Panicked Canadian couples who fear they fell for a wedding scam in the Dominican Republic can breathe a sigh of relief.
The country's government announced yesterday it will fix the problem by issuing marriage certificates for those weddings whose validity was in doubt because they were performed by a fake judge.
"People should relax and be patient," said Joseline Pujol, in charge of consular affairs at the Dominican Republic embassy in Ottawa.
"Where there are some irregularities, they (the Central Electoral Board) are going to fix it. We don't want to cover this up. We are rectifying this. We want to make sure all couples going to the Dominican Republic are legally married."
The Central Electoral Board, which oversees civil weddings, says the scam was confined to one Punta Cana resort and involved a wedding co-ordinator colluding with a fake judge to swindle about 200 Canadian and British couples who had tied the knot there since last July.
Because the marriages were performed in good faith, the board will have a real judge validate them and issue certificates within three months, said Pujol.
"It's the first time this has happened. It can happen anywhere in the world. There are good and bad people everywhere."
She declined to name the hotel involved, but said the problem is not widespread, given that as many as 7,000 Canadians marry or renew their vows in the Dominican Republic every year.
The embassy was bombarded by calls from anxious couples yesterday, some of whom had received marriage certificates but were worried about their authenticity.
"They're overreacting. Ninety-nine per cent of the weddings are good. When they already have the marriage licence they have nothing to worry about. It's valid," Pujol said.
Angela Scala of Oakville was planning to hold another wedding here if the one she and husband John Sinopoli had in the Dominican Republic in December turned out to be invalid.
"Wow, what a relief," Scala said after hearing that she will be receiving a marriage certificate.
"But in some ways, it feels like I was taken for a fool. Deep down you wonder if your wedding was part of the scam. I still can't get over it."
Other couples, like Andrea and Rob Caswell of Brampton, were not worried at all though they also wed in Punta Cana, last month. On the advice of her travel agent and a wedding co-ordinator here, Caswell had their marriage legally registered in Ontario – by paying an officiant a $100 fee during a meeting at Tim Hortons – before going to the Dominican Republic.
The couple had a symbolic ceremony in Punta Cana with 25 people. "It was for the memories, but we were smart, we did our paperwork here first," Andrea said.
Wedding planners in Toronto agreed that getting legally married here before jetting off to an exotic destination is the safest and most stress-free option.
But Tara Soloway of Luxe Destination Weddings has met with resistance when she suggests that idea. "I've had some brides who said they won't do it because they feel they're lying to their guests. Nobody would really know the difference, but it's a personal choice."
The wedding fraud is big news in the Dominican Republic, said Magnolia Crisostomo, a wedding co-ordinator for Rui Hotels in Punta Cana. "Everybody's talking about it."
Donald Baker, a Toronto family lawyer, said he had never come across a scam like it. "It's really quite shocking," he said.
But even if couples didn't receive marriage certificates from the Dominican Republic, they would still have legal rights in Ontario.
"If you entered into a marriage with the best of intentions, without any reason to think it wouldn't be valid, then you're considered to be a spouse under the Family Law Act. It doesn't make you legally married, but it gives you the same rights that you would have as a married spouse under that act, which could be property and spousal support and so forth," Baker said.
Nevertheless, the union is not recognized under the Divorce Act, he added. "They're just not legally married so they would never have to get legally divorced. So actually they'd save some money, which is not a bad thing."
http://www.thestar.com/News/GTA/article/305155
Friday, March 14, 2008
Tips for parents at destination weddings
Brides and grooms who invite kids to faraway weddings must consider everything from properly addressing invitations to bedtimes to custody issues
As the bride and groom turned toward each other to say their vows, the ocean sparkled in the background and white sand warmed the guests' feet. The moment was interrupted only by a toddler - mine - yelling, "I want to sit in Mommy's lap!"
I scooped him up, only to knock the pacifier out of my 2-month-old's mouth. Her lips quivered, preparing for a full-blown wail. I popped it back in just in time.
Double meltdown averted. Still, the ceremony was a harrowing half hour for me.
Bringing the kids along to "destination weddings" - those that require travel to exotic locales - has become a priority and a challenge for many bridal couples and their guests.
"If you're asking guests to travel and including children, you have to be doing some research ahead of time," says Jeanne Hamilton, author of "Wedding Etiquette Hell" (St. Martin's Press, 2005). "The bride's responsibility is making sure guests are comfortable. If you're including kids, then you should ensure the experience for kids is just as pleasurable as it is for adults."
As for parents, it's up to them to make sure kids behave.
It can add up to one sticky situation - in some cases, quite literally, says Hamilton, who more than once has seen the frosting get licked off the cake before it's served.
Whether to invite kids is completely up to the bride and groom, she says.
Stephanie Clarke, a wedding planner at the resort we stayed at, the Sheraton Grand Bahama Island Our Lucaya, recommends going for the full-family affair if the location calls for it.
"It's an island atmosphere with sand, sun and sea, and it's not just about the wedding," she says. "It's about relaxation and fun for the kids too."
Many guests with kids might just R.S.V.P. "no" to a far-off wedding because of expensive or complicated travel arrangements. Amy Swedberg and Michael Hagen of Minneapolis found that many of their invitees - including Swedberg's sister - couldn't attend their wedding in the Bahamas.
"I'm going to be 37, and all my friends had babies recently," Swedberg says. "Three years ago, it would have been one big party."
The couple is planning a reception at home to accommodate friends - kids included - who can't make the trip.
http://lifestyle.in.msn.com/
As the bride and groom turned toward each other to say their vows, the ocean sparkled in the background and white sand warmed the guests' feet. The moment was interrupted only by a toddler - mine - yelling, "I want to sit in Mommy's lap!"
I scooped him up, only to knock the pacifier out of my 2-month-old's mouth. Her lips quivered, preparing for a full-blown wail. I popped it back in just in time.
Double meltdown averted. Still, the ceremony was a harrowing half hour for me.
Bringing the kids along to "destination weddings" - those that require travel to exotic locales - has become a priority and a challenge for many bridal couples and their guests.
"If you're asking guests to travel and including children, you have to be doing some research ahead of time," says Jeanne Hamilton, author of "Wedding Etiquette Hell" (St. Martin's Press, 2005). "The bride's responsibility is making sure guests are comfortable. If you're including kids, then you should ensure the experience for kids is just as pleasurable as it is for adults."
As for parents, it's up to them to make sure kids behave.
It can add up to one sticky situation - in some cases, quite literally, says Hamilton, who more than once has seen the frosting get licked off the cake before it's served.
Whether to invite kids is completely up to the bride and groom, she says.
Stephanie Clarke, a wedding planner at the resort we stayed at, the Sheraton Grand Bahama Island Our Lucaya, recommends going for the full-family affair if the location calls for it.
"It's an island atmosphere with sand, sun and sea, and it's not just about the wedding," she says. "It's about relaxation and fun for the kids too."
Many guests with kids might just R.S.V.P. "no" to a far-off wedding because of expensive or complicated travel arrangements. Amy Swedberg and Michael Hagen of Minneapolis found that many of their invitees - including Swedberg's sister - couldn't attend their wedding in the Bahamas.
"I'm going to be 37, and all my friends had babies recently," Swedberg says. "Three years ago, it would have been one big party."
The couple is planning a reception at home to accommodate friends - kids included - who can't make the trip.
http://lifestyle.in.msn.com/
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Getting hitched in a sea of love
Did you know that 10 to 25 percent of all weddings take place away from home? Never slow to catch on to a trend, cruise lines are going all-out to promote cruise weddings — both aboard ship and ashore in some exotic port. Thousands of couples have taken the plunge at sea, often citing the ease and convenience afforded. For starters, you can have a wedding and then sail off on your honeymoon, and there's no travel time wasted between the vows and the celebration. Best of all, you can leave all the legwork to the cruise line's wedding planners and crew.
Standing on ceremony
Susan Breslow-Sardone, author of "Destination Weddings for Dummies," says a cruise-ship wedding is the easiest kind of destination wedding you can have, but you will still have to hire a company that specializes in cruise weddings to help you arrange the ceremony. That's because the actual ceremony will almost always take place in port (Princess Cruises is the only cruise line that enables captains to marry couples at sea), and the requirements of the port's jurisdiction can be complicated, especially if it is overseas. A good cruise-wedding service provider like The Wedding Experience can help you obtain a local marriage license and find a member of the clergy or other official to perform the ceremony pretty much anywhere in the world — and ensure that you are legally married.
Couples can also marry in their U.S. port of embarkation before the cruise begins. That way the guests can come aboard, enjoy the service and reception, and disembark before sailing. Alternatively, friends and family can come along for the cruise, if the couple so desires.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23114960/
Standing on ceremony
Susan Breslow-Sardone, author of "Destination Weddings for Dummies," says a cruise-ship wedding is the easiest kind of destination wedding you can have, but you will still have to hire a company that specializes in cruise weddings to help you arrange the ceremony. That's because the actual ceremony will almost always take place in port (Princess Cruises is the only cruise line that enables captains to marry couples at sea), and the requirements of the port's jurisdiction can be complicated, especially if it is overseas. A good cruise-wedding service provider like The Wedding Experience can help you obtain a local marriage license and find a member of the clergy or other official to perform the ceremony pretty much anywhere in the world — and ensure that you are legally married.
Couples can also marry in their U.S. port of embarkation before the cruise begins. That way the guests can come aboard, enjoy the service and reception, and disembark before sailing. Alternatively, friends and family can come along for the cruise, if the couple so desires.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23114960/
Sunday, January 6, 2008
World's Ultra-Exclusive Destination Wedding Spots
You may not lay claim to Google co-founder Larry Page's fortune, but if you're willing to open your wallet, you can say "I do" like the 34-year-old tech titan.
Just head to Necker Island, where Page last month married 27-year-old Stanford Ph.D. candidate Lucy Southworth. The 74-acre island in the British Virgin Islands is owned by billionaire Sir Richard Branson of the Virgin Group.
Guests can stay in the eight-bedroom Great House or in one of the five smaller Bali houses that dot the island; together they sleep 28 guests. The entire island can be reserved for about $47,000 a day, with a five-day minimum stay. You may choose between an informal beachfront wedding or a more formal ceremony in the main lounge. Included in the package are such amenities as a couple's massage, access to water sports, lessons with a professional tennis pro, all meals and drinks, and boat transfers from Virgin Gorda or Beef Island (Tortola) airports.
http://www.forbes.com/travel/2008/01/04/travel-wedding-pricey-forbeslife-cx_avb_0104travel.html
Just head to Necker Island, where Page last month married 27-year-old Stanford Ph.D. candidate Lucy Southworth. The 74-acre island in the British Virgin Islands is owned by billionaire Sir Richard Branson of the Virgin Group.
Guests can stay in the eight-bedroom Great House or in one of the five smaller Bali houses that dot the island; together they sleep 28 guests. The entire island can be reserved for about $47,000 a day, with a five-day minimum stay. You may choose between an informal beachfront wedding or a more formal ceremony in the main lounge. Included in the package are such amenities as a couple's massage, access to water sports, lessons with a professional tennis pro, all meals and drinks, and boat transfers from Virgin Gorda or Beef Island (Tortola) airports.
http://www.forbes.com/travel/2008/01/04/travel-wedding-pricey-forbeslife-cx_avb_0104travel.html
Getting hitched in heaven
Many Canadian couples are deciding to forgo having a traditional wedding in favour of a tropical trip down the aisle at a destination resort.
Wedding planners report a growing demand for nuptials in exotic locations that combine getaways for wedding guests with honeymoons for newlyweds.
Deanna Isbister spends much of her working life promoting travel to Hawaii's Big Island, and she finds that Canadians appreciate the diversity of her Pacific paradise.
"We do see a lot more romance, renewing of vows, anniversaries and destination weddings," said Isbister, in town this weekend to attend the 29th annual Wedding Fair at the Vancouver Convention and Exhibition Centre.
She said Hawaii's destination-wedding business will get a boost from airlines now flying directly from Vancouver to Kona International Airport.
"Air Canada started Dec. 1 direct service Vancouver to Kona, and on Jan. 13 WestJet will start service, again direct to Kona [from YVR]," Isbister said.
"It's so easy to get married in Hawaii," she added.
"You don't have to be a U.S. resident; there's no waiting period," Isbister said.
"You can just come over and apply for a licence, get married and start the honeymoon." Couples can acquire a Hawaiian marriage licence without a blood test. The biggest hurdle is a new requirement to carry a valid passport.
Couples can go for a simple wedding on the beach or opt for a more elaborate ceremony atop snowy Mauna Kea.
"We have wedding planners available," said Isbister. "There are a lot of choices available." Wedding planners say destination nuptials often make sense for a couple whose friends and family are scattered across the country.
A destination wedding may even prove cheaper for the couple than a big, conventional wedding.
After all, only those who truly love a couple will be prepared to travel for them. The result can be a smaller, more manageable production.
Susan Hyatt is known across Canada as "the Wedding Lady," having planned nuptials professionally for the past 22 years.
A native of Bahamas, she got on the destination- wedding bandwagon by accident when approached by a young couple of university students with the urge to merge.
"They had no money and wanted me to plan their honeymoon in the Bahamas," recalled Hyatt.
"I started doing Bahamas weddings. Then several couples asked me if I do other destinations." One couple requested a Hawaiian wedding, prompting Hyatt to fly there and join the Hawaiian Visitors Bureau, which allowed her venture to fall into place.
Now she specializes in destination weddings for Canadians going to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, and Hawaii and for outsiders who want to come to Vancouver for a destination wedding.
"In a busy month. I had 14 weddings," she said. "I've done weddings for couples in 33 states." Demand for destination hitching has grown to the point that one in every 10 Canadian weddings is a destination wedding, Hyatt said.
"It's so [much] less stressful," she said. "You don't have to worry about the limo and the huge wedding party." One of Hyatt's tricks of the trade is sending out postcard wedding invitations, advertising a tropical vacation in tandem with the inherent fun of attending a wedding.
The Wedding Fair continues today at the Convention Centre at Canada Place from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
The $20 admission covers fashions shows throughout the day, access to 150 exhibits and 170 booths.
There are 1,200 prizes and gifts valued at over $300,000, including the $87,000 Dream Wedding for some lucky newly engaged couple.
http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/money/story.html?id=c687514a-7708-410a-8c64-997755c96d7e
Wedding planners report a growing demand for nuptials in exotic locations that combine getaways for wedding guests with honeymoons for newlyweds.
Deanna Isbister spends much of her working life promoting travel to Hawaii's Big Island, and she finds that Canadians appreciate the diversity of her Pacific paradise.
"We do see a lot more romance, renewing of vows, anniversaries and destination weddings," said Isbister, in town this weekend to attend the 29th annual Wedding Fair at the Vancouver Convention and Exhibition Centre.
She said Hawaii's destination-wedding business will get a boost from airlines now flying directly from Vancouver to Kona International Airport.
"Air Canada started Dec. 1 direct service Vancouver to Kona, and on Jan. 13 WestJet will start service, again direct to Kona [from YVR]," Isbister said.
"It's so easy to get married in Hawaii," she added.
"You don't have to be a U.S. resident; there's no waiting period," Isbister said.
"You can just come over and apply for a licence, get married and start the honeymoon." Couples can acquire a Hawaiian marriage licence without a blood test. The biggest hurdle is a new requirement to carry a valid passport.
Couples can go for a simple wedding on the beach or opt for a more elaborate ceremony atop snowy Mauna Kea.
"We have wedding planners available," said Isbister. "There are a lot of choices available." Wedding planners say destination nuptials often make sense for a couple whose friends and family are scattered across the country.
A destination wedding may even prove cheaper for the couple than a big, conventional wedding.
After all, only those who truly love a couple will be prepared to travel for them. The result can be a smaller, more manageable production.
Susan Hyatt is known across Canada as "the Wedding Lady," having planned nuptials professionally for the past 22 years.
A native of Bahamas, she got on the destination- wedding bandwagon by accident when approached by a young couple of university students with the urge to merge.
"They had no money and wanted me to plan their honeymoon in the Bahamas," recalled Hyatt.
"I started doing Bahamas weddings. Then several couples asked me if I do other destinations." One couple requested a Hawaiian wedding, prompting Hyatt to fly there and join the Hawaiian Visitors Bureau, which allowed her venture to fall into place.
Now she specializes in destination weddings for Canadians going to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, and Hawaii and for outsiders who want to come to Vancouver for a destination wedding.
"In a busy month. I had 14 weddings," she said. "I've done weddings for couples in 33 states." Demand for destination hitching has grown to the point that one in every 10 Canadian weddings is a destination wedding, Hyatt said.
"It's so [much] less stressful," she said. "You don't have to worry about the limo and the huge wedding party." One of Hyatt's tricks of the trade is sending out postcard wedding invitations, advertising a tropical vacation in tandem with the inherent fun of attending a wedding.
The Wedding Fair continues today at the Convention Centre at Canada Place from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
The $20 admission covers fashions shows throughout the day, access to 150 exhibits and 170 booths.
There are 1,200 prizes and gifts valued at over $300,000, including the $87,000 Dream Wedding for some lucky newly engaged couple.
http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/money/story.html?id=c687514a-7708-410a-8c64-997755c96d7e
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