katzen

My SIL (sister-in-law) has asked me to help in 'researching' places to get married. Hawaii is her first choice, but may too expensive (we live in D.C.) so we decided to also look at the U.S. Virgin Islands.

She is interested in getting married (location wise) on a cliff overlooking the ocean, a tropical garden or a waterfall.

I have never been to the Virgin Islands so thought I would post a few questions in the hopes I would get some helpful replies. A few of my initial questions are:

1. Which island offers either one or all of the above 'wedding locations' and may possibly be the nicest to get married on?

2. What time of the year has the nicest weather (not too hot)?

3. What time of year is the cheapest for flights and hotels?

4. Does anyone have any personal experience with getting married on any of the islands?


I should mention that there will be at the most 15 of us at the wedding.

Thank you for your help!!

bluefan

1. nicest - Caneel Bay, St John (but it won't be cheaper than all but the best in Hawaii)
http://www.caneelbay.com/meet.cfm
other photos:
http://www.blueglassphotography.com/gallery_caneel.html

2. winter (Dec - Mar) has nicest weather, but peak season (most expensive)

3. summer (Jun - Oct) is the cheapest, but hurricane season

best value periods to visit are the shoulder seasons: April and May or Nov to early Dec

Carrybean

There are lots of options on St. Thomas or St. John.

St. Thomas:
Marriott's Frenchman's Reef has a gazebo in a lovely setting on St. Thomas overlooking the water. I think there's also a nice venue at Wyndham Sugar Bay which might be less expensive.

St. Peter Greathouse also would have a tropical garden setting with water views:
www.greathouse-mountaintop.com/

Villa Botanica is another site for weddings.

Also Fantasia weddings might be helpful:
www.fantasiaweddings.com

Ceremonies of St. John is one you might be interested in:
www.usviwedding.com

Carrybean

Peak hurricane season is September & October which are usually the hottest months of the year due to lack of cooling tradewinds.

May, June or July are fine for weddings & more is usually in bloom at that time plus the island isn't as busy.

You might also check out Secret Harbour which are condos right on a nice beach with a good restaurant on the property. That might be a comfortable place for you all to stay.

The florist I always use here on St. Thomas is Forever Flowers & they also do wedding flowers:
virginislandsweddingflowers.com

Hope this helps.

ccrosner

You've been given good weather advice. I would just encourage you to look at The Buccaneer on St. Croix as an option. They do weddings in several locations on the property but I think the sugar mill, on a hill overlooking the Caribbean, is the best spot and would be perfect for 15 people.

lovethecape

Hotel and villa rates usualy go down by mid-April - some as much as 1/3. I would think April, May and early June would be great before the school children are on summer vacation. We have visited the Caribbean in April for the past 4 years and have always had great weather.

katzen

Thank you for the quick, great responses. I will pass on all the valuable information to my SIL. She will be thrilled!!

KVR

I agree with Estate St. Peter Greathouse in St. Thomas. It is a gorgeus house with gardens, a water feature and a huge white wrought iron gazebo loverlooking Magen's Bay. Great for a wedding and they have rooms for the reception.

We went in May and the price was right and it wasn't too hot.

Tuxedocat

I second Carrybean's suggestion of the Marriott at Frenchman's Reef. It's on what you could call a cliff, it's got an interesting multi-level structure down the face of this cliff and a very nice facility overall. I think it's also reasonable compared to other sites.

kellybeaches

Katzen,
Oh my gosh, I just read what your sister-in-law is looking for, and I have the PERFECT place for what you describe! I’ve been to Kauai and Maui, and the closest island we’ve been to that matches Kauai north shore (which we loved) is hands down St. Lucia (note that in the Virgin Islands I’ve also been to St. Thomas, St. John, Jost Van Dyke, Virgin Gorda). The Virgin Islands are beautiful, but not as similar to Hawaii’s terrain and lushness as St. Lucia. And, if they want a cliff type wedding, they must check out Stonefield Resort on the south shore of St. Lucia. The Pitet Piton rises up from the ocean as a backdrop with sunsets to die for. There is just the right amount of room for a wedding party of 15 or so. I really think this place fits their criteria. Also, it’s set up so that you rent private villas with private plunge pools but share the main restaurant, so everyone can be together yet have their privacy. To answer some of your questions: best weather-high season (aka nicest weather, although we were there in off season and it was fine) November-May. Time of year for cheapest flights/hotels-go in the off season. We went over Memorial Day week and got the discounted rate. We weren’t married on an island, but if I had to choose a place, this would be it! They have wedding packages and TONS to do there too.

The link to stonefield is: stonefieldvillas.com

And the link to my pictures is:
http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLan...share&Ux=0

Good luck!

travelhappyfamily

If she's still considering USVI, I can also recommend the Marriott Frenchman's Reef, from personal experience. We renewed our vows there (three years ago) with a full ceremony, in the garden on the hill overlooking the bay - it was a beautiful location. The wedding coordinators were *very* helpful and accomodating (gift baskets, champagne and food goodies during our entire stay). And there are rocks down by the beach that made some beautifully dramatic photos at sunset.

=)

katzen

Thank you for all the very helpful responses since I last posted!!! I'm forwarding them on to my SIL. I'm sure we'll have tons more questions once she gets a better idea of exactly where she wants to get married!!

katzen

Kelly, thank you for sharing your photos - they were beautiful. The sunsets were amazing and I noticed a few waterfalls!!