Yep, you guessed it, how could we write a post about getting married in Belize if we had not done it ourselves?!

Organising a wedding seems daunting at the best of times, but what about doing it abroad? We knew that we wanted the minimum fuss, frills and cost possible and it quickly became apparent that the best place to do it would be in Belize.

Why Belize?

• LANGUAGE

Due to its history, Belize is an English-speaking country; that makes understanding and dealing with bureaucracy 100 times easier!

• MINIMAL REQUIREMENTS

The requirements for getting married in Belize are very easy to fulfil. There is some conflicting information out there on the internet, but this is how it worked for us!

1. One of the parties to the marriage must have been ‘resident’ in Belize for 3 days prior to the date of marriage. All that means is that one of you must have been in the country for at least 3 days. This is easy to prove from the stamp in your passport. If you want to do it quicker you can, but for an increased fee
2. Both have proof of Identification & citizenship in the form of a valid passport
3. Both be legally able to marry (ie/ not married before or if divorced/widowed have proof of this)
4. Have two witnesses. Bring your own or have it organised for you for a fee

• EASY TO ORGANISE INDEPENDENTLY

You can easily organise everything yourself. Many websites and hotels will try to sell you wedding packages to get married at ancient ruins or on a beach with all the usual hoo-hah of flowers and guests and whatnot, but, if like us all you want is a simple service, you really don’t need their help. Of course if you do want the package then Belize certainly has its fair share of great weather and gorgeous locations.

• MINIMAL COST

Getting married in Belize is certainly not going to break the bank. Our costs were as follows:

Marriage License                                                                                          200BZD

Fee for Justice of the Peace                                                                        300BZD           

(included filling in and helping file the request for the Marriage Licence, organising 2 witnesses, marriage ceremony at Registry Office, filing Marriage Certificate with central registrar in Belize City, posting final certificate)

Misc (transport costs)                                                                                  120BZD

TOTAL                                                                                                            620BZD                                                                               (That’s around GBP230 or USD310)

What is the process?

It’s pretty simple, but it was great to have our JP there to guide us through each step. Just make sure that the agreement is that they will hold your hand the whole way through.

Day 1

Arrive in Belize and find a Justice of the Peace. In San Ignacio we used Mr Roches and it would probably also be him for Belmopan. Everyone seems to know him, and vice versa so it won’t take you long to track him down!

Each town should have a JP, but it would be advisable to find one near the capital of Belmopan and Belize City as you will need to file your paperwork there.

The JP will fill in a request form for a License to Marry with you and inspect your passports.

Day 2

You go to file the request for a License to Marry at the Registry Office in Belize City/Belmopan and pay the fee. There is a processing time of 24 hours.

Day 3

Pick up your License to Marry and get married! You will get a copy of the Marriage Certificate immediately, but will have to wait a few days for the final version to be certified by the central registry in Belize City. This can be posted to you.

How was it getting married in Belize?

Our marriage in Belize was essentially a legal affair without any pomp and ceremony and it was very much part of our Latin American adventures. Aside from the time it took to sort out the paperwork, the ceremony itself took all of 10 minutes and was conducted in a rather ugly concrete court house!

That is of course not to say that the event was devoid of any emotion on our part, it was just like any other wedding, but without the frills that come with them and that we don’t enjoy. The Justice of the Peace had some very nice words to say and we were very happy to have managed a relatively stress-free wedding on our own terms.