Ask Glenn your Bahamas wedding questions

It is free and there is no catch. You get a recommendation, a package match, a written quote and any warning about your timeline, at no charge and with no obligation. I do not charge for answering questions and I do not hold the quote back until you agree to a call. If my answer is that your dates will not work, I tell you that instead of selling you something that will not fit.

Me, from the first message to the ceremony itself. I read every inquiry, write every reply, and I am the Marriage Officer who performs your ceremony and signs your licence. There is no account manager, no call centre and nobody handing you off once a deposit lands. That is the whole point of a small operation.

A deposit holds your date and the balance is due before the ceremony. The exact deposit depends on the package and on how much vendor booking has to happen up front, so I state the figure, the due date and the accepted payment methods in writing in your quote rather than quoting a number here that may not match your package. Nothing is taken before you have that in writing.

I itemise the government costs separately so you can see exactly what is mine and what is the government's. The statutory costs are fixed and public, and broken down in full on the marriage licence cost page:

• Marriage licence: BS$100 at the Registrar General's Department. The Ministry of Tourism quotes $120 including one certified copy.
• Extra certified copies: about $20 each.
• Apostille, if you need the certificate recognised abroad: about $20.
• VAT at 10% applies to services in The Bahamas.

If a quote from anyone looks suspiciously round, ask them to split out the government fees. A quote that cannot be itemised usually has something buried in it.

Two witnesses aged 18 or over must sign the marriage licence, and I provide them if you have nobody with you. This is the single most common reason couples think they cannot elope here, and it is a non-problem. Plenty of my ceremonies are two people, me, and two witnesses. Details are on the witness requirements page.

Yes. A marriage performed by a Licensed Marriage Officer under the Bahamas Marriage Act is a legal marriage, not a symbolic ceremony. The Bahamas has been party to the Hague Apostille Convention since 1976, so an apostilled Bahamian marriage certificate is accepted for official use in the other member countries without further legalisation. The difference between an apostille and full legalisation is explained on the apostille versus legalisation page.

Recognition still runs through your own country's rules, so if you need the marriage recorded with a home registry, an immigration authority or a pension scheme, ask them what they want before you travel. I will order the certified copies and the apostille to match. I am not a lawyer and this is not legal advice about your jurisdiction.

We plan the alternative before you pay, not on the morning. Bahamian rain is usually a passing squall rather than a lost day, and the common fix is to shift the ceremony by an hour or move to a covered spot at the same venue. The backup depends entirely on which venue you choose, so ask me about yours and I confirm the plan in writing with your quote. Hurricane season runs 1 June to 30 November, with roughly 96% of major hurricane activity falling in August, September and October, and I will say plainly if your dates sit in the risky window. The month by month picture is on the hurricane season page.

Tell me as early as you can and I will do what can be done. Moving a date is usually easier than people expect, because the licence is valid for three months from issue and most of my own schedule can flex. What cannot always flex is a third-party vendor who has already committed, so the terms for your specific package and vendors are set out in writing in your quote before you pay anything. Read that section. Any planner who will not put cancellation terms in writing is telling you something.

For a small ceremony, a few weeks is usually comfortable and I have put legal weddings together in days, which is what the same week wedding page covers. For a wedding with a venue, photographer, floral and a guest list, three to six months is the honest answer, and peak season dates in the dry months go first. If your date is close, message me before you assume it is too late. The legal minimum is only about 25 hours on the ground, so the constraint is almost always vendor availability, not the law.

All the major islands: Nassau and Paradise Island, Eleuthera and Harbour Island, Exuma, Grand Bahama, Andros and Abaco. One point worth correcting, because it is wrong on a lot of websites: you do not have to fly to Nassau for your licence if you are marrying on an Out Island. The Administrator's Office on that island issues it. Tell me the island and I will tell you where you apply.

Yes, and the detail that decides it is one most couples get wrong. The 24 hour residency requirement counts time in Bahamian waters, not time ashore. If your ship called at any Bahamian port or private island before Nassau, including CocoCay, Half Moon Cay, Castaway Cay, Lookout Cay, Great Stirrup Cay, Ocean Cay, Princess Cays, Celebration Key, Bimini or Freeport, you have usually already satisfied it and we can marry you on your Nassau call.

You will need a letter from the Purser's Office confirming your time in Bahamian waters, signed by the ship's captain. Send me your itinerary and I will tell you whether your call works, and there is a copy-paste script for Guest Services on the cruise wedding page.

Not legally, and I would rather you heard it here than after you booked. The Bahamas Marriage Act defines marriage as between a man and a woman, so no Marriage Officer in the country can issue you a legally binding marriage. That is the statute, not my view of you.

What I can do is officiate a commitment ceremony or a vow renewal, with the same care, the same venues and the same vendors as any other ceremony. Some couples marry legally at home and hold the ceremony that matters to them here. If that works for you, message me.

No blood tests and no medical certificate are required in The Bahamas. You both need valid passports and your immigration card as proof of the 24 hour stay. If either of you was married before, bring the original or a certified copy of the final divorce decree, or the death certificate if widowed. Mixed-nationality couples are interviewed separately as a matter of routine, which is normal and nothing to be nervous about. The full document list is on the marriage licence requirements page.

Nothing. The form stores no data and transmits nothing to a server. It assembles your answers into a WhatsApp message inside your own browser, and that message goes to me only when you tap submit. There is no database behind this page, no mailing list signup hidden in it, and no lead broker receiving a copy. If you would rather not use the form at all, just WhatsApp or call 1-242-395-8495.