Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Creative Planning of a Caribbean Destination Wedding
The Caribbean is one of the more popular destinations in the world for weddings, especially to North Americans, and a Caribbean wedding destination will take some planning if it is to run smoothly and satisfy everybody’s expectations.
Honeymoon Cruise
Before you start planning you have several decisions to make. The first is whether or not you are going to take your honeymoon in the Caribbean. Normally this is a no-brainer, since you are unlikely to go to the trouble of traveling to the Caribbean Sea for your wedding, and then fly off somewhere else for your wedding. Unless you are Jamaican, of course, or Trinidadian or from anywhere else in the area, but you know what I mean.
Some will honeymoon elsewhere, if money is no object, but we are discussing normal people here, not the jet set that can marry in Martinique and honeymoon in Monaco. So, the major part of your plan is your budget, and that will depend upon your honeymoon. Very few couples marry in the beautiful Caribbean and then go elsewhere for the honeymoon. You can frequently get good deals if you have your ceremony and reception in the same resort as your honeymoon. It is well worth contacting the tourist boards in several of the larger Caribbean islands for details of the packages that are available.
A major part of your planning, of course, will be informing your family and friends of your decision to have a destination wedding. You can expect a much lower level of acceptance to such a wedding invitation, not because your friends and relatives do not want to attend, but because it could be a financial strain. Not everybody who would like to attend your wedding would find it easy to raise the cash to travel to the Caribbean for a few days, especially if they have their own vacation to pay for in the same year. They might also be unable to find time from work on your selected dates. A trip to the Caribbean is a major expedition to many, and some can quite genuinely not find the time that they could have found for a one day local wedding.
Once you have decided on your honeymoon, and have an indication of the number of guests liable to come with you, you can plan whether to have a small or large wedding. Many couples prefer to marry with just close family, such as parents and siblings and perhaps one or two friends, and then have a larger reception or celebration after the honeymoon.
This is believed by many to be the best solution to the cost problem that guests can be faced with if invited to a Caribbean wedding. Don’t invite anybody except immediate family and best friends of the bride and groom. Then celebrate afterwards. Your planning suddenly becomes easier. Many islands offer small wedding options that include a beach ceremony, a minister or judge, a cake, a small beach reception for up to a dozen people and some champagne. Oh, and let’s not forget the photographer that is also provided to record the whole wonderful Caribbean beach wedding day for you.
The final part of your planning involves everybody who could not attend. It has already been suggested that you could have a full reception after you return from your honeymoon, and that is an option that many people go for. It can actually present some people with a problem in who to invite, since inviting friends and relatives that you know will be unlikely to be able to attend might seem as though you are just asking them to get a wedding gift. However, you will find that your friends will provide the gift irrespective of them being invited.
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You are far better to invite only those you are sure will be able to attend the ceremony, and then invite everybody else to a celebration to be held on your return from the honeymoon. That keeps everybody happy and allows everybody that wants to give you a wedding gift to do so ‘legitimately’.
Once the decision has been made, you have to plan the date and organize the ceremony. That should not be difficult since most Caribbean islands have comprehensive wedding facilities for both the ceremony and the reception. Many people find it much easier to hire a wedding planner at the Caribbean end to keep an eye on the arrangements there and also to keep you informed of the license situation and any shots or medical tests you need done. Somebody with a good knowledge of local marriage laws and also of local reception and ceremony venues is very useful.
Planning a Caribbean destination wedding is not as difficult as it appears to be since the destination itself will likely be very used to providing the service you are looking for. Do it right and with some imagination, and you and your guests are sure to enjoy a fantastic wedding.
Honeymoon Cruise
Before you start planning you have several decisions to make. The first is whether or not you are going to take your honeymoon in the Caribbean. Normally this is a no-brainer, since you are unlikely to go to the trouble of traveling to the Caribbean Sea for your wedding, and then fly off somewhere else for your wedding. Unless you are Jamaican, of course, or Trinidadian or from anywhere else in the area, but you know what I mean.
Some will honeymoon elsewhere, if money is no object, but we are discussing normal people here, not the jet set that can marry in Martinique and honeymoon in Monaco. So, the major part of your plan is your budget, and that will depend upon your honeymoon. Very few couples marry in the beautiful Caribbean and then go elsewhere for the honeymoon. You can frequently get good deals if you have your ceremony and reception in the same resort as your honeymoon. It is well worth contacting the tourist boards in several of the larger Caribbean islands for details of the packages that are available.
A major part of your planning, of course, will be informing your family and friends of your decision to have a destination wedding. You can expect a much lower level of acceptance to such a wedding invitation, not because your friends and relatives do not want to attend, but because it could be a financial strain. Not everybody who would like to attend your wedding would find it easy to raise the cash to travel to the Caribbean for a few days, especially if they have their own vacation to pay for in the same year. They might also be unable to find time from work on your selected dates. A trip to the Caribbean is a major expedition to many, and some can quite genuinely not find the time that they could have found for a one day local wedding.
Once you have decided on your honeymoon, and have an indication of the number of guests liable to come with you, you can plan whether to have a small or large wedding. Many couples prefer to marry with just close family, such as parents and siblings and perhaps one or two friends, and then have a larger reception or celebration after the honeymoon.
This is believed by many to be the best solution to the cost problem that guests can be faced with if invited to a Caribbean wedding. Don’t invite anybody except immediate family and best friends of the bride and groom. Then celebrate afterwards. Your planning suddenly becomes easier. Many islands offer small wedding options that include a beach ceremony, a minister or judge, a cake, a small beach reception for up to a dozen people and some champagne. Oh, and let’s not forget the photographer that is also provided to record the whole wonderful Caribbean beach wedding day for you.
The final part of your planning involves everybody who could not attend. It has already been suggested that you could have a full reception after you return from your honeymoon, and that is an option that many people go for. It can actually present some people with a problem in who to invite, since inviting friends and relatives that you know will be unlikely to be able to attend might seem as though you are just asking them to get a wedding gift. However, you will find that your friends will provide the gift irrespective of them being invited.
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You are far better to invite only those you are sure will be able to attend the ceremony, and then invite everybody else to a celebration to be held on your return from the honeymoon. That keeps everybody happy and allows everybody that wants to give you a wedding gift to do so ‘legitimately’.
Once the decision has been made, you have to plan the date and organize the ceremony. That should not be difficult since most Caribbean islands have comprehensive wedding facilities for both the ceremony and the reception. Many people find it much easier to hire a wedding planner at the Caribbean end to keep an eye on the arrangements there and also to keep you informed of the license situation and any shots or medical tests you need done. Somebody with a good knowledge of local marriage laws and also of local reception and ceremony venues is very useful.
Planning a Caribbean destination wedding is not as difficult as it appears to be since the destination itself will likely be very used to providing the service you are looking for. Do it right and with some imagination, and you and your guests are sure to enjoy a fantastic wedding.
Labels: Beach Wedding, Caribbean Beach Wedding, Destination Wedding Caribbean, planning Caribbean destination wedding
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# posted by M. D @ 8:46 PM 
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