Getting Married on Bonaire

The wedding and the honeymoon all in one!

Dreaming about a wedding on the beach? Or getting married underwater? Or a traditional wedding in the beautiful Passagrahan building (courthouse)?

Well, you’ve come to the right place. Bonaire offers the ultimate setting for the most romantic day of your lives. To make your wedding arrangements even simpler, contact one of the companies below for expert guidance and services. A number of resorts offer packages and Honeymoon Specials.

You need to allow four to six weeks for all the paperwork.

Official documentation which is necessary

For the official marriage petition the following documents are required for both the bride and groom:

• Photocopy of the first page of passport (Signature & Photo page)
• Original Birth Certificate endorsed with an Apostille
• Declaration of Marital Status by the Civil Registry
• If divorced or widowed, divorce decree or document of proof is required
• Your island coordinator can arrange for local witnesses if needed.

After arrival on Bonaire, it takes four working days to arrange for all the forms to be processed. If you are arriving on a Saturday or Sunday and the following Monday happens to be a holiday, you will have to wait the four working days until you are able to marry and there may be a problem getting the permission arranged on time. It is advisable to check with the agency that handled your papers as to the holiday schedules. The best suggestion is to allow a full week for the papers to go through. There is much to see and do here so an extra day or two will be an added bonus to your happy occasion.

With respect to the original birth certificates required of the bride and groom, these must be issued by the state or province of birth, feature a raised seal, have the names of both the mother and the father on them, and for citizens of the U.S., Canada, Colombia, Peru, Venezuela, or the United Kingdom, must have an Apostille affixed to them. An Apostille is an internationally recognized validation of a certificate or document and is only issued by the office of vital statistics located within the state or province capital office (in the U.S. this would be your state’s Secretary of State). Declarations of civil status and divorce or widow decrees must also be affixed with an Apostille.

Note that all certificates must be originals and have been issued no more than six months prior. The passports used must be valid for at least six months beyond the intended departure date from Bonaire. Your Bonaire Wedding coordinator can help you understand all these requirements in greater detail as well.