When Stacey and Rick were planning their wedding three years ago, they decided that all the hassle of planning a big to-do at home was too much work. So they headed for Sausalito. Their wedding pictures show some of the traditional trappings — she’s wearing an elegant gown, he’s in a tux and a few friends and family members are in attendance — but the hotel where they stayed took care of the details.
Gina and Jay chose to escape the wedding-planning whirlwind by eloping to Las Vegas, and both sets of parents were happy to join them. Like Stacey, Gina wore the dress of her dreams and let the hotel plan a nuptial celebration with all the trimmings.
There was a time when a couple who wanted to get married quickly and with no fuss took their vows at City Hall.
But these days, after announcing the big news of their engagement, the first call many couples make is to the travel agent. They want the festivity of a traditional wedding, but they don’t want to spend a lot of time actually planning it. Hotels and resorts, mostly concentrated in the Caribbean and Hawaii, are happy to accommodate with special wedding-honeymoon packages that make things easy but still romantic and memorable.
Some couples even use these vacation weddings as a way to gather far-flung family and friends in one place. Many guests are only too happy to jet to St. Lucia or Maui to witness the event.
According to Modern Bride magazine, 65,000 American couples planned to hold their weddings away from home last year. The magazine’s travel editor, Geri Bain, even wrote a book about it, titled “Honeymoons and Weddings Away.”
“Complicated family situations, different religions, and conflicts over wedding styles and who should attend are among the reasons why couples opt to marry away,” Bain says. “It’s a way of removing a wedding from sticky situations and the world of `shoulds’ and casting it in a new romantic light.”
And it’s become big business for the hotels and resorts that offer the service. Sandals Resorts, which operates 10 properties in the Caribbean, coined the phrase “WeddingMoon” and hosted 3,000 nuptial couples last year.
A basic wedding includes a justice of the peace or clergy, tropical flowers, a Caribbean wedding cake, champagne celebration dinner and wedding-day video. On-site wedding coordinators can assist couples who want something more unusual.
“We have married people in Jacuzzis, underwater, in gazebos,” says John Lynch, Sandals’ executive vice president of sales. “We’ve done weddings for $500, and ones that cost $30,000.”
Other resorts are wooing couples with special offers, such as throwing in a complimentary wedding ceremony when they reserve an all-inclusive vacation. Couples who plan a six-night vacation at Rendezvous in St. Lucia get complimentary basic wedding arrangements that include obtaining the marriage license, legal fees, a champagne reception, decorations and a candlelight dinner for the wedding party. The resort caps it off with breakfast in bed the following morning. The couple may choose to pay extra for flowers, photographic services, live music and a wedding cake.
Braco Village Resort in Jamaica’s “Marry-moon” package costs $200, including a pre-wedding pedicure, manicure and hairstyling for the bride and massage for the groom, plus all the wedding trimmings. At Bora Bora Lagoon Resort, the wedding package includes Tahitian dress for the couple, a Polynesian-style waterfront ceremony and a sunset cruise in a canoe, serenaded by Tahitian musicians.
Many couples head to Hawaii, where just about all the major resorts have some kind of wedding-planning program. The Hyatt Regency Maui, for example, offers three different wedding packages, ranging from $825 to $1,550, and even built a new wedding gazebo to accommodate the nuptial couples. In addition to a romantic tropical setting, Hawaii’s marriage-license requirements are simple. Proof of age and a photo ID are all that’s needed; Hawaii doesn’t require blood tests.
For couples getting married the second time around, resorts such as the Franklyn D. Resort in Runaway Bay, Jamaica, have packages aimed at families with kids. For $400, Franklyn D.’s staff will arrange for the wedding license and plan the wedding and a family cocktail reception.
If all of this sounds tempting, here are some ideas to consider when planning a honeymoon in paradise:
*Examine the wedding-honeymoon package closely. Be sure you understand exactly what is included and how much is charged for extra touches.
*Understand the marriage-license requirements at the destination. Resorts that have in-house wedding departments usually handle this for you, but if you want to get married at a smaller property, such as an intimate bed-and-breakfast, you’ll need to do the research yourself. Inquire about waiting periods, blood tests, required documents, etc.
*If a number of friends and family members will be joining you, find out if the hotel or resort can offer a special rate or other perks.
*Remember, you don’t have to go far to enjoy an out-of-town wedding. Inquire about wedding-honeymoon packages offered at hotels, lodges and inns in your area. These can be very romantic, and a real boon to couples who are short on time or money.