HELP ME GET MARRIED, PLEASE!
 

<BR>My fiance and I want to go to the Carribean and get married and have our honeymoon at the same time...any suggestions?? About 6-8 of our friends are willing to come down and stand up for us. I think we would like to go all-inclusive, but I'm having a hard time deciding on an island. Anyone know anything about actually getting married on any of the islands? We're planning on doing this in April '99. Thanxs.

I have seen weddings in Jamaica [Negril and MoBay], Cancun, and St Lucia. If you book with Sandals or Superclubs, they will arrange everything for your wedding at no charge. Sandals has resorts thruout the islands, but are reserved for couples only, so you have to watch your guestlist. Superclubs is mostly Jamaica, but their properties take all adults, singles and couples. Superclubs has 1 family resort if kids are on your guestlist, and Sandals has a new spinoff chain called Beaches which are not limited to couples. You won't go wrong with either a Sandals or a Superclubs resort and they will do all the legwork for your wedding. Congrats!!

Congrats! I had the same idea you did about getting <BR>married and honeymooning in the Caribbean at the <BR>same time. My husband and I were married at Couples <BR>on June 24th of this year. We had a fabulous time! <BR>We looked into Sandals first because of their <BR>"weddingmoons". However, the wedding is not compli- <BR>mentary. They charge $750, and that is just for the <BR>basics, without any guests. They require payment of <BR>the $750 up front along with your downpayment on the <BR>trip itself. For me and my husband this was a little <BR>too much at one time. So, because I had read so many <BR>good things about Couples, I decided to check into it. Boy, were we happy we did! We got everything the Sandals package offered except it was complimentary. <BR>The only extra money we spent on the wedding itself <BR>was for the pictures and video, which are exception- <BR>ally done! The flowers, music, witnesses, reverend, t-shirts, and 1/2 hour massages were all included. <BR>The resort, however, is also for "couples only", hence the name, so you would have to check your guest list. Couples has their own web site, so please check it out. There are also lots of great <BR>pictures of the resort at a site called Dennis Photography International. Anyway, if you have any more questions, please feel free to e-mail me or leave me a message here. Hope you have a great time wherever you go. We will never forget our beautiful <BR>wedding and honeymoon in Jamaica. Irie!

I am getting married in Jamaica in January. We chose Beaches Resort in Negril. Beaches is owned and operated by Sandals, but it is not just for couples only, so you don't have to worry about all your guests being couples. You get a choice of a free wedding (only at Beaches, not Sandals) or there is an option which costs $750.00. The free wedding includes all your paperwork, officiant, flowers, music, a 1-tier wedding cake and a bottle of champagne. If you pay the $750, you get a video (which costs $200 if you add it as an option with the free wedding), your cake is upgraded to a 2-tier cake, and then they give a champagne & hors d'oeurve reception for all your guests, regardless how many you have, and breakfast in bed the next morning. We chose the $750 package because we are having about 30 guests, so we wanted to have the reception after the wedding. But if it is just the two of you, or only a few guests, then the free one might work for you. Our travel agent arranged that we did not have to pay the $750 up front. We just had to put down a $400 deposit for the trip & the wedding, and we have until 45 days before departure to pay it off. <BR> <BR>Just a note, if you decide to get married in Jamaica, the beaches in Negril are much nicer than in Ocho Rios, if the quality of the beach makes any difference to you. Good luck!

My fiance and I will be marrying in St. Lucia on October 22, 1998. I've always wanted to get married this way. I've never been into the "hoopla" of a traditional wedding. This way is nice and peaceful, ROMANTIC, no stress and I can keep going on the benefits. At first we were thinking of Sandals, but after much consideration, we decided that we didn't want to be "tied" to the resort for the whole week. We are ones who like to venture out and explore. We are staying at a very small hotel called Harmony Marina Suites. They only charge $450 for the wedding package and it includes such things as paperwork, minister, cake, champagne, flowers. I am paying extra for video and pictures, which are a must for us. Only my best friend and her boyfriend are flying down after us for their vacation/our wedding. We are staying in St. Lucia for seven days and then flying over to Barbados for an additional four days. We've chosen to be married right on the beach, but will have to see St. Lucia to pick out the exact spot. St. Lucia requires that you are a resident of the island for two days in order to be married there. Each island has its own rules. You must research into each specific island. I know you can't be married in Aruba unless you or your future spouse are a resident of Aruba or either of you reside there for like a month or so. Very strict! I hear so many nice things about St. Lucia. I hope they are all true. I've heard many negatives about Jamaica. I guess it all depends on what you're both looking for. If you have any other questions, and want to email me direct, feel free. Good Luck!!

Congratulations, Amanda! I have seen many weddings over the years in Barbados and have been to many of the islands. Barbados is my favorite and has very easy rules for getting married there. Whatever you decide, DEFINITELY check deep into the rules and regulations - some islands require that you're there for a certain period of time before hand (Barbados is 3 days). I'll give you a site to check into this island's rules. There are many hotels that will assist you for little or no additional fees, and there are also many consultants there to help on that end. Barbados is a beautiful island, with very friendly people and is one of the safest islands. There are several all inclusives that you can choose from - Turtle Beach is a new one on the south coast that I just looked at while there - it looks terrific and is probably cheaper than the Almond Resorts located on the west coast, and has a nicer beach. It's also located in an area very convenient to shopping, nightlife, restaurants, etc. If you don't necessarily want to go to an all inclusive there are plenty of other places to choose from. Try this site: http://www.barbados.org/weddings.htm and have fun! <BR> <BR>