AtlTom

My fiancee and I are planning to elope to somewhere in the Carribean in June. We have it narrowed it to St. Martin, Antigua, and Barbados. Our first choice - St. Lucia was eliminated because of the time involved in getting there (we would have to change planes twice). We both love snorkeling and scenic beauty would be the most important factor. However, we are attracted to St. Martin because of the casinos and dining choices. We are both in our mid-20s and have 4-5 days to spend on our trip and would like to keep the hotel expense per night at below $ 250. <BR> <BR>Any suggestions or words of advice? <BR> <BR>Thanks, <BR>Tom <BR>[email protected]

ilisa

We honeymooned in Antigua at the Pineapple Beach Resort. While there, we made friends with several couples who were getting married at the resort. The resort arranged everything - ceremony, made the appointment with the officiant, flowers, etc. The ceremonies were beautiful (we seemed to have attended several weddings that week!). They were held in a lovely garden next to the beach with a beautiful view of the water. Now, you have to be advised that there may be residency requirements. I think Antigua's is around three days. So you need to take that into account, especially if you only have 4 or 5 days.

cathy

Well if you only have 4-5 days, the residency requirement might be a problem. It used to be 3 days in Barbados, but from what I understand they have eliminated that requirement. Most of the nicer hotels will help you make all your plans, and you should have no problem finding a place under $250/night in June. The only problem is that you mentioned casinos and there are none in Barbados. If you decide that's the place anyway, feel free to contact me for more information.

Diane

While we didn't do casinos, the people we talked to who had didn't find the casinos in St Maarten very good or exciting. There are none on the French side of the island.

shar

You will need to check the resident requirement before getting married. My friends were married in Barbados while stopping on a cruise. They had everything arragnged ahead of time. <BR> <BR>I was married on Grand Cayman on the beach. It took one day (weekday) to apply for the papers. It also could have been arranged prior to our getting there. There is a couple who has a business coordinating weddings. I got their telephone number from information. <BR> <BR>According to my friend who was married in Barbados ,these are the only two islands that he found with no resident requirements. <BR> <BR>Best wishes. Shar

jody

My husband and I honeymooned on St. Marteen and really really enjoyed it. We stayed at a property on the Dutch side called Divi Little Bay. We opened our sliding glass doors and were on the beach. we rented a car and went to Grand Case, Orient Beach etc. It was fabulous. We also did a day trip to the tiny island of Saba landing on a runway the length of a football field. <BR>I've been quite a few places in the carribean and definitely would go back to st. marteen. i'm sorry i dont know much about what would be involved in getting married there but the island itself was very nice.

sunnysusie

We eloped to the Caribbean too. We cruised down to the Caribbean from Florida and got married in St. Thomas. The cruise only cost $550 for each of us on Carnival. We used a local wedding planner with packages starting at just $599. We got a free wedding dress rental and and a nice wedding and honeymoon without breaking the bank. Here is the link to my planners: http://www.sttweddings.com/
Good Luck! Susie

Barbara1

the residency requirement on Dutch St. Maarten is waived when getting married here. There are a lot of wedding planners who can help you with your plans.
The casinos in st. maarten are small but are veyr busy so a lot of visiors seem to enjoy spending thime in then.
The dining choices are spectacular!

brenandg

Ummmmm, this post originated in 1999. Hopefully they are married by now!

Barbara1

OOPS! LOL