Hello Friends!

Maybe you can help me out here. I am swimming in websites and can no longer tell which way is up, so I come to you!

I am looking to potentially have my wedding in the Caribbean, but need some suggestions. Here are my requests:

1) Can't be too hard to get to. I am in NY, but family will come from all over.

2) No factory wedding-- I would ideally like something slightly unusual-- not necessarily the beach. Such as, a beautiful garden, ruins, a museum even.

3) We are casual folks, so nothing too pretentious. But my budget friendly friends will need a place to stay... as will my pampered mother.

4) We will likely have a "legal" ceremony at City Hall right before, so we don't have to worry about dealing with foreign restrictions. We might even had a friend officiate if possible.

5) We are about 30 people-- all ages and types.

I loved the Rockhouse in Negril, but they have a room requirement (80% of the hotel) which I don't think I can meet.

Some time in 2009 or 2010, so we have plenty of time to plan.

So...any thoughts?

THANKS!
Terra

First of all, congrats... and congrats on planning ahead, gives you lots of time (and fun) to plan your big day....!

Cayman is a good option for weddings. Given the massive increase in demand that all the resorts here are seeing for destination weddings, I guess we are doing it right !

To answer your questions re Cayman :

1) Cayman has excellent non-stop air service on numerous airlines, including JFK, EWR, CLT, MIA, IAH, TPA... and more. We are only c400 miles South of the US, so easy to get to.

2) Cayman does NOT do factory weddings, period... a major factor for our success as a destination, believe. From what you are saying, I think Pedro Castle or the Botanic Park would be great venues, but I could think of numerous others.

3) Numerous accommodation options for you and your family.

4) Cayman allows marriages with no requirement for length of stay, so no need for a city hall wedding, you can be legally married here with ease.

5) 30 people is a nice number for a wedding, numerous resorts can handle you. I don't know any here that have a restriction on number of rooms you have to book, although some (well, my resort at least) restrict themselves to only one wedding per day (I did say no factory weddings!), so you would have to confirm your booking of that date in advance to lock it in for your own special day.

You said you were looking at the Rockhouse, and I do recommend if you CAN meet the limit, then I would do so. I was there last year and this place is absolutely amazing. The views, environment alone is great. And what's great, is that you'll be just a short walk from Rick's Cafe (google it), the world's #5 ranked place in the world. Great food, amazing atmosphere!!! The staff and people there are extremely friendly. You would not regret a stay here, actually taking the fiance there next year! Best of luck!

I wanted to get married at Romney Manor in St Kitts very badly, but was nixed by my husband (he wanted St Lucia). There is a huge 350 year old tree on the manor grounds that is a beautiful place for a wedding. If you google "romney manor weddings" it will take you to a link for weddings at the manor, the beach or at the fortress in St Kitts. IMO, all of the places would be fabulous wedding locations.

St Kitts used to be hard to get to, but it's getting better. There are nonstop flights from both Charlotte, NC and Miami...not too sure about nonstop from NY.

For budget friendly there are nice little places like Timothy Beach Resort or for not too terribly much more there is a Marriott as well.

I always regret I didn't get married there...but, heading back with my 2 kids in November!

Thanks Tom--

The Caymans are one of the few places I have been to in the Caribbean so as much as I loved my experience there, might want to try somewhere else. I will check it out though-- thanks!

Chgeeb-- I know! I am so bummed out about their requirement to have 80% of the rooms allocated for the wedding, otherwise it is perfect for me. I don't know... maybe everyone I invite would actually want to go! Thanks for the comment.

Caribqueen-- thank you for the suggestion, sounds beautiful, I will check it out.

Does anyone have leads for Bermuda? I am intrigued by the proximity, but haven't seen a place that really would be special. Anyone have an opinion to share on that?

Hi,

Congratulations! I was just reading a thread posted today on weddings in St. Kitts on the myislands forum.

Here's the link, if you're interested:

http://myislands.myeyez.net/forum/in...p?topic=2157.0

In addition to the beach and Romney Manor, it looks from the Kantours website that you can get married at Brimstone Hill fortress. Now that would be anything but a "factory" wedding.

American Airlines has non-stop flights to St. Kitts on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Do you have a particular time of year yet? Low season rates start in April in the Caribbean, but you'd probably want to avoid the height of hurricane season (Aug.-Sept.).

Bermuda is beautiful but is pretty cool during our winters.

Good luck and keep us posted.

cw