A wedding in Maldives is the dream of many girls, and everyone wants to know in detail how the entire ceremony takes place. However, this article, unfortunately, is not a work of fiction. Here you will find only useful and factual information. There will be a sequence of actions, where to start, and how to approach organizing your wedding in Maldives. There will be approximate prices, as there is practically no fixed price in this niche, and prices in different hotels can vary significantly.
It will be difficult for you to plan your dream trip to Maldives without these websites
Table of Contents
Wedding in Maldives: general information
Firstly, unlike neighboring countries, a wedding in Maldives is just a beautiful ceremony, photo shoot, and video filming on the beach with turquoise water. After each wedding ceremony, newlyweds are given a certificate, but it has no legal force.
The classic sequence of events for everyone is as follows:
- Register your marriage at home.
- Then come to the Maldives.
- In your hotel, there will be a wedding ceremony according to local traditions, and the plan will be fully agreed with you in advance.
- As no visa is required to enter the Maldives, there is no need to obtain anything in advance, and there are no difficulties with passports or name changes here. However, some requirements must be met for entry into the country. You can find all the information about visas and current entry rules to the Maldives.
Good to know:
A wedding in Maldives can be arranged not only for legal spouses. It’s like in Las Vegas; anyone can get married here, but on the Maldives, this must be agreed with the hotel at least 21 days in advance, and a deposit or full payment for the entire ceremony may be required. Unlike Vegas, such events are not spontaneous on the Maldives.
The most popular weddings in the Maldives in terms of the number of guests:
- Only the bride and groom. Usually, these are newlyweds who flew to the Maldives for their honeymoon and decided to repeat the wedding ceremony. Such weddings account for 95 percent.
- Less often, weddings are organized for 6-8 people. In addition to the newlyweds, parents and witnesses are also present. Everyone understands that it is quite expensive to bring 8 people here.
- And very rarely, in addition to the newlyweds, a crowd of guests, friends, and relatives are present. But even for such cases, there are ceremonies designed for 70 and 100 people.
It’s important to know that almost any 4 or 5-star hotel-resort located on its own private island will happily organize your wedding ceremony in the Maldives. Simply visit the official website of the hotel you like and look for the page on wedding ceremonies (links to wedding packages will be provided at the end of the article).
Below are two ratings of the best hotels in the Maldives that can definitely and regularly host weddings for tourists.
In these articles, you can find out the cost of a tour package to hotels for a week. Of course, the wedding ceremony in the Maldives is not included in the package and must be paid for separately, but the order of expenses will start to become clear.
What’s included in a wedding ceremony in the Maldives and pricing
This is the most ambiguous section of the article. There are no clear criteria. Each hotel offers a unique wedding ceremony in the Maldives, and each couple may have their own unique preferences, which the hotel will accommodate by agreement. Similarly, pricing can only be roughly estimated after agreeing on most of the conditions and criteria with the hotel.
But for example and a general idea, here are some common features. The most basic Maldives wedding package usually includes:
- A wedding coordinator – the person through whom you will resolve all issues, without whom nothing is possible, and who is always there.
- A morning spa treatment for two before the wedding ceremony. This can be a massage or a bath with frangipani petals. Often this item is replaced by a massage for the groom before the ceremony, and at the same time, makeup for the bride with a makeup artist.
- Musicians and dancers, usually 4-5 people. They perform Maldivian national dances.
- A master of ceremonies who will conduct the most responsible part for the newlyweds. Sometimes this is the wedding coordinator himself.
- A bottle of champagne.
- A festive cake for two. Usually small, up to 1 kg.
- A bridal bouquet and decoration with national frangipani flowers at the location where the ceremony will take place. Typically, this is the beach.
- You can read about Maldivian flowers, Frangipani or Plumeria, in the article: Flora and fauna in the Maldives.
- A romantically decorated room with flower petals and scented candles.
- A wedding gift from the hotel.
- A certificate that your wedding in Maldives has taken place.
- A photographer and a photo session with a certain number of photos. Usually up to 50 pieces. I will write more about this item below.
This basic Maldives wedding package is offered in every hotel and can be modified and customized as desired. For example, activities such as yacht rides, romantic dinners, exclusive photo sessions on neighboring uninhabited islands, extended spa services, wedding breakfasts on the day of or the morning after the wedding, and more, are not included in the basic package.
I have not seen a basic wedding ceremony for just the bride and groom for less than $1500. Each additional guest must be arranged separately, and the price increases accordingly. Typically, at 5-star hotels, such a package would cost between $2000 and $3000 for two people. The sky is the limit, depending on your imagination and desires.
Rings and wedding attire are arranged by the couple themselves, or the hotel can arrange them for an additional fee.
Tips for organizing your own wedding in Maldives: a step-by-step guide
As for the standard Maldives wedding, I believe you already know how it goes. Now, here’s the procedure for organizing this blissful event 🙂
- First, open the list of the best Maldives hotels, links to which were provided earlier. You should do this in advance, about two months before your desired date. Typically, if there are less than 21 days left before the wedding, the hotel will refuse to organize it, as it won’t have enough time to prepare everything by the required date.
- Each hotel has its official website, where you can find a separate page or brochure dedicated to wedding ceremonies held in that hotel. Contacts for the wedding coordinator are provided there.
- Once you’ve chosen the hotel that you like, checked available tours for your dates, and made sure that the price suits you, you should write to the hotel as detailed as possible using the provided contact information.
- All Maldives all-inclusive tour packages, and there are great tour package to explore.
- Once the hotel confirms that your preferred date is available and they are ready to organize everything, you can proceed with booking the tour. Keep in mind that hotels:
- do not hold more than one wedding ceremony per day on their island. It is possible that someone has already booked your preferred date.
- do not hold weddings on Fridays, as well as on public and religious holidays.
- Then, within the next week, you will agree and sign a contract with the hotel, which will specify all the details, including the number of photos, time, and location of your wedding. The final price for the entire event will also be stated in the contract.
Important:
Almost always, hotels require a deposit of 30-50%, which must be paid in advance via bank transfer. In some cases, a 100% deposit is mandatory.
Don’t be shy to ask about every detail of the ceremony that is important to you. The wedding coordinator will answer all your questions. They are interested in making the ceremony go smoothly and ensuring that you are thrilled with your wedding in Maldives, as they expect tips, so keep that in mind :).
Let me give you an example about the photographer: usually, each hotel has its own photographer. The standard ceremony includes two hours of the photographer’s work, only on the beach in the actual ceremony area. You will receive, for example, 35 photos, as indicated in one of the pictures in this article.
If you want a beach photoshoot, a photoshoot on a yacht, on an uninhabited island, or during a romantic dinner, or you want the photographer to be with you from beginning to end, or even a video, all of this needs to be arranged in advance and specified in the contract. And it will all cost money.
The total cost of a wedding in Maldives:
The basic ceremony, as mentioned earlier, starts at $1500 for two people, and I haven’t seen anything cheaper, but that’s not certain. On average, couples spend between $3000 to $5000 on their wedding day. This is because many other additional services are needed, such as at least a SPA and a wedding dinner. And I am talking about prices for a wedding without guests, only the bride and groom.
Wedding packages of the best Maldives hotels
To make it easier for you to search and understand where to look for Maldives wedding package, here are some links to the wedding packages of the best hotels in the Maldives. They have beautiful photos so you can visualize what to expect, and contacts for wedding coordinators.
- A wedding ceremony in the best hotel in the Maldives: Soneva Fushi – the link takes you straight to the page with the wedding coordinator’s contact details.
- A wedding package from Kandima Maldives – with videos and a wedding brochure, where you can see how everything goes.
- A wedding in Maldives on a private island in the Naladhu hotel.
- The wedding package of the very cool international hotel chain Anantara (they have three 5-star hotels in the Maldives). Here, different wedding options are listed, and even approximate prices, which is a rarity in this market.
- And another cool hotel, Cocoon Maldives. The link leads to the page of the wedding coordinator, to whom you can send a detailed request, and they will send you a relevant answer with prices.
In conclusion, if a wedding in Maldives is your dream and you have the budget for this event, start with choosing a hotel. Compose a letter in English with your wishes, date, and number of guests, and send it to 5-10 hotels. And then, make a decision based on their responses about where to purchase the tour. Any 5-star hotel in the Maldives will do everything to the highest standard and exceed all your expectations.
If you enjoyed the article and the content in this guide, you can buy me a coffee ^_^
Resources to help you plan your dream trip to the Maldives
- Flight tickets and the best deals
- Tour packages (from budget to luxury): Expedia
- Hotels and guesthouses on any island:
- 12go is the largest Asian transfer service. It gathers all Maldivian carriers, even the small ones that operate between local islands.
- Tours and excursions: Viator – a limited selection of excursions, but convenient and reliable.
- Comprehensive insurance: EKTA
- eSIM at the same price as in telecom office in Male.