Updated 22 October 2024
If you want to be legally married in Puerto Rico, it’s very important to talk about the requirements and process to obtain your marriage certificate with any Puerto Rico wedding planner, officiant, or venue that you consider, BEFORE booking. Here is a bit of unofficial advice.
#5 What is the process?
Be sure that your wedding planner, officiant or venue has a proven process to apply for and obtain your marriage certificate that is well-documented, with all costs and transaction fees defined. For instance, our “Let Us Take Care of Everything” legal and documentation add-on starts with checklists upon booking, a follow-up phone call to walk you through all the details, unlimited phone and email support, automatic reminder emails for relevant dates to submit paperwork, and much more.
#4 How much experience do they have?
How many legal weddings have they processed for couples under the system, a mix of online and in-person? What kinds of relationships do they have with doctors and with the relevant government offices? Do they have cell phone details for all their contacts, as government offices never answer the phone?
#3 Don’t DIY it.
Theoretically, one can do everything on the online system, from afar, but try for yourself: www.renovacionesonline.com. If you can figure it out, you have our admiration! You’ll still, however, need to visit the offices in person, ten days after your wedding, to register and obtain your marriage certificate. Sometimes this step takes 2-3 visits.
#2 Trust your instincts.
Has the officiant or wedding planner you are considering to help with your marriage certificate been responsive and authoritative, providing detailed and knowledgeable answers about the legal process at every step throughout your communications? When you are at your doctor’s office getting a referral for the STD lab tests, who can your doctor call when she has a question? Will they be responsive? Trust your instincts.
#1 Who will be in charge of your paperwork for your marriage certificate?
Is it a third-party officiant or the wedding planner itself? What privacy guidelines are in place? With identity theft at an all-time high on the island, document management policies such as shredding hard copies as well as encrypting soft copies are very important.
Puerto Rico destination weddings should be beautiful, amazing, and effortless. By following the above advice when choosing a wedding planner and company that can help with your marriage certificate in Puerto Rico, you can truly have a stress-free day. Contact us for more details!
Check out some of our recent blog posts about the process to be legally married in Puerto Rico:
Top Five Myths About Getting Legally Married in Puerto Rico