So, you have decided to plan a destination wedding! Congratulations, you are making a choice to have a wedding that will be both an adventure and a unique experience. Most destination weddings are planned “from afar” which means that the couple will have a bit of organization and work to tackle long before they leave for their trip.

One thing that all professional wedding planners suggest to anyone hoping to have a destination wedding is to do a little comparison shopping before signing any contracts. Destination weddings are incredibly popular and they can range from very traditional, full-size events to incredibly small and intimate affairs. Regardless of size, however, they all require the same decisions, events and plans.

This means that there should be a realistic price range for most destination wedding venues, and if budget is a concern it would be best to inquire at a few resorts, hotels and locations before making a choice. Because the planning is going to be done from another location, it is best to work with a hotel like Almond Morgan Bay Resort, or facility that specializes in weddings or to hire a local wedding planner.

Consider the following: the couple planning a destination wedding is going to need to arrange for all of their “hometown” paperwork and documentation, find and book an official who can legally marry them at the destination, schedule the location for the ceremony, locate and reserve the reception hall, arrange for beverage and meal services, find entertainment or a DJ, schedule the photographer and make arrangements for their honeymoon. Now, that is standard business for any wedding, but the couple planning a destination wedding will need to do all of this via the phone, fax and email. Clearly they are going to need local support, and this is the reason that a local wedding coordinator or planner should be considered.

Many weddings take place in either the bride or groom’s home town. This is very traditional and can make for a wedding that is full of family fun. There are also weddings that take place far from the hometowns of the bride and groom, and these are usually destination weddings.

Some couples return to a meaningful place, such as the resort where they met or the scene of their first kiss to exchange vows and officially get married, and quite often this is a location that is neither “local” or nearby.

Some people worry that such a wedding may not be valid, but the fact of the matter is that a wedding is validated only by the documentation required back at home. This means that if a couple takes care of all the paperwork in their hometown, they are actually officially married already, but they can still plan their formal ceremony and celebration anywhere they’d like. This is the reason that destination weddings are possible and so incredibly popular.

Weddings far from home can be as grand and formal or as small and simple as the bride and groom would like, but it does really help matters to have support from a local wedding authority. Usually many hotels and resorts offer the services of a wedding coordinator who is more than happy to help plan and arrange a wedding of almost any size.

The wedding coordinator can schedule everything from the rehearsal and the rehearsal dinner to the food, flowers, and official who performs the actual ceremony. Imagine how beneficial that can be for the couple planning a wedding in a far off location where they may not even speak the language!

Planning a destination wedding must also take into account the needs of the guests who are going to have to travel in order to attend. It is best to ensure that affordably priced accommodations and plenty of travel support will be available for them upon arrival in the location where the wedding will take place.

From every indication, April 8th, 2009 was going to be a delighful day. Sara and Greg Musson, along with her Mom Rae, best friend and Bestman Kat, Don and Patricia – Greg’s Mom and Dad, bridesmaid Becky and several other family members traveled from Canada to witness and celebrate Sara & Greg’s special day. The showers started about 3:00pm while everyone was getting dressed and continued through the ceremony and reception.
The following day the couple got dressed again and traveled to the botanical gardens in Soufriere to shoot the formal photos. The following photos will gave you an idea how that went.

Happy Coconut Bay Bride

Reprinted from www.tripadvisor.com

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g652398-d534892-r28952525-Coconut_Bay_Resort_Spa-Vieux_Fort_St_Lucia.html

18 of us traveled to Coconut Bay for our wedding this month.
I read lots and lots of reviews (negative and positive) for all aspects of the trip. From the resort itself to tour companies to wedding venues/photographers.

Our rooms were on the harmony side and I pretty much stayed to that side of the resort. We found it to be very quiet even though the resort was full. The harmony side beach/pool area was nice and relaxing not having any kids running around.

Yes, the beach does have seaweed, so what! Just walk 10minutes down the beach and it was absolutely gorgeous with no seaweed. We frequently swam in the ocean and didn’t find it to be too rough. We just wished Coconut Bay offered water sports. That would be one reason why we would look into staying at another resort.

The food was OK and this is coming from an extremely picky eater. I never went hungry! I loved Bellagios, but wasn’t big on Silks. We often ate at the grill since it offered quite a bit of food that we all liked. The bar service in the main lobby was painfully slow but quick at all the other bars. The girls loved “H” and Junius.

We opted to tour with serenity tours instead of the tour desk at coconut bay. I liked that they personalized the tours and you could do it with just your group, not a bunch of strangers. AND it was CHEAPER than the hotel! John was fast in returning messages and we loved Sherma’s energetic personality.

And now the reason we went there for…The Wedding!

Greg lost his footing while posing for the camera at the beach in Laborie

While ideally I would’ve liked to of gone of property for the wedding I took the easy way out and stayed at Coconut Bay. Jeanelle worked very hard to make sure everything was gorgeous and perfect. I just wanted something simple, quick and laid back. I picked the colours and then left everything else to her!

However when it came to the pictures I wasn’t the easy to deal with! After talking to other brides on here and hearing about their experiences I decided I did not want to use Coconut Bay’s photographers. Don’t be fooled into paying them the $US500 they want for you to bring another photographer on property! Its a gimmick to force you to use theirs!
I was hunted down and quizzed about why I wasn’t using them. All that did was make me glad to have not picked them and annoyed they wasted an hour of my time.

After careful consideration we narrowed it down to two photographers, then decided to go with Bill Mortley. When it came down to the final 2 the deal maker was that Bill was willing to take us off property at no additional charge! He said he would take pictures till we quit and he was good to his word. Being beautiful is exhausting work! lol

Not thinking about the sun setting so early I picked a 4:00 wedding time so that didn’t leave time to leave the resort that day. Bill spent the afternoon with us and then came back the next morning to take us to multiple locations. And we made him work! Probably drove him nuts as well. But he never lost patience with any of us and we kept him laughing! Unlike what I read about some other photographers, Bill listened to our suggestions even when I wanted to start 4 hours earlier than he did! I think he was more panicked about my dress than I was after I feel into the ocean.
Bill went above and beyond to ensure we have gorgeous pictures and hundreds of them to choice from.
We love our pictures and enjoyed our time with Bill.
Hopefully we will be using him again for another wedding….he just has to find a man for my bridesmaid!

Feel free to PM me with any questions.

Brides or anyone wanting to get some great pics: www.billmortleyphotography.com

Reprinted from Trip Advisor
“http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g147343-d646063-r27036217-Almond_Smugglers_Cove-Castries_St_Lucia.html”

I hate to repeat what many others have said but I too was dreading to see if the negative reviews of Smugglers Cove were accurate. For all who are reading this, I can now put your mind at rest!!! Almond Smugglers Cove is the ideal Caribbean holiday resort.

We arrived at Hewanorra airport after a good Virgin flight. We upgraded to Premium Economy, which in my opinion is essential after experiencing economy on our return and flights to Vegas. We passed through immigration in about 30min, but we were quite near to the front, so felt sorry for passengers at the back. I would guess they were there for at least an 1hr 1/2. Once you’re through and have got your luggage we were asked by the local porters if we needed help with our luggage, they were friendly but quite persistent like other international airports I’ve visited. However I did very

quickly regret the decision as the desk for our Helicopter transfer was literally 20 yards through some doors on the right. We were then quickly taken and put onto the helicopter. I highly recommend the helicopter transfer and is well worth the cost. Hints: your luggage is taken by road and we received ours in resort approx 3 hrs later, so pack some underwear/swimwear in your hand luggage. A quick10 min taxi from where the helicopter touches down to Smugglers Cove.

The resort is brilliant; your first sight is the lush green, well maintained gardens. You’re then met (as everyone has said) by rum punch and a cool towel. We were then escorted to our room. We upgraded to a Superior Deluxe Beachfront Room. The room was excellent and had been decorated (as we were getting married) with rose petals on the bed, towels folded into two swans and a bottle of champagne with a huge plate of fresh fruit. The view straight onto the sea was beautiful and the huge hot tub in the bathroom – fantastic.

The resort is brilliant; your first sight is the lush green, well maintained gardens. You’re then met (as everyone has said) by rum punch and a cool towel. We were then escorted to our room. We upgraded to a Superior Deluxe Beachfront Room. The room was excellent and had been decorated (as we were getting married) with rose petals on the bed, towels folded into two swans and a bottle of champagne with a huge plate of fresh fruit. The view straight onto the sea was beautiful and the huge hot tub in the bathroom – fantastic.

Food: The food was good. I was impressed. As with other reviews, the Cove is a buffet restaurant with a good selection each day. The Italian, the Waterside and the adult’s only restaurant Cafe Enids are all a la carte. My new wife is quite fussy with food and there was always something she enjoyed too. However if you’re expecting 5 star with a massive selection, you will be disappointed (like my father was).

Wedding: The location for the gazebo for weddings is ideal. It looks over the cove and was decorated beautifully. Our wedding co-ordinator, Lorna, was brilliant. I can’t praise her enough.

Always happy, smiling and laughing. She made our wedding day the success it was. Our only little hiccup was that the register put wrong details on our marriage certificate (even though it was my job to check it). Lorna sorted the problem quickly.

Photographer: IF YOU’RE GETTING MARRIED IN ST LUCIA, YOU MUST, MUST USE BILL MORTLEY!!!
He is absolutely brilliant. I cannot praise him enough. He not only took the world’s best Wedding pictures on our big day but took us on tours around the island. This enables you to see and experience the island and all the tourist hotspots with your own personal local guide. He was born in St Lucia, and everyone knows him. He’ll take you to places like Pigeon Island, Rodney Bay, Castries, the botanical gardens with the waterfall, Marigot Bay, the Pitons and the drive through volcano in Soufriere.

Having photos of yourself touring the island adds to the magic of your wedding photos and memories that will last forever. Tell Bill if you have ideas for photo’s as he is very accomodating.

Message me if you have any questions on St Lucia, Smugglers Cove or Photographer Bill Mortley

Weddings aren’t always held in religious buildings, they can occur almost anywhere. Some people get married while standing on a beach and others in decorative buildings overlooking gardens. The ceremony is totally determined by the wishes of the bride and groom. The only obligations they must meet are the legal processes that are required by the Country or State where they plan to marry.

Many couples really aim to plan a unique wedding day by holding the ceremony in a special location. This is something known as a destination wedding and is actually a huge trend in the wedding industry, especially in the Caribbean. Not only are destination wedding ceremonies unusual, the entire event, from the days leading up to the wedding to the days afterward, is incredibly memorable as well.

One way to enjoy a destination wedding is to work with a resort or hotel that specializes in them. Interestingly, there are many options all around the world for someone who wants to be married in an unusual way. A couple could get married in a Scottish castle, luxury resort in Hawaii, or on the sands of a beach in St. Lucia – it just takes a bit of planning and organization.

The great thing about a destination wedding is that all of the guests get to be part of the unique experience as well. Consider the couple getting married in the Caribbean, their guests would travel to the location a day or two ahead of time and spend the days leading up to the wedding enjoying uninterrupted time with friends and family.

The day of the wedding could be marked by special meals and events and culminate in the ceremony and reception.

Even the days after a destination wedding can be extra-special as a resort or hotel organizes a farewell breakfast or brunch and then arranges for special shuttle service to a nearby airport from which all of the guests can head home.

Hi Bill,

That’s it, you have been a total success – just about every female family and friend that has seen our pictures has cried!

They are totally amazing! We both thank you a million times over!
I already have people asking if you come to the UK to take their wedding photos!

I have left a report on trip adviser and put in a bit about you -

My father also wrote a report about you and said how wonderful you and your services are!

Once again Bill, our hero, thanks!!

All the best,
Adam and Jade now Mullins!!!!