In order to meet your requirements there will, in fact, be McTourists as well. Particularly w/the 'shopping & activities' requirement. I would suggest St. Maarten, but there will be plenty of McTourists there as well. 1st time to the Caribbean ??

I think you're on the right track. Grand Cayman or St. John will probably best meet your requirements. The diving in St. Maarten is not very good at all, imho.

Without trying to be judgmental, I never understand all the people who want to go to the Caribbean for the shopping. Am I missing something? - they all seem to have the same overpriced jewelry, t-shirt, and cigar stores. Then again, I've never been to St. Barths.

Grand Cayman is very much geared to upscale weddings, we have a veritable plethora (!) of wedding professionals for all areas.

One or two resorts (I can't name them as it woudl be self-promotion) even offer a guarantee of only one wedding per day for exclusivity, but even those who do not are pretty exclusive.

We also do NOT do all inclusive resorts, and though no resort is "adults only", you won't find many kids around anywhere in the Caribbean in September.

Diving of course is fantastic in Cayman.

Shopping ? Several art galleries and place to buy local arts and crafts, plus the usual duty free stuff (and great for camera gear, and in particular dive camera/video gear), but tend to agree with the other poster that one doesn't come to the Caribbean to shop... those of us who live here go to the USA to shop !

Thank you for your posts. Yes, it's our first time to that area. However, I have traveled to many other parts of the world. Wanted to go somewhere new. Just don't want to be so remote that it's hard to access or my guests won't have entertainment options. The shopping reference is in regards to local artwork and markets. Not, t-shirts and tourist items that were (probably) made in China.

forgot to mention, we'd love any suggestions. We are still very open to options.

Are you sure you want to get married in the Caribbean at the peak of hurricane season? Can you set the date for earlier in the summer? You'll get the same low rates, but much lower risk. There will be more kids around, though.

Yep - be careful about September. This is your wedding, and you do not need the added stress of worrying about hurricanes. If you insist on September, try the most southern islands that begin with A,B or C.

Yes, the date is set for mid-September. I am concerned about that too.

If you are new to the region, and if you hang around bulletin boards for a while, you'll see that Hurricane Season is, shall we say, a very effective marketing tool for the ABC islands and a few others who are largely (but not totally) free of Hurricane Risk.

If you are set on a date of September, I'd try to do your own research on the risk of being impacted by a storm, but my summary is that the chance of your visit on one specific island in such a large area (well over 1,000 miles across) is very small.. but it can happen.

Assuming clear weather, September can be a very smart choice.. very clear water (for snorkellers/divers), fantastic deals to be had for groups like yours (it is the lowest of low season), but do watch out as on some islands it is so slow that many restaurants and even hotels close for the month, so choose somewhere that has the activities you are looking for.

Destination weddings involving a lot of young singles are becoming big business for many resorts, so things like proximity to the US (with inexpensive and plentiful air service) and great value rooms (no problem in September) will be important to you.

Also try to get a hotel that will not just help you focus on your wedding day itself (as will other wedding professionals), but will also act as your "wedding central" to help make the trip to the island a fantastic memory for all of your guests, planning activities, dinners, events, golf, spa days etc.

Enjoy planning !

St Barts it is, not a McTourist in sight, few kids, 22 beautiful beaches, tip-top upscale shopping, diving a gogo, and everything else you can imagine, plus the best food in the Caribbean (it's French darling)

Have seen several weddings organised on the island and they are truly magnificent

http://tinyurl.com/2gqd58

Oh, forgot to add, not a hurricane in 8 years. Follow the link above, contact, and ask for Vincent...Nice guy, knows what he's doing.

first of all congratulations!!
a few random thoughts:
where everyone is coming from makes a difference. will all travel from one place? flights range from 60 mins to pretty much all day to various islands from fla/san juan.

some idea of your budget and that of your guests will help us suggest specific resorts.
almost every resort has a wedding coordinator. some better than others.

diving limits the islands you should think over. they could include the caymans, turks and caicos, the bvi's, maya riviera coast (south of cancun) and then way south bonnaire or some in st. vincent and grenadines.
jamaica could satisfy all you requiremens. friends of mine choose couples swept away to honeymoon just for the diving included pkg. (wedding on st.thomas) loads of activites - zip lines, waterfalls, shopping, tours, watersports and lots of nightlife.

will you honeymoon on the same island as the wedding? guests leave - you stay? or will you want to leave and let them party on? this can require a flight back to san juan or you can fly small airlines between some islands.

re hurricanes: probably won't be one on your island. i am always optimistic, we often travel in sept/oct and have encountered no storms. the cayman resorts come with hurricane insurance and/or trip insurance can be purchased to include it. this is not much help for weddings though.

Thank you again for all of your posts. Yes, the date is firm mid September. We are all coming from Washington State - so it will be a longer trip.
Planning to do the wedding and honeymoon all in one shot. (supposed to be easier). I will look into St. Barts and Grand Cayman.

Anguilla could be another option, certainly there are very good hotels and restaurants, beaches are spectacular. For shopping, the ferry takes 15mins to St Martin. Anguilla can be reached from San Juan and from some other islands too.

ok as you are all coming from washington my advice now is to look hard at the playa del carman area on mexican riviera as this will prove to be a much shorter, more convenient and less expensive flight for everyone.

pdc is close to cancun (45 mins) and ferry to cozumal (35 mins). coz and pdc have loads of shopping. the area has lots of craft and local artisan shops.
nightlife in pdc is excellent.
the diving is on 3rd largest reef on planet and is very good! snorkeling is outstanding.
great food.
more activities than you could hope to try in a month. cenotes, caving, ruins, zip lines, atv jungle tours, horseback riding, golf/tennis, etc.

may i suggest maroma beach hotel for your honeymoon, but not the wedding unless everyone has loads to spend.
if this interests you look at www.locogringo.com www.playadelcarmen.com www.playa.info
another thing is to check the regulations for americans to marry in your destination choice. some islands need you to be there a few days ahead to be able to get your license. some ask for a medical exam i believe.

just to clarify. cancun is 45 mins ride by car. ferry to cozumel is in pdc the boat ride takes 35 mins.

" I will look into St. Barts and Grand Cayman."

I spoke to Vincent at Premium IV St Barts and he's expecting to hear from you. Good luck!

St. Barts is not a viable wedding destination for Americans. It's considered France and requires an extended residence. Most resorts will have wedding planners, and we list some also in our Caribbean guide if you need to find some on-island contacts. The new edition of Caribbean (2008-dated edition) should be in stores momentarily.

Waring - thank you for contacting your source at St. Barts! I'll look into it. I did see the post from the editor (thank you too!) about the need for an extended stay for a marriage to be valid.

Doug,

There are dozens and dozens of American Weddings on St Barts every year.

You misunderstand the distinction between the legal and spiritual aspects of a wedding.

Under French law the only place to get legally married is the Mayor's office.

For the French this is typically done with just a few people, and the religious ceremony takes place at the church with friends, family and the whole nine yards.

Technically no French person has been legally "married" in church since the Revolution, while there have been millions and millions of religious and non-religious ceremonies.

You will note that many religions (including the Catholic church) do not recognise civil ceromonies alone, so two ceremonies are frequent.

Americans will have their legal ceremony in the US and have their religious/spiritual ceremony on St Barts. As I said there are dozens of these a year.

St Barts is 24 carat pure class and if anyone is looking for an all inclusive for 500 bucks with an off the shelf, out of a box "wedding" thrown in, I suggest they go elsewhere. Vegas maybe.

If on the other hand they are looking for a once in a lifetime personal experience in one of the most sophisticated places on the planet, I cannot recommend St Barts highly enough (I should get paid by the tourist board for this!)

I'd suggest Hawaii, as probably a better choice, since you are coming from Washington, much closer, AND your guests don't have to get their passports to travel there. With the huge backlog for passports and I'll bet a few of your guests will forget until the last minute, I'd suggest making it easier for them and less of a hassle in travel and head to Hawaii.

Chalk and cheese

Thank you again for your posts.
Didn't mean to start a controversy.
Happy for the variety of information.
Cheers!

BTW - emailing Vincent.

Although I am a St. Barth's traveller and love the island, I would really hesitate to try to plan a wedding there. It is much harder to get to this island than others in the Caribbean. Visit St. Barth's AFTER your wedding, just the two of you. Then, there is the expense of getting there..... IMO you should look elsewhere.

" It is much harder to get to this island than others in the Caribbean"

Keeps out the rif-raf

Only island I know where the shops CLOSE when the cruise ships come in!