Allyson Maynard-Gibson, minister of financial services and investments, yesterday said she was meeting Bahamian wedding planners on Monday to deal with concerns that they may lose business from a change in policy at the Registrar General’s Department on marriage licences.
Industry sources familiar with situation told The Tribune that the apparent change in procedure could “shut down completely” the business Bahamian wedding planners received from cruise ship passengers and couples who flew in with family for marriages at the weekend.
The Registrar General’s Department had been dealing with marriage licence applications and processing them on the same day, ensuring that licences were granted on, the day they were applied for.
However, The Tribune was told that wedding planners and co-ordinators who have gone to the Registrar General’s Department in the past week have been informed of a procedural change.
Marriage in The Bahamas
Now, instead of marriage licences being applied for and issued on the same day, the Department will only issue licences the day after the application is submitted.
As a result, couples who fly in on a Thursday with plans for weekend
The industry is also concerned that the same issue faces couples on cruise ships who have planned a Bahamas wedding. Their ships are only in port briefly, and are likely to have left by the time they can pick up their marriage licence.
Describing the situation as “a complete mess”, one source familiar with the situation said there had been no warning or consultation on the apparent change in policy by the Registrar General’s Department.
However, Mrs Maynard Gibson said there had been “no substantive” change in policy, adding: “As far as I’m aware, the licences continue to be granted in 24 hours. We continue to expect them to be approved as near as possible within 24 hours.
“The Registrar has clearly explained to them what we are trying to achieve in terms of the efficiency of the Registrar General’s Department.”
Yet The Tribune was told: “The destination wedding industry is a multi-billion dollar industry. We are spending time trying to grow the Bahamas’ market share. But this could be such a problem that people will go to other places.”
Many wedding planners were booked through to the end of 2006, with clients already having booked hotel rooms and flights, so the source said there was a potential knock-on effect for the tourism industry.
“It’s going to be very huge. It’s going to make the Bahamas look bad. We’re going to lose business;” the source said, if the policy was maintained.
Mrs Maynard-Gibson said Monday’s meeting would deal with the concerns of all parties, allowing wedding planners to explain their fears, and the Registrar General’s Department to explain its policy.
“That is the objective of the meeting,” she said, “for them to understand the procedures, and for us to understand how they operate – to work together to make the, Bahamas the best.”
By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor
