Hi,I'm currently planning my wedding for late May 2007. We are looking to invite about 40 people and working with a budget. We're from NYC and would like for anyone who's done a destination wedding in Nassua/Paradise Island to to tell me about your experience.

I did some research online regarding hotels, packages, etc. I was thinking about having the ceremony in a hotel next to the beach, then having a small reception in a party tent outdoors. I looked into the British Colonial Hilton, Comfort Suites, and Radisson. I do not remember if Comfort Suites was next to the beach the last time I was there.

I was wondering how much the whole wedding including the ceremony and reception would cost. How can I help my guests arrange for their accomodation through a group discount?

Any help is appreciated. Please advise about my hotel choice. What packages or amenities I should look for. Thank you very much.

-May

For my clients on a budget and who want to do a destination wedding, I recommend one of the all-inclusive resorts in the Caribbean. They include the wedding and wedding planning in the price of your stay. Planning a wedding is complicated when you are being married in your hometown, but it can get even more complicated with a destination wedding - it is always helpful to have a professional to assist. You would have to stay for a set number of nights, but your guests can stay for as long as they want and/or need.

There are many, many different locations for the wedding ceremony and reception at these resorts. It is a wonderful option and a beautiful location for a destination wedding.

Best Regards,
Julia

I agree using a travel agent will be a MUST, for co-ordinating airfare and getting the flights booked.

Having done 4 group trips to the Bahamas for up to 50 people each trip, it would have been a nightmare without using a travel agent so that people could arrange paying for their tickets and getting the tickets sent. I used Liberty Travel here in the city on the upper east side.

There are several nice places to stay on Nassau, but I would suggest the British Colonial or the Raddison as probably the easiest to accomodate your group and have the wedding done nicely on the beach. The BC has a private beach area, is close to downtown for shopping and site seeing and they can accomodate a group your size easily. YOu are also right around the corner from the Anglican Cathedral if you decide you might want to do a church wedding. It is a lovely church, built in the late 1700's early 1800's.

Comfort Suites is next door to the Atlantis, so staying there you would have full use of all the amenities of the Atlantis and your guests could also stay there as well. The CS has a nice pool area and is a bit more laid back but it is a walk to the beach.

YOu might call the Atlantis and ask for their wedding planner, so you can get some ideas of what it might cost.

Staying at the Raddison, your wedding would be included in the cost of your stay. They actually do several weddings a week so they could certainly do a good job for you as well. They have a beautiful gazebo overlooking the grounds or you could be married right on the beach and arrange for one of the outdoor deck areas for your reception.

Another suggestion would be to go over to Harbour Island, which is a 15 minute flight or a 2 hour ferry ride, and is one of the most beautiful islands in the world, and one of the top 10 beaches in the world.

There are several nice places to stay and several good restaurants. Your rehearsal dinner could be at the Harbour Lounge or The Landing both overlook the ocean.

The resorts there range from very reasonable to very expensive, and there are even a couple of new B&B's on island. For more budget conscious guests they could rent a house and share expenses.

The island is small enough so everyone walks or rents golf carts so local transportation is easily arranged.

Oh and on island you could arrive to the wedding in a horse drawn cart.

Here are a few websites so you can see some of the nicer resorts on island.

www.romorabay.com (honeymoon/wedding packages)
www.coralsands.com
www.runawayhill.com (very small and romantic)
www.islandoutpost.com
www.rockhousebahamas.com

There is also a wedding planner on island so all you have to do is show up and all the leg work will be done for you.

Also JetBlue is flying into Nassau now for $200rt, and the flight or ferry over to HI is about $100pp.

I got married at Runaway Hill, and we had a lovely reception on the deck overlooking the beach right at sunset, amazing views.

HOpe this helps.

Oh my God! Now I'm even more confused. But thank you for all your suggestions. I was thinking about hiring a coordinator so they can arrange every wedding detail for me. Now with my hotel choices, I heard some bad things about Radission. But it is nice to know my stay includes the wedding planning. I am leaning toward Comfort Suites since I can use the Atlantis amenities. I also like the British Colonial Hilton as well. Does anyone know of any other resorts/hotels in Nassau or Paradise Island that includes the wedding planning in their stay package as well?

juliaelzie: are you a planner in US or in the Bahamas?

Only hotels that are all inclusive would have that kind of package available, and that would mean all your guests would have to stay there as well. The only AI that I know of on New Providence would be the Raddison, Sandals and Beaches.

I would suggest getting in touch with a local travel agent and find out what kind of package deal you can arrange.

The last chorus tour I organized to the Bahamas, we flew Delta and they have a group desk so you can get a better price on flights for a large group, not better than JetBlue's fares and you would all have to be on the same plane to get the group discount. On our trip the flight attendants found out we were a chorus and we sang to the other passengers, it was so much fun. We were seated all through the plane, so the passengers got surprised when someone next to them started singing. lol.

If you want to knock everyone's socks off take them to Harbour Island, they will be talking about the trip for YEARS.

Let me know if I can be of any other help.