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A Deep South Wedding

June 1st, 2010

Congratulations to Christina and Chris!

This is our first time in Northern Alabama. We were there for a wedding of GT’s high school classmate, Christina. She and her now husband, Chris, both live and work in New York City. However, they decided to have their wedding in Florence, Alabama at Christina’s grandparents’ lake house in memory of her grandfather. Since it was a bit of a travel for most of the guests, they chose a holiday weekend. And it was an eventful weekend, with rehearsal dinner on Friday night, a boat outing on Saturday followed by a cocktail party, pre-wedding breakfast and (finally!) the wedding on Sunday.

Welcome Bag

Welcome Bag

On Saturday. we were welcomed with a gift bag when we first checked into our hotel room at the Marriott Shoals Hotel & Spa. The bag was filled with snacks, maps, and a schedule. It was so helpful.

Lakeside Wedding

The morning of the wedding was raining cats and dogs. We really didn’t know what to expect knowing that the wedding was going to be outside. But once we got outside to wait for the shuttle about an hour before the wedding, the sun was out and the roads were drying up. Yay! Let’s have a wedding. The shuttle took us through some windy roads, ending at a little wooden cabin by the lake. It was surrounded by some table-clothed tables, pitched tents, and draping lights and lanterns. With the sun peaking through the trees, it was such a perfect setting for a May wedding.

Christina and Chris's Wedding

Christina and Chris's Wedding

GT and I have been to over a dozen weddings in the past few years but this was the first of many things. It was our first time witnessing a Greek Orthodox ceremony with a bit of Roman Catholic twist. It was so sweet. It was the first wedding we went to with a live band, Simply Irresistible, which really got the party started. People were dancing non-stop the whole night. It was the first wedding with a fireworks show! So much fun!

The wedding food really reflected the couple, Southern belle bride and a Greek groom. For cocktails, the wait staff pasted around spanakopita and watermelon with feta. And during the reception, there was a generous Southern spread consisting of pulled pork, shrimp and grits, and bbq coleslaw just to start. And for our sweet endings, there was wedding cake, of course, and baklava. It was all so delicious!

And here’s a happy photo of the Montgomery Academy classmates!

The bride with GT

by Mel | posted in Destination Wedding, Wedding Watching | No Comments »

Get married at a treehouse! Source: Daily Candy

Daily Candy shares their top five picks for a destination wedding. Suggestions range from a treehouse wedding to a resort in the British Virgina Islands. The places they feature:

  • Treehouse Point in Issaquah, Washington
  • Riverside Farms in Pittsfield, Vermont
  • Peter Island Resort & Spa in British Virgin Islands
  • Arrows Restaurant in Ogunquit, Maine
  • Postcard Inn on the Beach in St. Pete Beach, Florida

What’s your top destination wedding location?

by Christine | posted in Destination Wedding | No Comments »

Source: CNN.com

Ever wonder what people might think of your destination wedding? Well, this CNN article shares some candid thoughts from destination wedding planners. A maid-of-honor shared about how she had to sacrifice months of fun to be able to participate in her best friend’s destination wedding. Of course, the biggest gripe will always be about the cost, which is understandable. The author also provides some practical suggestions at the end, like deciding whether or not to bring a gift.

What sacrifices did you have to make to be part of a destination wedding? Was it worth it?

by Christine | posted in Destination Wedding | No Comments »

Wedding Chapel on a Boat

April 27th, 2010

Floating Wedding Chapel in St. Petersburg, Florida

This past weekend, I was with friends cheering Scott on during the St. Anthony’s Triathlon in St. Petersburg, Florida. He did a great job! As usual, he crushed the bike portion and did his first open water swim. Crazy! Congratulations, Scott! This triathlon is the reason behind the $150 Spa Gift Card giveaway that we had earlier. Thanks to all who participated!

While we were on the pier at the swim start, I was told that the floating building on a boat was a wedding chapel. Of course, I must verify what I hear so I looked online, and it’s true! They offer weddings 7 days/week for ceremonies and renewal vows. The company is Weddings on the Water. Talk about unique wedding ideas! Anyways, let us know if you look into it.

by Christine | posted in Ceremony, Destination Wedding | 1 Comment »

Source: Dessy

Dessy Group with Sandals Resorts has an option for destination brides to try their Sample-on-Loan option where you can try on sample dresses in the comfort of your own home. There’s a small fee but you could choose a dress from their entire collection of destination wedding dresses, rather than limiting to what you see in a particular store. If you like the dress, it tells you which retailers around you carry the dress.

by Christine | posted in Attire, Destination Wedding | No Comments »

Your Wedding on a Cruise

April 11th, 2010

Weddings on a cruise is not a new trend and I always thought it was a great idea. On a cruise, the food and alcohol are already paid for so the cost of the ceremony ends up being a couple of hundred, or a few thousand at most. If the wedding is small enough, the bride and groom may even pay for the guests to be there. But when we were in St. John and St. Thomas last year (see posts from our trip), every wedding planner we talked to frowned upon the cruise ship wedding. They said they line up the brides on the beach and conduct the wedding like an assembly line. They said it’s impersonal and you get married in front of many strangers. The New York Times wrote an article in favor of the idea.

Source: Piotr Redlinski Photography

I don’t want to pick sides but I always wanted to hear from someone who did the cruise ship wedding. Have you done a cruise ship wedding? Know anyone that did?

by Christine | posted in Destination Wedding | No Comments »

This is a continuation from one of my previous posts: Part I & Part II.

We got the digital photos! Just a couple of days ago, GT and I had our third wedding reception. It was held here in Taichung, Taiwan. Although it was just a small intimate lunch reception with just relatives, we still observed a few traditions. I changed into 4 different outfits, 3 of which were lent by Masa LiLi (included in our photo package).  They also included the dress for the flower girl and a little boy, who walked in with us during our grand entrance.

Scene 1

After our first entrance, GT’s eldest uncle made a speech. After the speech, changed into a different outfit, we made our grand entrance for the second time. This time, we danced in along to ‘Poker Face’ with four of GT’s cousins. It was so much fun! We then played a game which consisted of red envelopes, followed with more speeches from uncles and then grandma. We then went around to room to each table to thank the guests.

Scene 2

Scene 2

Before I knew it, I was in outfit number 3 (qi pao) standing behind two Chinese lion dancers making our grand entrance for the third time to Chinese New Year’s music. It is lucky to give the lions red envelopes. So of course, GT and I each gave one of the lions a red envelope. Afterward, GT’s dad gave a speech.

Scene 3

Finally, I was in my last outfit for the feast. The MC made an announcement that the reception is coming to an end. She directed people towards the back of the room. The room had a stage at the back which was beautifully decorated with floral, greens, and branches. (I’ll have to post photos when we get them from the photographer.) One after another, the guests took turns taking photos with GT and I, who stood there like wax museum figures.

Scene 4

After two and half hours, all the guests were gone. I was amazed even though the MC had advised beforehand, it would take no more than 2 1/2 hours for everything we had planned. It went by like a light breeze.

Scene 5

Scene 5

And now, we are finally able to go on our honeymoon! We are off to Bali!!

by Mel | posted in Destination Wedding, Engagement, General Planning, Reception | 2 Comments »

(This post is a continuation of the destination wedding planning series)

Source: St. John Weddings

Source: St. John Weddings

I asked professional wedding planners in St. John, “What advice would you give to a bride who is preparing for her destination wedding?”

Popular officiant, Anne-Marie Porter suggests:

  • Work with someone you trust whether it be a coordinator, planner, or friend
  • Leave expectations at home and focus on having fun
  • Look forward to a relaxed and stress-free time
  • Enjoy your honeymoon and expect a good honeymoon
  • Specifically for St. John, you need a permit for marrying on the beach
Source: St. John Weddings

Source: St. John Weddings

Well-known wedding planner, Stacey Mulcare suggests:

  • Invest in a travel steamer ($35-$40) and delegate someone to steam your dress. Test it out first to make sure resort’s water doesn’t stain the dress
  • Do dry-run of make-up and hair (charges apply) to understand how it will look and feel in the conditions (weather, lighting, wind, etc)
  • Choose head pieces that don’t cast dark shadows (veils, tiara, flower, hair off face) v. (hats, gazebo, archway)
  • Most brides don’t visit (around 15% do). Meet the chosen planner to get idea of ceremony and reception site.
  • Specifically for St. John, marriage applications must be in the courthouse 8 working days before the ceremony with $100 fee. If you’re divorced, bring a notarized certified copy of decree. Only the bride and groom can pickup the license, however, after the ceremony, anyone can drop-off the license with officiant’s signature back to the courthouse.
  • Specifically for St John, you can’t ensure total privacy for most beaches but it’s basically private before 9am and after 4:30pm. If you want total privacy, consider renting a villa (costs much more). Remember that sunset starts 6:00pm.

by Christine | posted in Destination Wedding | No Comments »

(This post is a continuation of the destination wedding planning series)

Honeymoon Bay is near Caneel Bay Resort

Honeymoon Bay in St. John

After you’re done with the beginning research of wedding planning and decided you want to do a destination wedding, what do you do next? Well, first off, read all our posts about destination weddings.  :P   Then, find a wedding planner to help. It will be very difficult to find vendors on your own so it is important to find someone you trust in your destination. I talked to several planners during our St. John/St. Thomas trip and found that everyone is super helpful. Although there are destination wedding companies that are based in places in the US that can help you, wedding planners/consultants like Stacey Mulcare will be much more helpful because they are local to the area. She is one of the first established destination wedding planners in St. John, in fact, she established herself 16 years ago before destination weddings became a popular idea. This is her only occupation versus being a wedding vendor who provides planning services. She has obtained national recognition by the knot and Travel Channel. There are other planners like Stacey that you can find off the islands’ official tourism site. Stacey also suggests checking message boards and forums about the planners but taking the advice with a grain of salt. Many of the planners work several weddings a day and there will be both happy and disgruntled customers. Keep in mind that wedding venues like resorts and cruise ships are subject to high turnover in their staff so if you hear about planners in these venues, there’s a good chance they may not be there anymore.

Wedding planner and popular officiant Anne-Marie Porter suggests, when looking for a planner:

  • Call the person and speak with them directly – speaking to someone once is better than 20 emails;
  • Ask for referrals and speak with them. You may learn that you don’t agree with someone’s style. It’s better to find that out early on than during your wedding.
  • Meet with them before ceremony once you get into St. John

Anne-Marie doesn’t earn commission off of referrals but she’s more than willing to help her brides find a vendor to create the wedding of her dreams.

Before contacting a wedding planner, make sure you have done your preliminary research and be prepared to share what you would like for your wedding.  You’ll want to give the planner enough information for them to help you.

Do you have any other helpful tips when finding a destination wedding planner?

by Christine | posted in Destination Wedding, Vendors | No Comments »

(This post is a continuation of a Destination Wedding Series using St. John and St. Thomas as an example)

It seems that customers in the wedding industry keep hearing the same message over and over: the price of weddings have gone down because people want less. Well, what if you still want the elaborate wedding on the beach and don’t want to cut out options due to budget? There are several resorts on both St. Thomas and St. John, but Caneel Bay really caught my eye. Resorts are ideal because they have a wedding coordinator and can help plan everything from the ceremony, reception, accommodations, and activities. Keep in mind that going with a resort is more hassle-free but at a bigger cost.

Big Fat Cake Co-Founder, Scott, is standing on a platform in one of several bays at Caneel Bay Resort

Big Fat Cake Co-Founder, Scott, is standing on a platform in one of several bays at Caneel Bay Resort

Caneel Bay grounds

Caneel Bay grounds

When you enter Caneel Bay, you actually enter a national park first. We took a taxi there and immediately saw deer and ferret-like dogs roaming on their grounds. We were told that there would be lots of donkeys but we didn’t see a single one. There are seven beaches on this resort and each one is absolutely beautiful and not crowded at all. The resort is an environmentally-focused hotel founded by Laurance Rockefeller and even has a bomb shelter for some of their important guests. Just to name a few, Al Gore and President Carter have stayed there (not together!).

The most popular times to get married at Caneel Bay is between April-May. FYI, most of Caneel Bay brides make their decisions over the phone and arrive several days before the wedding.

Ceremony at Turtle Bay at Caneel Bay Resort

The most common ceremony site is Turtle Bay for its privacy and breath-taking views. When you're standing at the point where the ceremony would occur, you can hear the water gently crashing up against the rocks.

This view is what you see when standing at the ceremony location.

This view is what you see when standing at the ceremony location. There are seven beaches at Caneel Bay.

The reception can happen at any of their restaurants, like Equator, and even at the Sugar Mill ruins. Reference the wedding photos on their site to see photos of a wedding setup. The Caneel Beach Terrace holds up to 250 guests but they can also accommodate smaller parties.

One of several reception location options that overlooks water and gardens

One of several reception location options that overlooks water and gardens

FYI, if you’re on Facebook, you can add yourself to the Caneel Bay fan page to automatically enter yourself into a chance to win a free four-night stay. This package valued at $4,150.50  includes a free four-night stay, complimentary Full American meal plan, and two ferry roundtrip transfers. A winner will be chosen on October 1st, 2009! Although I’d like to increase my chances by not telling anyone, I thought it would be an awesome story if one of our readers won the sweepstakes! :P

If you don’t do Caneel Bay but would like to have your ceremony at one of the other many beautiful beaches of St. John, you should consult with a non-resort wedding planner.

Next, I’ll share about how to find a non-resort wedding planner in St. John and St. Thomas and advice that they would like to pass on to you!

by Christine | posted in Destination Wedding, Vendors | No Comments »

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