Wedding in Bermuda
About weddings in Bermuda
There can be nothing more romantic than a marriage in Bermuda. Like to know why? Because Bermuda is one of the world's prettiest islands.
It's all about gorgeous pink sandy beaches, lush green landscapes and parks, beautiful pastel houses with white limestone roofs, and a strong tradition of friendliness and hospitality towards the visitors.
What more? The island has a thriving culture, great many luring attractions and abundance of activities. It's a beautiful, clean and a safe island. In short, it's a place that blends romance, scenic views, old colonial vibes, laid back style and modern charm creating a magical atmosphere!
As you stroll along the water’s edge immersing yourself in the views of turquoise blue water of the ocean or a picturesque harbor, or take look at the small villages with sugar plantations, have a drink watching a stunning sunset from the deck of a luxury chartered yacht, you will easily know why Bermuda is consistently rated as one of the world’s top wedding destinations.
And the rules to get married in the island are simple. There is no requirement of residency. You can just come in as visitors from any country with your guests, get married and go back.
We know of couples who made their
Marriage Proposals in Bermuda and later came back to the island to get married, accompanied with friends, relatives and guests, and then they returned for their Honeymoon as well. Due to its natural resources and moderate cost, Bermuda offers many possibilities of wedding themes. Bermuda also has a very well developed infrastructure with everything you need for a perfect wedding.
Here are the steps to follow if you want to plan and organize a wedding in Bermuda all by yourself.
Step-1: Know about Bermuda's Marriage Laws and Policies
It is good to start with some knowledge of the laws and policies, legal and religious requirements for a wedding and registry marriages in Bermuda. There are required documentation that needs to be completed prior to the marriage and only designated marriage officers, ministers and priests can officiate the marriages in Bermuda. Some policies and compliance differ from faith to faith.
Step-2: Get a Marriage License
You must have a Marriage License in order to get married in Bermuda. For that, you will need to fill up a form well in advance and send that to the Registrar General of Bermuda for acceptance. Once approved, you can set the ball rolling for you marriage. Check out
Marriage License to know how to go about getting the marriage license in Bermuda.
Step-3: Appoint a Registered Marriage Officer
As per the island's marriage law, you will need to appoint a registered marriage officer from a church to perform the marriage. The Marriage Registrar or a person authorized by the Minister of Home Affairs can also conduct a marriage. But you will need to ensure well in advance that you have one such marriage authority booked and made ready on the day of wedding. He needs to be transported to the wedding location and reached back to his point of pick up after the marriage has been performed.
Step-4: Decide on a Wedding Location
This is one of the most important steps for a couple planning their wedding. Because this will decide the setting and ambience and play a big role making the event a memorable one. By law, outdoor wedding venue is allowed in Bermuda. Some of the popular choices include secluded beach locations, parks and gardens like Botanical Garden, waterfront resorts, historic forts and great churches.
Check out
Wedding Locations to know about all the best spots in Bermuda for a wedding.
Step-5: Arrange a Wedding Transport
Bermuda offers several options for wedding transports. If you are thinking of a romantic way to get to your wedding reception with your newlywed bride (or groom), consider a horse drawn carriage ride, which is a typical Bermudian way of doing so. You can of course arrange for private taxis or vans or even a luxury limousine. For your guests, there are novel ways to get them to the reception or the wedding venue. Other than arranging for a private mini bus, you can also arrange for a Train Trolley that runs on road.
Check out
Wedding Transport to know the details of such transports and how to make a booking.
Step-6: Wedding Flowers
Well, fresh flowers with their colors and accent play an integral role through the different stages of a wedding. You will need an expert florist to help you decorate your wedding and reception venues exactly the way you want. Check out
Florists and Wedding Flowers to know about the best florists in Bermuda and what kind of flower arrangements are popular in the island for special occasions like weddings.
Step-7: Arrange a Photographer
You won't like to miss out on capturing some of the greatest moments of your life. And you need a professional photographer to do that. Check out
Bermuda based Photographers to know about the best options for wedding photography and videography in Bermuda.
Step-8: Catering Service
Unless you are hosting your reception dinner (or the rehearsal dinner) in a hotel or a restaurant, you will need to find a good catering service provider who can carefully understand the profiles of your guests, what they like and suggest just the right food for the occasion, and offer friendly but professional service.
While you can have all types of cuisine and dishes prepared to order, one novel way to add a local touch in you occasion is to try some
Bermuda Local Food and Drinks.
And, don't miss out on the specially made
Wedding Cakes that are used in Bermuda to symbolize everlasting happiness, prosperity and purity for the bride and groom.
Step-9: Music and Entertainment
well if you leave it to the hotel or the restaurant to do something about the music part like background or a live music during or post the reception dinner, they may come up with something which might be a complete show spoiler, unless of course you work with them carefully. Another way to deal with this is to appoint a great professional band or singer, and let them know what you want. There are great many local singers and bands just waiting to perform for you and offer a great Bermudian dimension to the occasion.
Use a professional wedding planner
If you've gone through the above steps, you might already be realizing what kind of effort and coordination is required to get everything in place and also to time them perfectly. If your plan is to do all that remotely from a foreign country without knowing anybody to help locally in the island, you might just wonder if it's worth taking all this headache and then still be unsure of what might finally happen.
Look at some of the questions you might have to face while arranging a marriage in Bermuda: How to find the right venue out of so many options? How to get a wedding official? How to ensure that all documentation and formalities are completed and there is no last minute hitch? How to know which hotel or caterer prepares the best food? How do you arrange for a wedding transport, photographer, florist, musicians etc etc. You will need to find answers to all these on your own. It may not be easy.
It is exactly for this reason why there are professional and well established companies, groups or individuals in Bermuda who help in end-to-end coordination of a wedding and ensure everything falls in place at the right time. While you will need to pay for their professional fees, you will also be able to save a lot of stress and time. The wedding planner will be responsible for arranging and managing all aspects of your wedding. Visit
Wedding Planners in Bermuda to know who are the best in the business.
Or alternatively you can choose to take a
Wedding package from a hotel so that all your logistics including rooms, food, wedding and reception venues plus everything else is taken care of by the hotel itself and all within its premises.
Bermuda Wedding Traditions
Below are some of the wedding traditions followed in Bermuda since decades.
Horse Buggy
Travel to the wedding reception by a
horse drawn carriage. There are no car rentals in the island. So a horse buggy with a uniformed driver in the reins fits in perfectly. It serves not only as a romantic wedding transport that you will cherish for rest of your life, but also as a great photo opportunity to capture the moment.
Moongate
You will find arches (known as moongates) all across the island. They actually originated in China but the design was brought into the island in 1860 and was quickly adopted all over. The islanders believe that if a couple walks through a moongate hand in hand and make a wish, it is fulfilled and the marriage becomes full of happiness.
Cedar Sapling
Traditionally Bermudians use cedar saplings to adorn the wedding cakes. The island once used to be full of cedar trees until they were decimated by decease in 20th century. It is believed by the islanders that the couples should plant the cedar saplings from their cakes in a secret location. This will ensure that the marriage life of the couple will flourish as the cedar tree grows.
Best time to get married in Bermuda
There is no rainy season as such in Bermuda. So any time would be a good time. The average temperature between April to October hovers around 80°F, while between November to March around 70°F. However the official hurricane season starts in June and lasts until November. But hurricanes are rare and need not be considered as threats.
|
 By Raj Bhattacharya
Raj, a seasoned travel writer and Bermuda destination expert, has extensive global travel experience. This website reflects his profound insights, garnered over nearly two decades of dedicated findings and research on the island. Raj has assisted countless Bermuda-bound visitors by providing direct, personalized responses to their queries and imparting his wealth of knowledge through this platform. This site serves as an indispensable guide for those seeking informed and reliable insights into Bermuda's treasures.
|
Related Articles
|
Viewers' Reviews and Comments
Dawn Thibodeau (July 2018)
Hi Raj, Your sight is so helpful! I always check it out before we cruise there. We'll be getting married on Warwick Long Bay Beach on the 5th of September and I'm looking for a place to rent 10 chairs for guests. Can you please recommend a rental company that sets up and delivers? Thank you Raj! Can't wait to come back to our "Happy Place"!
Raj (bermuda-attractions.com) July 2018
In my view... Bermuda Rentals is one of the best for wedding and party rentals including chairs, tables, tents etc. Since your requirement is small, the charges may be higher. They can set it up for you. You can contact them at the following (better to talk to them over phone as they may not be quite efficient on emails):
Phone: +1 441-292-7172
They are open Mon - Fri 8am - 5pm; Sat 9am - 4pm (Bermuda time)
Hope this helps. Wish you the very best for a successful wedding!!
Kate (July 2018)
Hi, I am looking at destination weddings in Bermuda. We are trying to decide if we should do it in January or April... and we want an outdoor wedding at the Unfinished Church! I have gotten mixed reviews from vendors... some say that January is nice and good for an outdoor wedding, while others say it is wet, windy, and cold. What is your perspective on a January vs April outdoor / Unfinished Church wedding?
Raj (bermuda-attractions.com) July 2018
Hi, in my view April would be better. Chances of rains is higher in January (it almost rains half the days in January although in short spurts). April is also slightly warmer yet pleasantly cool for an outdoor wedding.
Karen Lasaponaro (December 2015)
Hello, My fiancé and I would love to be married on your beautiful Bermuda in June 2016. We are taking a cruise the week of June 12 and will be docked in Bermuda on June 15th thru June 17th. We are prepared to complete the marriage intent form and Mail our money order to the address given. My inquiry is we would like to have our ceremony on a beach it'll be just the two of us + 2 witnesses. Can you advise information on services for an official person to perform our ceremony? And is there a possibility of the ceremony on Horseshoe beach or another beautiful beach close by. We are most grateful for your assistance. Thank you kindly.
Raj (bermuda-attractions.com) December 2015
Hi, You can choose one of the several lovely beaches for your marriage. Some wonderful south shore beaches with pink sands and located near Horseshoe Bay Beach where marriages and other social events are allowed includes Chaplin Bay, Stonehole Bay, Jobson's Cove etc. You can arrange everything exactly the way you want even if it's just two of you and two witnesses. Suggest you go through a professional wedding planner in the island who can help you with all the wedding logistics including getting an official to perform the marriage.
Patrick Donadio (February 2015)
Hello, My fiancée and I will be taking a cruise this June 2015 to Bermuda. We will be docked three days and were wondering about the possibility of getting married on the island. Either on the beach or one of the many churches. It will be just the two of us. We looked at planning a wedding through the cruise line but it was very expensive for just two people. Another option we thought about was to complete our marriage license in the U.S. and just renew our vows on the island. Any recommendations??? Thank you.
Raj (bermuda-attractions.com) February 2015
Hi, There is nothing more romantic than getting married in Bermuda. If you get married in the US, it'll be too early to renew your vow in June. However to get married in Bermuda, you will first need to apply for a marriage license in Bermuda and then arrange all the logistics like location, priest, transports, stay, food, tents etc etc. It's better to go through a local wedding planner who can take care of all that.
Marie Wood and Danny Densmore (September 2014)
Hello, We will be marrying on the island next summer and we would like a unique way to remember the special day. So, we thought what better way than as a watercolor painting of our ceremony to really capture the Bermuda feel. The only problem is that we do not know of any artists that provide such a service. We are hoping that you might be able to guide us in the right direction. Thanks for your help.
Raj (bermuda-attractions.com) September 2014
Hi, there is no such regular professional service to paint during occasions. However, one name which comes to my mind is Graham Foster. He is a very well known artist in the island. You can check with him if he himself will be willing to paint on your wedding or if he knows of any other artists who may.
Julie Kelly (July 2013)
We are getting married in Bermuda this summer. We are bringing welcome bags for our guests filled with goodies. Is it OK to bring things like mints, Hershey bars, trail mix and popcorn into Bermuda for this? I don't want to have any problems going through customs.
Raj (bermuda-attractions.com) July 2013
Hi, You can bring in wedding and party favors without paying any duty as long as nothing is left behind when your return. Most items that are intended to remain in Bermuda will attract duty of 25%. You should be careful about food products though. Mint, candy etc should be okay. However, I'll suggest that you reconfirm this with Bermuda Department of Immigration.
Jaye Lamoreux (January 2013)
Can you tell me a church or clergy that would do a very simple vow renewal ceremony just the 2 of us. Oct 16,17,or 18 we are coming on a cruise. Thank you
Raj (bermuda-attractions.com) January 2013
Hello, vow Renewal has no legal implications in Bermuda and therefore most churches would do it for a small fee. You may be required to produce a copy of your original marriage certificate if you plan to renew your vow in a church with the help of a priest. Check out Bermuda Churches for a select list of churches in Bermuda. As you visit the links, you will find contact information for each.
If I were to propose in Bermuda, where would I do it? This was the question Robin asked me to help him find the place. Raj
Barbara
My husband and I will be married 20 years in October. We'd love an all inclusive getaway to celebrate. Can you recommend a place in Bermuda and the best time to visit. Is October too late in the year? Thanks.
Raj (bermuda-attractions.com)
Hi Barbara, October is not too late, it's actually a nice time to visit Bermuda. November onwards the low season begins when most of the activities and attractions start closing down. There are very few All Inclusive resorts or gateways in Bermuda. Grotto Bay Beach Resort is one of them. Check out Bermuda All Inclusive for some details.
Bermuda Bridal Fair
The annual bridal fair is held in the island every year usually in the month of January. This is an exhibition where wedding operators and service providers display their offerings for different elements that go into a wedding. It includes participation of vendors from all areas including wedding cake decorators, florists, dress makers, caterers, decorators, wedding planners and more. Raj
Update January 2012: The Annual Bridal Fair has been held at the Hotel Fairmont Southampton this year. There has been an enthusiastic gathering of many vendors as well as future brides and grooms. The fair had participation from cake decorators, bridal registries, event planners, decorators, florists, caterers, photographers and more. Even the Bermuda National Trust was promoting many of its beautiful old properties and gardens as wedding venues. Raj
|
