Lost in Translation

In order for us to get married in the Dominican we need to present:
-Photocopy of birth certificate + translation in Spanish and legalization
-Photocopy of passports (couple and 2 witnesses)
-Single status declaration + translation in Spanish and legalization
-Original divorce decree + translation in Spanish and legalization
-Documents to be legalized by the Dominican Embassy (except passports)
-Required documents for Catholic weddings to be sent upon request
-Couples will bring all the original documents with them to the hotel

That sounds pretty simple but it's not. I've heard horror stories where brides wait up to 6 months for their marriage certificate to arrive from the Dominican. I'm sorry but I've already waited long enough to marry the man of my dreams, and I am not waiting another couple months for it to be legal. Plus it costs an extra $300 to get the documents translated.

So instead we have opted for a better alternative. Like most couples we have decided to get married at city hall prior and just have a symbolic ceremony in the Dominican. Not only is this option cheaper but it's also less hassle! Our guests won't know the difference! We will have just our parents present for the city hall wedding. We won't be exchanging vows and it's just like signing the paper work for a new car!

Since we are having a symbolic wedding, the wedding coordinator will perform the ceremony which lasts about 5 to 6 minutes. Honestly that just seems too short for me. Thanks to the resorts Facebook Group, I found a Pastor who is a transplant from Canada that performs symbolic ceremonies for many resort weddings. His ceremony lasts 25 minutes and he includes readings both traditional and personal and you can customize it to however you like. JACKPOT! So I contacted him via e-mail and he quickly replied that he is available on our date and sent us two different sample ceremony's. Stay tuned for more on what type of ceremony we chose.

Did you opt for a city hall wedding? Or did you brave it and get married in the Caribbean? Did it take long to get your marriage certificate?

*photo source here