AlexB

I am planning a wedding next year for approx. 100 guests. Wondering if you have any good suggestions on where we should have the wedding and where our guests should stay. I'd like to offer guests a choice between all inclusive luxury resort and more moderately priced places since they will be paying for their own accommodations. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

married

IMHO Don't even try to do it.<BR>Have a really special wedding for yourselves, and then throw a big party (perhaps with a blessing) when you get home - looking tanned, relaxed and (hopefully) happy.<BR>I've seen so many people try to organise big parties for getaway weddings, and I've never seen one where the bride enjoyed the day at all - she was way too worried about everyone else.<BR>If you really want to do it this way, hire a great wedding coordinator, and get them to do EVERYTHING for you, and your guests.

Bob

We had our daughters wedding 2 years ago in Barbados. We all stayed at a small hotel, Cobblers Cove, about 40 rooms and we had I think 27 of the rooms booked. We did find a lady there whose daughter was a travel agent and we had her do the preliminary work on Cakes, Flowers Church and all, then we firmed up all when we arrived a week early. I have been to St. Thomas but not St Lucia. Do know someone who was in St. Lucia for a honeymoon last month.<BR>Let me know if you have any questions. I have a few pics on the web I could show you to if interested.

jake

Alex<BR><BR>My husband and I got married on St. Thomas with 16 guests. I submit that it was 14 people too many! It is really hard to try and accomodate so many people's different needs/opinions. I felt more stressed out leading up to the wedding when we were supposed to be "getting away" from it all. <BR><BR>I agree with the poster above. Why don't you two go away and have a big party upon your return.<BR><BR>We hired a wedding coordinator in St. T. but that didnt' stop everyone from bugging me and me having to book dinner reservations every night for 16 people!<BR><BR>J.

Trish

I have to agree with Married and Jake. We got married in Hawaii - by ourselves - and I could not imagine how I could have coped worrying about others. We had talked about doing a party when we returned home, but my company merged with another when we were gone and work was too crazy, so we are actually planning a big party for our tenth anniversary in two more years.<BR>Also, I was a Matron of Honor for a friend in St. Lucia, and her family had made a big deal about how they should be invited down and she remarked a number of times that she was so glad there was no one else there and she was happy to just go home and share the pictures and video.

Mary

I disagree. My husband and I married in St. Lucia two years ago with a group of about 25 with us. We all had a great time and I can't imagine any other wedding being less stressful. Planning a wedding at home for about 200? Now that's what I call stressful. Not to mention, the wedding cost us probably $10,000 less than it would have cost had we held it at homein the states. And that's a conservative estimate.<BR><BR>Our wedding coordinator at the resort was wonderful. I spent about 20 minutes e-mailing back and forth with her prior to leaving and my husband and I then spent about 45 minutes with her once we got there on one occasion. At this meeting we ordered the flowers, steel drum band, cake, champagne, and hors deourves. That's it. She did the rest. <BR><BR>Everyone who wanted to go to this wedding could. We sent out invites to many friends and relatives about 10 months prior to leaving. This mailing had all the information. Travel agent name and number, dates of travel, cost, hotel info., etc.<BR><BR>Besides being delayed at O'Hare upon take-off and the wedding being delayed about 15 minutes due to a few sprinkes, it went off without a hitch. We wouldn't have done it any other way and there are definitely no regrets. Everyone still talks about how good of a time they had and how beautiful the wedding was.<BR><BR>

cdt

From the standpoint of air schedules and fares, it would be a lot easier to get 100 people (or 10 people) to St. Thomas than to St. Lucia. Several major airlines fly to St. Thomas.<BR><BR>

Mary

I should add that we did an AI, so yes, there are fewer hassles in that regard.

xxxxxx

dont do it

leeann

Mary where did you have your wedding?I'm trying to coordinate the same thing. Looking for a nice AI. I've got about 25 to but one child. which has changed everything suddenly.

Mary

Leeann: We held our wedding at the Wyndham Morgan Bay in St. Lucia (from what I heard on another thread, it's now called St. James Club). <BR><BR>Francine was the wedding coordinator and she was wonderful except she thought my Dad, who walked me down the isle, was a groomsman. But no big deal.<BR><BR>They did accept kids but there weren't many there when we went in late November. We had one five year old with our group and he had a blast. They did have a kids club.<BR><BR>I didn't have to coordinate anything for my guests. Everyone did what they wanted to do when they wanted to do it. We did have a few activities planned and if they wanted to go they could sign up. If they didn't, they didn't have to. No stress!! Everything turned out great.<BR><BR>Not sure what, if anything, has changed since it has become St. James Club. <BR><BR>We had to take into consideration the cost of the trip because of a somewhat large group (not nearly as big as yours) and some people not having a whole lot of disposable income. We all felt the Wyndham was a great value! About $1,250 each person (two years ago), all-inclusive for one week including round trip airfare, and transfers to and from the airport through Apple Vacations. <BR><BR>The wedding part, I believe, cost us an additional $600 but this can vary depending on what you decide to do for your wedding. Lots of choices to pick from from the flowers to the music to the food. Got for it. You definitely won't regret a Caribbean wedding. And one of my favorite sayings: "The more the merrier." My husband and I had our "own" time whenevery we wanted it but when we wanted to mingle with our friends and family we could. It was perfect!<BR>

x0x

Alex: This is great that you are doing this for your bride. It will take a lot of weight off her shoulders. Stay away from St. Lucia especially if you want cooperation with wedding details. St. Thomas has the resources and experience to pull it off!<BR>Best wishes!!

Mary

Not necessarily true x0x. Our wedding coordinator in St. Lucia was awesome (except for the Dad / groomsmen thing). But because she was SO GOOD, that part was easy to disregard. <BR><BR>You can e-mail the wedding coordinator way in advance, even before you book the trip I would think, and that will give you a good idea what their capabilities are and how prompt and detailed they are with your inquiries.