Wedding in Anguilla: Making it official
Scott and I visited the courthouse today to begin making our marriage a bit more legal. We had tried to visit the courthouse previously to get some legalities out of the way before guests arrive, but we were ill-equipped. To legally have a wedding in Anguilla you need a valid passport (surprisingly, this was the piece that Scott was missing the first time — Anguillan social security cards do not suffice), EC$100 of stamps and both parties have to be present. If you’ve been married previously, you have to have proof of finalized divorce. If you’re a tourist, there’s also a fee for processing though I’m not totally sure what the cost is. The most perplexing piece of this whole puzzle was the stamps. Why would someone need EC$100 (USD $37.31) of stamps for this process to go through? Scott thinks it’s to keep the ever-antiquated stamp alive in Anguilla.
I can’t think of a better explanation.
The entire process took about 15 minutes and we were asked to swear our solemn oaths to each other (on the Bible, naturally). I’d be lying if I said I didn’t tear up a bit. Okay, okay, I’m a baby! I’m going to be such a wreck on our wedding day. Ugh. My sister, who was the only witness, snapped this photo below when we were getting settled. Scott’s clearly very thrilled about what’s to come.
Real smiles before signing for our license:
Our declarations (which we had to repeat in front of a justice to make legal):
Looks like we’re getting hitched after all!
xoxo from Anguilla,
