in
sand or in a gazebo with an incredible view, we have some
great locations for your dream wedding. Check out our locations
page , sailing weddings and
powerboat weddings for
our favorite wedding spots. Note that most land locations
have a site fee of $100 or more. We would be happy to marry
you at other locations or your private villa. |
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#2
- Check Availability - |
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Email
Island
Wedding Services to check availability for your dates for
your minister, photographer, videographer, boat,& helicopter.
Let us know what locations you are interested in having your
ceremony.
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#3
- Reserve your minister, photographer, and/or
videographer by filling out our reservation form.
On
the form is a credit card authorization. We will require
a $50 deposit for each service of a minister, photographer,
and/or videographer.
Your balance including site fee and any extras such as
champagne will be due in cash or traveler's checks to
your minister after your wedding service.
On the reservation form you can also order champagne.
Please email us in a seperate email for your flower, arch,
aisle & chair order if you have one.
You can submit this form on line or print out and fax
to 954-252-3724 or send as an attachment in an email.
Boating & Helicopter reservations
policies are different for the helicopters and boats.
We will email you the booking terms for each boat along
with their specific reservation forms.
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#4
- Marriage License Paperwork -
Go to Legal Forms Page for instructions
on filing your marriage licence paperwork.
- Two forms plus $100 needs to be mailed to (and be at) the court
house at least 8 busniness days before your wedding date. The
court house will almost always waive this rule if you ask.
- You do not need to be on island the days before your wedding.
- If this a re newal of vows or commitment ceremony then you can
skip this step. |
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#5
- Transportation -
You can hire a taxi, chaffeured sedan, limo or rent a car. Check
transportation options and instructions on our extras
page.
If you are coming off a cruise ship you will definitely need
to pre arrange for transportation to your wedding before you
get here.
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#6
- Extras -
Check out our extras page for information
regarding music, restaurant recommendations, salons, and more.
You can email us with your order for flowers, arches, aisles &
chairs. |
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ONCE ON ISLAND :
If you are coming by cruise ship you will want to have your
transportation pre-arranged.
There will be taxis when you get off the ship however
they will be multi passenger vans taking people in groups straight
to popular tourist destinations.
It may be daunting to find a private taxi to take you and your
group to the court house and then to your wedding location with
out it being pre-arranged.
See transportation options on our extras
page.
If you are staying in a hotel then you can opt to pre-arrange
the transportation or have the front desk take care of that
when you get here. If you want a limo then you will need to
take care of reserving that ahead of time.
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#7
- Court House -
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#8
- Get Married (:
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Bring
your rings, marriage license from court house, and balance
due for services in cash or travelers checks to your wedding. |
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The
minister will use the ceremony on the ceremony
page unless directed otherwise in advance. Let us know
ahead of time if you would like the minister to refer to
you by nick names, shortened versions of your names, middle
names etc. Otherwise the minister will refer to you by the
first names on your reservation sheet. |
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Do
not over dress! It is the tropics - full black tuxes will
be unbearably hot.
Also note that if the bride wears a veil then it will turn
into a wind sock and become annoying to control in the wind. |
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Gratuities
for services - i.e. minister / photographer / captain /
pilot are not required but appreciated. (10% to 20 % is
customary) |
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After
the ceremony your minister and two witnesses will sign your
paperwork.
If it is just the two of you don't worry about the witnesses.
We can have your driver, or photographer or there is always
a couple near by who are more than happy to sign off on
the paperwork. |
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#9
- Marriage License Back to the Court House
After your ceremony your marriage license (now signed by the
minister and witnesses) will need to go back to the court house
for final processing.
You can take it back or have your minister do it for you for
an extra handling fee of $25.
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If
you take your license back to the court house yourself
then you will walk off the island with your final papers.
Copies of your license are $2 per certified copy. We would
recommend getting at least 2 copies. If you can make it
to the court house before 3pm then you can bring cash.
If you go to the court house on a weekend or after 3pm
on weekdays then they will require a money order or cashier's
check made out to the Superior Court of the Virgin Islands
for your copies ( recommend getting that before coming
to St. Thomas). A money order for $10 will get you 5 copies
of your license.
If your minister handles the paperwork then your licence
will be mailed to your priority with tracking. You can
expect it within 3 weeks of your wedding day.
Another option is to mail it in once you get home.
If you are getting married on a weekend or holiday you
may not have the option to go back to the court house
as it may be closed.
If you are staying on island then you can do this days
after the ceremony.
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If
one or both of you are a not a US citizen then you will
most likely need to get an Apostile. This is an extra
certificate that authenticates the marriage license for
your country. |
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When
you get home mail a certified copy of your marriage license
with a raised seal along with a cashiers check made out
for $25 US dollars to: |
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Lt.
Governors Office
#18 Kongens Gade
St. Thomas, VI 00802
They will mail it back to you first class mail.
If you have any questions regarding the Apostile then call
340-774-2991 and tell them you have a question regarding
Apostiles and they will transfer you to the correct department. |
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#10
- You are married! Live happily ever after! -
When you get home you can send us one of your favorite
photos along with your comments to post on our Happy
Couples page. |
