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Awesome Caribbean Weddings St. Lucia, Caribbean If you've ever dreamed of getting married in the beautiful Caribbean, St. Lucia just might be the place. This spectacular island has both romantic beaches and soaring mountains as well as enough tropical foliage to make the two of you feel like Adam and Eve in an exotic paradise. Awesome Caribbean Weddings helps couples plan weddings in St. Lucia; we recently spoke with Michele Ince and Kayt Cooper about planning a destination wedding on the island. What makes St. Lucia a spectacular wedding destination? The Location for our
weddings is the beautiful, lush island of St. Lucia, the "Helen of
the West Indies." St Lucia is an extraordinary and one of the more
unusual Caribbean islands it also offers a variety of options for its
visitors. There is much to do from organized tours and excursions to hiking in unspoilt rainforest, scuba diving reefs teeming with sea life or lazing on one of the gorgeous beaches. The North end of the island is the center of the tourism industry, with a wide variety of large and small hotels, guesthouses, luxury villas and all-inclusive properties, restaurants, bars, nightlife and shops. The South end is much quieter; less developed and offers an array of fabulous accommodation options and a variety of interesting attractions and activities. St. Lucia has an interesting cultural and historical background, wide range of outdoor and sporting activities and our magnificent scenery, the majestic Pitons, waterfalls, historical Pigeon island and green, tropical gardens--to name but a few. Can you describe a recent wedding you've planned? We appeal to the couples that want to get off the wedding conveyor belt of an on-site hotel ceremony and prefer a more private, unique wedding. Our clients vary from couples on their own eloping to groups of 90 + for whom we organize the wedding and reception also the daily activities, rehearsal dinners and any other special events required. Villa weddings are popular with the smaller groups who want an intimate atmosphere for their wedding; they use the villa for accommodation as well so it does reduce the cost of alternate location hire. Some villas are more suitable and have appropriate space for a ceremony. We recommend a villa to match the size of group and budget then for the wedding day work our wonders with beautiful ceremony area decorations of tropical flowers, foliage and ribbons depending on the desire of the couple. The photographer, videographers and caterers we use are top quality professionals. Every attention is paid to all details. The photographs attached are of two recent villa weddings. After the ceremony there are many choices a couple could make to continue their perfect day, a sunset sail on a beautiful yacht, a beach reception or a sumptuous meal at one of the quality restaurants that we recommend are some of the choices. Is it difficult for non-residents to get married in St. Lucia? What are the requirements? It is not difficult for non-residents to get married in St. Lucia as long as you have us to organize all the legal details for you! We will tell you the documents that you will need to bring with you and you leave the rest to us. You are required to be resident for two days in St Lucia and the paperwork takes one further day to process, so the earliest you can get married is the fourth working day after your arrival on the island, having submitted the required papers and signed the license application. What documents are required to marry in St. Lucia? All documents must be the originals and all documents must be in English. If they are not, an authenticated translation must be provided along with the original. Couples need: Passports (valid for
a minimum of 6 months) How can brides incorporate some unique local elements or traditions into the ceremony? There are several ways we suggest to our clients to introduce the Caribbean theme into their ceremony and reception, such as having a conch blown before the ceremony (it is the ancient Island way to signify the start of an important event). The couple could have a flower girl in national costume or if it is a large group the waitresses for the Champagne toast could also be in national costume. Local live music is an excellent way to ignite the tropical atmosphere also entertainers demonstrating limbo dancing and fire eating. Quality Caribbean fare can also be introduced into menus. Can you describe one of your top packages? We approach the destination
wedding business in a different way then most companies; we do not offer
set packages as we view every wedding as unique and offer a very personalized
service. Clients fill out the initial contact form on our website then
we begin the process of discussing with the clients exactly what they
want and at which of our many stunning locations. Every wedding couple
receives a personalized wedding program and quote just for them. One of the most exclusive and luxurious weddings we have planned was for a group of 60 in April. The group was all staying at accommodations we had recommended in the South of St. Lucia. The ceremony location was a beautiful beach in the North of the Island on the Caribbean coast. The groom and all the guests boarded a 60-foot catamaran at the jetty in Soufriere. They all enjoyed a wonderful trip up the West coast of St. Lucia with cooling refreshments and beautifully prepared hors d'oeuvres. The Bride, her two attendants and her father were flown by helicopter to the North of the Island and were taken for the last short part of the journey by a stretch limousine. The beach ceremony area had a formal theme with large, open sided marquees and seating for all the guests, arranged either side of a fresh petal covered aisle. Sheer fabric was hung and wrapped around each marquee pole and lavish floral arrangements of bright tropical color and foliage secured over this. The ceremony area drew the eye with the same sheer fabric draping and outstandingly tall floral displays of tropical flowers matching the ones used on the marquees and aisle but also the stunning introduction of two vibrant shades of purple flowers. The classical violinist was the perfect accompaniment to this ceremony. After the ceremony the Reception was held in the same location on the beach with sumptuous gourmet barbecued fare ñ the menu was created specifically for the clients. As the sun set tiki-torches and hurricane lamps were lit adding to the already magical atmosphere of the celebration. The table arrangements were formal and the white tablecloths were a great backdrop for the colorful food and floral table displays. After finishing the meal, much fun was had by all dancing to the live steel pan music under the beautiful tropical night sky. The whole wedding group was transported back to the South of the Island on the Catamaran and the Party continued! After the wedding, what nearby romantic places might couples want to visit? There are so many places to visit; in St. Lucia everywhere is so romantic! There are historical sites where you can really immerse yourself in St. Lucian history, waterfalls to bathe under, quality restaurants to enjoy sumptuous meals, fabulous tours such as sailing down the Caribbean coast on a catamaran, visiting botanical gardens, a waterfall and the sulphur springs (the world's only drive in volcano) enjoying tasty Caribbean fare for lunch and sailing back up the coast stopping in a cove to snorkel and see beautiful tropical fish. This certainly is the Island location for your Awesome Caribbean Wedding and Honeymoon. Any friends and family that share this celebration with you will definitely agree. Photos courtesy Awesome Caribbean Weddings For More Information: |
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