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 Popular Destination Advice
Exotic Caribbean Weddings - Exotic Weddings in the Caribbean
A Curacao Home-Away-From-Home Wedding
The number of guests you invite to your Curacao wedding is you and your partner's personal choice, but if you're hoping for the cozy simplicity of a small wedding, consider setting a limit of no more than twenty to twenty-five guests. Some Curacao hotels offer suite-style and villa-style options that come in all sizes and can accommodate a honeymooning couple or an entire family. Instead of having your friends and family scattered from floor to floor in a large resort hotel, you can enjoy their company up close and personal. If you're wrinkling your nose at the thought of so many close relatives together in one living space, you might want to talk to your wedding planner about splitting up the group into separate villa-style accommodations at the resort.
A good destination wedding specialist will turn this into a one-of-a-kind wedding experience. When you're inviting friends and family, make sure they realize this is more than just a chance for them to share your wedding day, it's also a full vacation!
Talk to your destination wedding specialist about getting married beside your own private pool, in a lush garden, or inside should the weather decide to show its tropical wrath.
Instead of wasting your energy worrying about all of the legal mumbo-jumbo required for a Curacao wedding, hand it off to a professional wedding specialist. A wedding specialist knows all of the little tips and tricks to get you the best deal and a hassle-free wedding.
Last Minute Caribbean Weddings
Some people are planners, and some people are spur-of-the-moment thrill seekers. If your personality falls more into the latter category, it wouldn't be that far fetched for you to suddenly decide you want to have a last-minute Caribbean wedding. If that's the case, keep in mind that "last minute" can't happen tomorrow. There has to be at least some planning involved allowing for marriage license requirements, booking flights, hotel booking, and more.
Your Caribbean wedding should be simple and as "mainstream" as possible in order to give your wedding specialist enough time to make all of the necessary arrangements. Don't expect it to be packaged and ready to go within a week or two. While the wedding specialist is capable of pulling it all together in a relatively short period of time, there are a lot of other things that need to come together before the big day. For example, if it's going to be a religious ceremony, you may be required to bring things like Baptismal papers or other pertinent documents.
Whether you plan on having a St. Kitts wedding or a St. Maarten wedding, be prepared to arrive a few days before. There's usually a minimum residency requirement before you're able to purchase the marriage license. Just remember, if you don't want to spend months waiting for your big day, make sure to keep your Caribbean wedding plans as simple as possible.
Knowing What to Expect from Your Caribbean Beach Wedding
Have you ever read a travel brochure before heading out to your vacation spot, only to discover that the book barely scratched the surface on what to expect? Descriptions are great, but all the facts and figures in the world can't capture the heart and soul of a Caribbean vacation. The same can be said for your Caribbean beach wedding -- there's a certain atmosphere that words can't describe and a culture that can only enrich your special day.
Sure, anyone can do an Internet search, pick a resort, and make some reservations. But do you really know what you're getting? Is that picture of the beach just an artist's rendition, or is it the real thing? Remember too that those pictures of "secluded, private" Caribbean beaches might have been taken during an off-time when normally the beach would be swarming with tourists.
An experienced destination wedding planner specialist will know all of the fine details to make sure you're not exchanging vows over the roar of rowdy spring break college students. Can you imagine? Remember, spring break occurs at different times for different students, depending on where they're from. But that's just one example. Let's say you want a beautiful Barbados wedding. The brochures look nice, but they don't mention the fact that their rainy season occurs from June to November. A destination wedding planner specialist would know that and would help you plan your wedding during the time of day most likely to avoid a torrential rainstorm, or recommend a better season for that particular location.
You see? It's those "little" things that can really put a damper on your wedding plans if you don't have some help from someone who's been there…someone like a personal destination wedding specialist.
DIY Risks Of Planning Your Own Caribbean Beach Wedding
Most people wouldn't dream of traveling to their St. Kitts wedding resort on a horse-covered wagon (with a motor boat to get you over the water), but if you've ever experienced serious flight delays, you might start to wonder if transportation by horse would have been quicker.
Can you imagine? You've spent months working with a destination wedding planner to have the St. Kitts wedding you've always dreamed of, and you get a frantic call from the airport…your maid of honor will be delayed for at least 24 hours! Now what? You can't postpone the wedding because everything has been carefully planned and arranged. Do you ask another guest to fill in as a witness to your wedding? No way! What you do is contact your personal destination wedding specialist who will make alternate arrangements to get every guest to your wedding on time, including your frantic maid of honor.
When wedding planner websites talk about their guarantee to provide a stress-free wedding for you, that's the kind of thing they're talking about. Travel arrangements can be seriously delayed for any number of reasons. If you've decided to plan your own St. Kitts wedding, then you're on your own if anything goes wrong. If you've invested the help of a professional destination wedding specialist, they are there to help.
Save your risk-taking adventures for theme parks. When it comes to your Caribbean destination wedding, don't take any risks.
Planning The Perfect Barbados Wedding Menu
Any idea what kind of Caribbean wedding menu you'd like to have? If you've made reservations at a five-star resort with plans to marry on the beach and then dine in one of the open-atmosphere restaurants, you should be aware that many resorts that cater to the North American crowd and do their best to serve up menus that look like "home" -- which isn't necessarily a good thing. While there're lots to choose from, don't expect the same versions of home-cooked fries, ham, chicken, burgers, and corn on the cob that you're used to eating at home.
Sure there'll be salads and fresh local fruit, but if you had a very specific Caribbean wedding menu in mind, you should employ the help of a professional destination wedding specialist. An experienced destination wedding specialist can assist you in finding the perfect combination for your big day, including making sure your Barbados wedding menu is as tasty and exotic as you had imagined.
Unless you've got the power of Oprah Winfrey, you might have a hard time getting a Caribbean resort to change their whole menu for you and your guests. Sure they'll provide excellent customer service and try to make alternate food choices for people with special dietary restrictions, but they're not going to completely overhaul the buffet. A DestinationWeddings.com specialist will help ensure that you find the appropriate resort that will work with your culinary dreams.
A Land-To-Sea Caribbean Wedding Package
There's really nothing quite as breathtaking as the aqua waters of the Caribbean ocean, especially if you're from a northern climate that experiences months of cold winter weather! If the sea is beckoning you, why not incorporate your Caribbean theme wedding into a land-and-sea adventure? You could plan to be married on a cruise ship and spend your honeymoon at a fancy tropical resort, or you could flip it around and do it the other way. Whatever you decide to do, it's best to get a personal destination wedding specialist to help with the details and making reservations. In fact, not all cruise ships will allow you to marry at sea, but your destination wedding specialist will be able to offer knowledgeable advice on this.
You can even book an evening catamaran cruise the night your guests arrive, so that both families and sets of friends can get to know one another on the crystal-blue Caraibbean seas before the big day. Booking one after the wedding for just you and your partner is a great idea too.
You don't necessarily have to have an Antigua wedding or a Curacao wedding, but you can still enjoy those areas as part of the overall Caribbean wedding package. Just make sure to get the help of a professional destination wedding specialist to make sure all goes smoothly.
Hot Weather Wedding Tips
Even if you've been to the Caribbean before, it's easy to forget just how hot it gets there, especially if you're used to a much cooler climate. If you're planning an Anguilla wedding in May, count on the temperature to soar somewhere around the 86 degree Fahrenheit mark. A St. Kitts wedding in March or April is probably going to be the same with temperatures maxing out somewhere in the mid to high 70's.
That means planning for the weather when deciding on your wedding day look. Tight, restricting clothing is out; loose, natural fibers are in. It's easy to get carried away with the desire to add more and more details to your look, but try to keep it as simple as possible. That includes your hair and makeup. The last thing you want is heavy foundation melting from your cheeks, or creamy eye shadow seeping into your eyes. The best way to look beautiful for your Caribbean beach wedding is to keep your look as natural as possible. Try a light self-tanning lotion to give your skin a nice glow. Lightly brush a bronzer over your cheeks and brow. Complement your look with a good quality waterproof mascara and a coat of softly colored lip gloss and you'll be ready.
Keep your clothing light, sheer, and flowing. Some people choose to get married in their bathing suits, while other people opt for a more traditional look. The important thing is to keep the fabric light and natural. Many couples decide to get married in the early evening when the sun is starting to set. Just remember to keep your look as natural as your Caribbean surroundings.
The Legalities Of A Caribbean Beach Wedding
How do you prove you're not already married? If you're not sure, better ask your destination wedding planner because that hot Caribbean beach wedding can't happen until this minor detail is taken care of. In order to be legal, your wedding can only take place after the proper paperwork has been documented. Here are some examples you may not have thought of:- If you or your partner are divorced, you'll have to present something called a "decree absolute" for verification.
- Both parties may have to have valid passports, depending on the destination.
- For a Nevis wedding, you'll have to provide an affidavit confirming single status (assuming you've never been married before).
- Religious ceremonies have special requirements all their own.
- There are minimum stay periods in order to receive a marriage license. This is true for a Nevis wedding, a St. Kitts wedding, and several other Caribbean beach wedding destinations.
Unless you want to spend more time reading legal jargon than concentrating on writing your wedding vows, it's best to seek the services of an experienced destination wedding specialist. They know all of the ins and outs of the legal documentation required and can easily guide you through the process without breaking a sweat.
Please Remember:
Destination weddings take considerable planning and research, and the best properties & accommodations often book far in advance of the wedding date.
The earlier you begin planning your wedding, the greater the likelihood you will be able to book the perfect property for you and your guests.
Start Planning your Destination Wedding Today.
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