How Much Does it Cost to Get Married in St Lucia?
Your wedding day is one of the most exciting days of your life. Filled with love, beauty and hope for the future, you need the perfect backdrop to set the scene for the first day of the rest of your lives. This makes the captivating island of St Lucia one of the most romantic places to get married. With soothing warm beaches, crystal clear waters and cascading waterfalls, St Lucia is idyllic for your destination wedding. But beauty like this doesn’t always come at a huge price. We’ve analysed The Cost Of A Wedding in 22 countries, see how much a St Lucia destination wedding costs compared to the UK, along with some top tips on how to plan your dream wedding in St Lucia.
1. Define Your Budget
The luxurious lure of a wedding is easy to get sucked into. While the finer touches can be appealing, it’s important to define your budget before you start planning so you know what you can comfortably afford.
As soon as you have decided how much you are willing to spend, it is then time to make your wish list of priorities. Decide what is most important to you when allocating budget for different aspects of your wedding. This way, you can enjoy the more luxurious touches on your wishlist, without going over budget.
To give you an idea of how much the different aspects of your wedding in St Lucia are likely to cost, we have calculated the average price, compared to the UK, by getting quotes from a number of vendors. Please note that these are not vendors we work with as we wanted to compare the prices fairly, like for like. Our wedding packages would include many of these aspects so will be substantially lower in cost.
2. Choose Your Venue
Do you want to get married on the beach? In a hotel? In the UK? Or in St Lucia? A wedding venue in the UK costs three and a half times more than a venue in St Lucia. At £5,564, compared to £1237 on the island, a UK wedding venue costs almost as much as an entire wedding in St Lucia.
If you were planning to honeymoon on the island anyway, you could enjoy your wedding and honeymoon for the price of one. St Lucia is one of our most popular destinations so we can almost always offer you the venue free of charge – we can likely include many aspects of your big day, such as wedding cake and decorations. This can significantly reduce your costs.
Some of our recommended wedding Venues in St Lucia
December – April is the peak season , making it a more desirable time to plan your wedding if you are hoping for glorious weather. It is worth noting that this is also peak season, so resorts are likely to be busier and more expensive. Therefore, it is crucial to plan in advance to ensure you have the venue of your choice and can finalise your wedding details in advance. To save on costs and enjoy St Lucia when the island is a little quieter towards the end of the season. The weather is still great but there are less holiday makers (as Christmas, New Year, Valentine’s Day and school holidays would have passed). We would recommend getting married somewhere between April and June.
As well as thinking about the weather, there are also lots of local events that take place each year. If you love local entertainment, planning your wedding at one of these times could be the perfect addition to your trip as they would be great for attending with your wedding guests for a day out. These events are some of our favourites:
- January (Annual event) – Saint Lucia Food & Rum Festival
- February 22nd (Annual event) – Saint Lucia Independence Day
- May (Annual event) – St Lucia Jazz & Arts Festival
- June / July (Annual event) – Saint Lucia Carnival
- August / September (Annual event) – Roots & Soul Festival
4. Entertaining Your Guests
From extravagant firework displays to exhilarating boat rides, there are many ways to entertain your guests on your wedding night. Whether you are out to impress or want the simplicity of a live band or DJ, even the cost of basic entertainment is reasonably cheap. At just £480, a DJ or band in St Lucia is less than half the price of the UK which will cost you around £1,161.
As well as musical entertainment, you may also want to look at food and drinks packages for your guests. Additionally, if you are planning to invite children, it is important to check with your chosen venue that children are welcome on the resort before booking. We can go over all the finer details with you to ensure everything is well planned so there are no surprises to deal with on the day.
5. How do I get married in St Lucia?
You can apply for a marriage licence as soon as you arrive in St Lucia by making your application to be married to a local solicitor through an attorney general. To successfully apply for your marriage licence, you are also required to produce original copies of legal documentation in English, including:
- Passport
- Birth Certificate
- Decree absolute (if you or your partner have been divorced)
- A death certificate of the first spouse (if either party is a widower)
- A deed poll (if a name has been changed)
- If either party is under 18, a sworn affidavit of consent stamped by a qualified lawyer is required
- If original documents are not in English, you should obtain an authenticated translation
For religious ceremonies, you will need to to have your local priest contact the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in advance to see if you meet their requirements. An officiant in the UK is more than twice as expensive as St Lucia at around £920. In comparison, an officiant in St Lucia will cost about £415. It is recommended that you spend at least 5 days in St Lucia prior to your wedding to allow plenty of time to get everything prepared, although there is no minimum stay.
8. Before The Big Day
There is plenty you can do at home before your wedding day once you have booked flights and a venue. If you are sourcing all of your vendors individually, ensure you get paper copies of all of your quotes by post, fax or email and ensure you receive an invoice before making any payments. That way you can keep a paper trail of your purchases.
Whilst you are still at home, you can get all of your documentation in order in preparation for your wedding. This is also the time to organise attire for the bride, groom and bridal party, which is estimated to cost around £9,500 but depends on your personal taste. We would not recommend sending your wedding attire separately. Take it with you on the plane and your wedding planner can assist with having items steamed or pressed when you arrive at your destination.
Finally, if there are any personalised invites or decorations you wish to take with you, you should source these before your wedding. A few weeks before the big day, you should make a checklist and ensure all of your documents and arrangements are in order. Finalise your arrangements with vendors and ensure that alternative arrangements are available in case of adverse weather.
It’s really nice to spend quality time with your guests before the wedding, a day out somewhere gives you a unique experience – you’re unlikely to ever be on holiday with all your most treasured people so make the most of it. See some of the top things to see and do in St Lucia.
Sound overwhelming?
Destination weddings are generally easier to plan than weddings in the UK. Your travel agent can take care of most of the travel arrangements for you and your guests and our packages often include a wedding planner on location as well as an expert in the UK. Wedding packages can be tailored to include the venue, officiant, flowers and even a photographer. The wedding planner on location can also make recommendations if you have any requirements that the package does not cover. This is likely to be the easiest and most cost effective solution.
If planning your own wedding, you need to be very organised. Do your research, make meticulous checklists and try to share out the responsibilities between yourselves and members of your wedding party if you are inviting guests. This will help you to avoid becoming overwhelmed.
Use a Wedding Planner
A wedding planner can increase the cost of your wedding significantly in the UK. But with the average wedding taking at least a year to plan, it can be a time-consuming task. So, using a wedding planner can take away the stress of planning your big day. They can liaise with suppliers and resorts, so you don’t have to, and the cost of their services is usually around 10-15% of your total budget. A wedding planner in your destination may be included in your wedding package so be sure to ask your travel agent.
Consider a Wedding Package
Another option is to look for a wedding package. This can bring the cost of your wedding down significantly and often includes the venue, photographer, flowers, hair and make up, entertainment, food, drinks, the ceremony and more. See some example wedding packages for the Caribbean.
Need Assistance Planning Your Destination Wedding?
If you need assistance planning your big day, we have many wedding resort partners in St Lucia. Not only can you make great savings but you’ll also get a wedding expert in the UK as well as a wedding planner in your destination who will make your day perfect.
