Wedding in St. John
 

My fiance and I are looking into getting married in St. John. We saw Caneel Bay on the web and it looked perfect, but rather expensive. We want to have the wedding and reception somewhere similar that is less expensive. Any suggestions? What do you think about Estate Lindholm and Asolare?<BR>Thanks-<BR>Alana

Alana,<BR>Estate Lindholm is a lovely little Bed and Breakfast. It's wonderful but it is in no way &quot;similar&quot; to Caneel Bay. If you want to get married on the beach you have your choice of dozens of different one's on St John. If you want a wedding dinner Asolare could probably accomodate you. Why don't you give them a call. Stone Terrace would be another suggestion or ZoZo's. <BR>Caneel Bay is a lovely resort on extensive grounds with 7 beaches on the property. It is unique on St John. Estate Lindholm is not on a beach at all.<BR>How many people will you have at the reception? What kind of food do you want? <BR>If you really have your heart set on a wedding at a resort but Caneel is too expensive, you may want to consider moving things over to St Thomas where you will have wider choice of resorts. <BR>Good luck!

We also got married on St. John. Beautiful Trunk Bay. Many peoples online shared their suggestions with us to help us decide. So glad we listened.<BR><BR>We rented a beautiful villa, had one of the Islands best chefs cook for us. It truly was a wedding/honeymoon to remember. The price was no more expensive, in fact less than staying at Caneel and going to a restaurant with many strangers observing. Just a suggestions.<BR><BR>All suggestions came from others who did the same thing. All was wonderful.<BR><BR>Consider a villa and possibly having your dinner private on your own deck cooked by a fantastic chef. <BR><BR>Best of luck. St. John is heavenly!!!

Thanks for your responses - I wanted to add a couple things that might help others make additional suggestions. I don't want a resorty feel. I will probably have 25 guests attending the wedding. I don't want to cut corners on the reception. Also, I want it to remain a relatively intimate affair.

We went to Asolare for dinner one evening. Great restaurant and lovely view if you are on the outside deck. It would be a great place for a wedding dinner of 25.<BR><BR>There are also several gorgeous villas that people have rented. You really should check them out. Some have 6 and 7 bedrooms. Stunning. <BR><BR>Estate Lindolm, although we never stayed there, gets very good reviews and is practically next door to Asolare restaurant and walking distance to town. <BR><BR>We got married and honeymooned also on St. John and it was the most memorable experience. Your guests will always remember this wedding. Beautiful island, great choice.<BR><BR>We also rented a villa as another poster did. We had only 5 guests and also had a chef cook for us at our villa after the ceremony. No matter which route you decide to choose, St. John is awesome.<BR><BR>Another wedding/honeymooner!

Just got back from my wedding/honeymoon on St J, it was great. We were married at Hawksnest beach, it was perfect. You really can't go wrong in St J but I saw that you want to do something less expensive? This may not be the island for you, both Caneel and Asolare are very expensive. We had our reception at the Westin on the beach which was nice but still not cheap. Another night we had dinner at the Asolare with about ten of us and it was over $700. Anyway it will be great just plan on spending some money.

Don't cut corners on your island wedding. St. John is breathtaking to have an island wedding. I can also speak of experience.<BR><BR>We also got married on Trunk Bay. If you go after 5:00, there is hardly anyone there. Hawksnest is also lovely, not as big a beach. It was more crowded after 5:00pm. One of the reasons we didn't choose it.<BR><BR>I also recommend renting a few villas for you and your guesst. <BR><BR>We had Chef Shay Mulcare cook the wedding dinner. He came highly recommended from several people. ([email protected])He is an awesome man, very accommodating and a pleasure to work with. He's as good as any 5 star chef I can think of. <BR><BR>You will not be disappointed, if you do some searching and listen to people who have experienced their weddings on St. John. <BR><BR>Our guests loved it. They are still talking about what a beautiful wedding and a beautiful island.<BR><BR>Many happy wishes!

I would stick with your plans for your wedding on St. John. We thought St. Thomas was much to much commercialized.<BR><BR>You can always get on the ferry for a day trip to St. Thomas for shopping. <BR><BR>I agree with the above posters. WE are another St. John wedding/honeymooner. Fabulous and rent a villa. Great idea from the other posts. Make sure you get a villa with a plunge pool. Most have them. Ah, such beautiful memories. What an island. You made a great choice getting married on an island rather than some stuff county club.<BR><BR>Congratulations.

we just ate at asolare on thanksgiving. it was a wonderful dining experience. as other posters wrote, estate lindholm is just next door. we met people staying there and they couldn't praise it enough. it isn't on the beach, but there are so many good beaches, particularly on the north shore, that you would drive to the beach pretty much no matter where you stayed. good luck.