coppy: others may have some suggestions but your planning would be so much easier if you used the services of a wedding coordinator. They will do as much or as little as you want and work within your budget - saving you the hassle of finding an officiator, getting your paperwork together, etc. Many of us who live here use "facilitators" to expedite such things as auto registrations, business licenses, cargo imports, etc. as "island time" can be very frustrating and time-consuming and the relatively minimal cost is worth every penny. Cheers!

Congratulations on your plans to marry on the beach.

Please know that a Catholic Priest is not allowed to
perform the ceremony on the beach. The Priest will
only be allowed to marry you in the Catholic Church.

Good Luck

There are some excellent non-denominational but "Christian" marriage officiators on island, as already pointed out to poster Coppy but it was certainly interesting to read your response, St John Wedding Planner."

Who woulda thunk? The Catholic Church's list of "things thou shalt not do" continues to boggle my old mind! Now I know that if a couple wishes to marry in a Catholic ceremony on a beach then that's a no-no. Cheers and thanks for the info!

I know Weddings the Island Way has still provided all of the services and have done the ceremony at the Catholic Churches here.
Coppy, you may want to go thru a wedding company. You could do your church ceremony and then go to the beach for pictures and/or reception.
Good Luck!

Catholic marriage ceremonies are supposed to be part of the Catholic Mass and that's why the general rule is that they be held in a Catholic Church.

You can get a dispensation to marry at another site for a "good" reason but your diocese may rule that having a a destination wedding is not a good enough reason. (sigh). Also, there is a great deal of pre-marriage counseling that is supposed to go on before a Catholic wedding and some parishes may not even be willing to schedule your wedding date until you have jumped through all of their prescribed hoops so not sure how they would handle that. If your fiancee is not a Catholic or has been married before (don't get me started on that whole "annulment" thing - been there, too), then there is another set of hoops - more involved, more steps.

But having said that, things can always be done, it seems. We have relatives who have had legal ceremonies away and then returned home to have the marriage "blessed" by their parish priest. And, sometimes it's who you know. We know folks who have found a "friendly" priest who will perform the marriage at another venue. And, if you have a priest in the family who has an open mind on the subject you're golden for this kind of event because you just bring him along and, as he can say Mass anywhere at any time, he can even marry you at a Mass at sunset - lol.

It's an amazing maze - good luck!

http://www.islandweddingservices.com/

Ok - just a moment on the serious side

Remember you are taking a vow

A president of the US
A Supreme Court justice
A Congressman
A judge
A witness

all just take an oath
you are getting ready to take a vow

Does not matter where you do it but make damn sure you are looking your partner in the eyes
and from there it does not matter
If you want a Catholic service it will be in a church