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Destination Wedding and Marriage Licensing

plainjane0415plainjane0415 member
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in Wedding Customs & Traditions Forum
I am having a destination wedding in Aruba on 4/30/2015.  How does the marriage licensing/civil ceremony work exactly?  I want to make sure that my fiancee and I are officially and legally married when we return home after the wedding, and I'm not sure on what to do for that exactly.  HELP!
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Re: Destination Wedding and Marriage Licensing

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    ShesSoColdShesSoCold mod
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    You would have to contact the local courthouse in Aruba. Do you have a planner at your venue? He or she may be able to point you in the right direction. 
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    plainjane0415plainjane0415 member
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    I do have a planner there and she has told me what we will need to have a civil ceremony in our hometown prior to arriving in Aruba.  So would that mean that we are married before having our wedding in Aruba? I'm confused if you can't tell haha

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    ShesSoColdShesSoCold mod
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    Ummmm yeah that's crap. She's telling you get married before your wedding, which is ridiculous. Clearly I'm ignorant - does Aruba have counties? You'll have to locate the local government office.
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    manateehuggermanateehugger member
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    It doesn't sound too tricky, but you'll probably want to get in contact with an officiant and the Office of Civil Registry down there. 


    http://wedding.theknot.com/wedding-planning/destination-weddings/articles/aruba-marriage-requirements.aspx



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    Liatris2010Liatris2010 mod
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    Knottie43581280 said:

    I do have a planner there and she has told me what we will need to have a civil ceremony in our hometown prior to arriving in Aruba.  So would that mean that we are married before having our wedding in Aruba? I'm confused if you can't tell haha


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    The bolded is a terrible idea. If people are willing to spend their time and money to travel to Aruba to see you wed, it is because the really want to see you wed. If you get married in the states beforehand, they won't be seeing your wedding at all.

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    manateehuggermanateehugger member
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    Oh yeah, I missed that. Your planner sounds lazy and like she doesn't want to do the work for you.
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    plainjane0415plainjane0415 member
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    My main concern is having the marriage be legal when we return to the states.  I'm not concerned with having a civil ceremony, in the states, there, whatever, I just want the marriage to be legal when we return to the states. This is going to be an extremely small, private wedding, of our immediate family only. Can anyone offer any insight on that? Thanks!
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    manateehuggermanateehugger member
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    Knottie43581280 said:
    My main concern is having the marriage be legal when we return to the states.  I'm not concerned with having a civil ceremony, in the states, there, whatever, I just want the marriage to be legal when we return to the states. This is going to be an extremely small, private wedding, of our immediate family only. Can anyone offer any insight on that? Thanks!
    Right, and it sounds like you have the option of getting married legally in Aruba (per the links I gave you above). I would push back on your wedding planner and state that you'd like to have the marriage license completed in Aruba; remind her this is part of why you are paying her. If you can, see if you can get in contact with the Office of Civil Registry (or make her do it). 

    Please don't have a ceremony in the US before you leave. That means you will be married and a wife and will just be playing dress up in Aruba. 
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    Liatris2010Liatris2010 mod
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    PDKH said:
    Knottie43581280 said:
    My main concern is having the marriage be legal when we return to the states.  I'm not concerned with having a civil ceremony, in the states, there, whatever, I just want the marriage to be legal when we return to the states. This is going to be an extremely small, private wedding, of our immediate family only. Can anyone offer any insight on that? Thanks!
    Right, and it sounds like you have the option of getting married legally in Aruba (per the links I gave you above). I would push back on your wedding planner and state that you'd like to have the marriage license completed in Aruba; remind her this is part of why you are paying her. If you can, see if you can get in contact with the Office of Civil Registry (or make her do it). 

    Please don't have a ceremony in the US before you leave. That means you will be married and a wife and will just be playing dress up in Aruba. 

    This. What is the point of having your family tag along on your honeymoon to watch you play dress-up and pretend to be a bride? If you want photos on the beach, bring your dress and hire a photographer, don't stage a second "wedding".
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    ShesSoColdShesSoCold mod
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    Knottie43581280 said:
    My main concern is having the marriage be legal when we return to the states.  I'm not concerned with having a civil ceremony, in the states, there, whatever, I just want the marriage to be legal when we return to the states. This is going to be an extremely small, private wedding, of our immediate family only. Can anyone offer any insight on that? Thanks!
    If you obtain a marriage license and file it correctly in Aruba, you will be married in the states. You just need to do the research and find out how to do that.
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    plainjane0415plainjane0415 member
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    Thanks,  I just checked your links and they all say that a Civil Ceremony should take place in Aruba.  I'm just hoping that if we do that, when we get home to file for a marriage certificate that we won't have any problems because we were legally married in Aruba.

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    manateehuggermanateehugger member
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    Knottie43581280 said:

    Thanks,  I just checked your links and they all say that a Civil Ceremony should take place in Aruba.  I'm just hoping that if we do that, when we get home to file for a marriage certificate that we won't have any problems because we were legally married in Aruba.


    Oh, I got confused on what you were asking I think. Blah, sorry. You want to make sure that your Aruba marriage license will be recognized in the US? It looks like Aruba documents are recognized in the US. The State Department, however, recommends that you call the Attorney General's office in the state of your residence to confirm. 

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    plainjane0415plainjane0415 member
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    You're fine! Like I said, I was pretty confused, and I just sent an email to my planner asking her what we need to complete a civil ceremony in Aruba. Thank you for your help.
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    Jells2dot0Jells2dot0 mod
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    Maybe run this by the ladies on the DW board?

    I know I had no issues with my Australian marriage certificate. I took it right to social security and had my name changed. But, it does vary by country.

     







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    princessleia22princessleia22 member
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    Knottie43581280 said:

    Thanks,  I just checked your links and they all say that a Civil Ceremony should take place in Aruba.  I'm just hoping that if we do that, when we get home to file for a marriage certificate that we won't have any problems because we were legally married in Aruba.

    I don't think you will need to "file for a marriage certificate" when you get home.  You will have an Aruba marriage certificate, which is recognized in the US as a legal marriage. You should be able to just use your Aruba certificate directly to apply for new SSN & Drivers License (if changing name) or whatever you need it for. Just make sure you follow all of the requirements for the civil marriage process.

    Also I did see that the Aruba marriage certificates are written in Dutch and it needs to be translated into English.  You would then have the Dutch copy and the English translation, and may need to show both for some transactions. Obviously the non-translated copy wouldn't be accepted by most places in US without the translation, since they can't read it, but it is still the "official" license.  But, it looks like translated copy is also sealed, so that may be acceptable by itself at many places. It looks like the translation is handled by them as part of the process, but you may want to verify that it isn't something you need to handle yourself before you leave Aruba.

     

    There are a lot of website and resources online.  Your coordinator should be able to help (although she doesn't seem too good at it if she told you to get married in US first). But, contacting the marriage office in Aruba may be your best option to get accurate answers and clarifications if you have questions.

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    mysticlmysticl member
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    nicoann said:
    Knottie43581280 said:

    Thanks,  I just checked your links and they all say that a Civil Ceremony should take place in Aruba.  I'm just hoping that if we do that, when we get home to file for a marriage certificate that we won't have any problems because we were legally married in Aruba.

    I don't think you will need to "file for a marriage certificate" when you get home.  You will have an Aruba marriage certificate, which is recognized in the US as a legal marriage. You should be able to just use your Aruba certificate directly to apply for new SSN & Drivers License (if changing name) or whatever you need it for. Just make sure you follow all of the requirements for the civil marriage process.

    Also I did see that the Aruba marriage certificates are written in Dutch and it needs to be translated into English.  You would then have the Dutch copy and the English translation, and may need to show both for some transactions. Obviously the non-translated copy wouldn't be accepted by most places in US without the translation, since they can't read it, but it is still the "official" license.  But, it looks like translated copy is also sealed, so that may be acceptable by itself at many places. It looks like the translation is handled by them as part of the process, but you may want to verify that it isn't something you need to handle yourself before you leave Aruba.

     

    There are a lot of website and resources online.  Your coordinator should be able to help (although she doesn't seem too good at it if she told you to get married in US first). But, contacting the marriage office in Aruba may be your best option to get accurate answers and clarifications if you have questions.

    I don't know about Aruba but I have seen marriages licenses from other countries.  There is a copy in the local language and a copy in English.  The English copy is certified to be an accurate translation of the original.  My experience was that both copies were kept together.  
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    CMGragainCMGragain member
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    edited August 2014
    The United States Government recognizes marriages in Aruba, as long as you follow the laws existing governing marriage in Aruba.  If you just go to the beach and say vows to each other without going through the paperwork, it is not legal.
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    mysticlmysticl member
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    PDKH said:
    Oh yeah, I missed that. Your planner sounds lazy and like she doesn't want to do the work for you.
    I wonder if they had a bunch Americans do the civil ceremony in the US "just to be safe" and so she got complacent and starting telling people to just go ahead and do it that way.  
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    plainjane0415plainjane0415 member
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    I just found out from my planner this morning that April 30th (our wedding date) is actually a national holiday in Aruba, and that could have been why she told me to take care of the civil ceremony on my own.  She is checking into it for me though. 
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    OliveOilsMomOliveOilsMom member
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    How many days before your wedding are you going to arrive in Aruba?  You may be able to get your license the day before.  In the US typically, you have your license prior to your wedding day, then the officiant files it after he/she performs the ceremony.  So as long as you arrive with enough time prior to get your license from the government office, it shouldn't matter if April 30th is a national holiday or not.

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    manateehuggermanateehugger member
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    Knottie43581280 said:
    I just found out from my planner this morning that April 30th (our wedding date) is actually a national holiday in Aruba, and that could have been why she told me to take care of the civil ceremony on my own.  She is checking into it for me though. 
    It looks like they may issue licenses up to 30 days in advance though. So yeah, like Olive Oil's Mom said, if you're there in advance enough, getting the license shouldn't be a big problem. I'd ask your planner to confirm that you can get it in advance. 

    Very few people actually apply and receive their license on the day they were married (think about it - no government offices are open on weekends!). 
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