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Memories for a lifetime
The adventure of getting hitched in paradise
It’s many a bride’s fantasy: a beach wedding in a tropical paradise, with the blue sea at your back and warm sand between your toes.
If that’s your heart’s desire, The Bahamas is one of the most romantic places on Earth to make it happen. From intimate dawn nuptials to full celebrity-style events, wedding packages here range from simple to sublime.
Event coordinators at Nassau’s leading hotels are experts at turning wedding dreams into reality and lifting the burden of planning from the couple and their families.
About 2,000 visiting couples were married in The Bahamas in 2009, with May and June being the favourite months. Wedding parties average about 30 people, according to the Ministry of Tourism’s Department of Weddings and Honeymoons, but larger groups come here, too, says the department’s director, Freda Madrisotti.
“In the last couple of years we have seen a spike in destination weddings group business, ranging from 25 to 75 persons in a wedding party,” she notes. “They tend to come for a long weekend, such as arriving on Thursday and leaving on Sunday.”
That makes a destination wedding not just a one-day event but a vacation filled with enough magical memories to last a lifetime.
Wedding experts say the economic downturn has forced some couples to scale down their plans but not to cancel them.
“We have not seen a decline in our numbers,” says catering sales manager Denise Ward at the Sheraton Nassau Beach. “We have found that the wedding parties are smaller and couples are not spending money on the extras.”
The Sheraton hosts an average of 100 weddings per year, 75 per cent of which are labelled destination weddings. They offer special group rates for these celebrations.
“For couples who want that ocean view without actually being on the beach, our beach pavilion or wedding gazebo are perfect venues,” says Ward.
The Sheraton’s average wedding with 50 guests costs about $11,000 for the ceremony and reception. Their wedding team partners with established local vendors for floral arrangements, photography, decor and music.
It’s a breeze
At Breezes on Cable Beach, wedding coordinator Yasmine Mills-Strachan tells couples to “sit back and let me bring your vision to fruition.”
This all-inclusive hotel hosts between 400 to 800 weddings annually. A basic ceremony is free for couples with a paid stay of seven nights or more, except for government and administrative fees.
The wedding coordinator handles all the details to ensure that “weddingmoons” are stress-free and memorable.
Couples can tie the knot at one of four locations–at the beach gazebo, the water’s edge, the Garden of Eden restaurant or the shady lawn.
“We offer everything from just a basic vow exchange with a champagne toast to an all-out celebration that includes a steel drum band, dove release, fire dancers and even a mini-Junkanoo rush-out,” says Mills-Strachan.
The more elaborate weddings at Breezes last a full weekend and include a welcome reception, rehearsal dinner, the wedding ceremony, a cocktail hour/reception and a brunch or island excursion the next day.
Pricing the average wedding is difficult, she says, because couples often customize their package, paying as much or as little as they prefer.
Affordable elegance
The British Colonial Hilton offers a scenic harbourfront location with newly refurbished ballrooms for receptions and creative catering services.
Wedding packages range from the $500 “Pure and Simple,” which includes location fees, minister and paperwork, to the $7,500 “Celebrity Dream” package, which also includes a wedding cake, decorated arch, fruit and wine, a surprise Bahamian gift, a photo album and a seven-day, six-night hotel stay.
About 200 weddings take place at the Hilton every year, with 60 per cent of them booked by cruise ship passengers, says assistant catering manager Carla Riley.
“Many times people say to me, ‘Carla, all I need is just a minister, a bridal bouquet and a boutonniere for my husband-to-be,’” she says. “So that’s all we offer them. That could cost a few hundred dollars.”
By comparison, couples who have their reception at the Hilton spend about $5,000 for an 80-guest reception.
Sandy or classical
Sandals Royal Bahamian Resort & Spa on Cable Beach invites couples to begin the honeymoon as soon as they say “I do.”
They offer six different plans, starting with a no-frills ceremony with just the bride and groom and two of their closest friends.
Their more elaborate Martha Stewart weddings include a personal wedding consultant, a two-tier wedding cake, a reception, continental breakfast in bed, a honeymoon dinner and more.
At Atlantis on Paradise Island, couples can choose from a variety of locations for tying the knot, such as the Dragon’s Patio with its spectacular waterfront view, Sting Ray Falls and West Beach.
The entire wedding party must be registered guests of Atlantis or Harborside Resort.
Atlantis offers four packages, ranging from ceremonies for two to six guests to large groups who book 10 rooms or more.
Depending on the package selected, couples can expect a personal wedding coordinator, VIP check-in, champagne, a celebration ritual for the bride at Mandara Spa, his and hers Swedish massage, a customized wedding cake, a world-class reception, photography and video services, live music and romantic room service the following morning. Couples can customize the event to suit themselves.
Another popular spot for weddings on Paradise Island is The Cloisters, a Gothic masterpiece built in France in the 14th century by Augustinian monks. It’s located in the formal Versailles Gardens at the One&Only Ocean Club.
American newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst brought the monastery to the US in the 1920s. In 1962, Paradise Island’s millionaire developer, A&P heir Huntington Hartford, purchased the structure and had it reconstructed on Paradise Island.
Whether you prefer a wedding filled with pomp and circumstance or a private ceremony on the beach, all your wishes can come true in The Bahamas.
Sidebar:
Marriage licence requirements in The Bahamas
Marriage licences are issued at the Office of the Registrar General in the Apsley House, 75 Frederick St (next to St Andrew’s Kirk), Nassau, open Mon-Fri 9-4:30 (closed weekends and Bahamian public holidays), telephone (242) 323-0594/5/6.
• Couples must be in The Bahamas at the time of application for the marriage licence.
• Couples may apply for the licence at the Registrar General’s office 24 hours after their arrival. Proof of the arrival date must be provided (airline ticket, stamped passport), along with a government-issued photo ID from their home country such as a passport. No blood test is necessary. Licences are usually issued within 48 hours. The licence fee is $100.
• If either party is a minor (under 18), parental consent is required. Consent forms may be obtained at the Registrar General’s office.
• If either party has been divorced, the original final decree or a certified copy must be produced.
• If either party is widowed, the death certificate of the deceased spouse must be produced.
• If either party is unmarried and a citizen or resident of the US, a declaration certifying this fact must be sworn before a US Consul at the American Embassy in Nassau (fee required) or a Bahamian Notary Public.
• If either party is unmarried and a citizen or resident of a country other than the US, a declaration certifying this fact must be sworn before a Notary Public or other person authorized to administer oaths in that country and must accompany the application for the marriage licence.
• Persons who want to be married on a Family Island (any island outside New Providence) can obtain a marriage licence at the Commissioner’s Office on that island and need not come to Nassau.
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