Top 10 Spots for Destination Weddings
Stephanie Avent
Plenty of us have dreamed about the details of our weddings for years: a flowing veil, a magnificent three-tiered cake, a bouquet of exotic flowers, and a pair of really cute flip-flops. Well, maybe the flip-flops weren’t part of the original plan, but more and more the background to a couple’s wedding daydream includes sparkling blue water; white, sandy beaches; plenty of sunshine; and an intimate group of their closest friends and family.
The trend toward choosing a destination wedding is still growing, and with good reason: who wouldn’t want to celebrate one of the most important days in their lives in a lovely vacation locale, where the scenery is stunning, the atmosphere is festive, and everyone seems relaxed and worry-free? If you hadn’t considered a destination wedding yet, we have a feeling you might be considering one by the time you’re done reading!
Here we’ve collected some of the top hot spots for destination weddings.
1. Hawaii: Kauai
Hawaii offers a host of beautiful islands for couples to choose from, each with distinctive treasures that make it different from the others. Kauai, the “garden island,” has some of the most breathtaking scenery beside which you can say “I do”: lush tropical gardens, fern-draped caves, waterfalls (including the 80-foot one featured in the opening sequence of Fantasy Island), and spectacular views of the Pacific. A majority (97 percent) of this exquisite island has been reserved for agriculture and conservation, allowing for its natural beauty to thrive.
Popular activities on the island are golf (the island boasts that it has the best in Hawaii), horseback riding, scuba diving, windsurfing, fishing, and hiking. With all of these options, it shouldn’t be hard to keep your wedding party busy—or happy.
2. Mexico: Cozumel
If you’re gonna go, you might as well go big! In Cozumel, you can get married underwater (diving equipment and boat rental are included in wedding packages), take in the majestic Nichupte Lagoon, and visit the Mayan Ruins with your wedding party, all in one visit—just imagine what your wedding album would look like!
Visitors to Cozumel, famous for its extraordinary coral reefs, prefer to pass the time with water sports such as diving, deep-sea fishing, snorkeling, and kayaking. Amazing sunsets, secluded beaches, thriving jungles, underground rivers, and swampy lagoons are just a few reasons to consider this island off the coast of the Yucatan Peninsula for your big day.
3. Nevada: Las Vegas
Viva Las Vegas! This city didn’t earn the status of the wedding capital of the world without reason. The Nevada hot spot, synonymous with gambling, showgirls, gourmet buffets, and lots of glitzy lights, has plenty to offer fun-loving, thrill-seeking couples. It has wedding services aplenty, ranging from the drive-through variety to top-notch packages offered by ritzy resorts. You can seal the deal at the tropical-themed Tropicana or at a dramatic Lake Las Vegas venue, where cobblestone courtyards, balconies, and gazebos are among your site choices and the mountains, desert, and Vegas skyline serve as your backdrop.
Other Vegas options include helicopter transportation, waterfalls, gondola weddings, yacht weddings, casino fun, and—of course—Elvis! And then there are the shows—who doesn’t love Cirque du Soleil?
4. Greece: Santorini
Ah, the mysterious and beautiful Greek island of Santorini: imagine exchanging your wedding vows on a high cliff, beneath a multicolored sunset, overlooking the Aegean Sea. After the ceremony you can hop on an adorned donkey (a Greek tradition) and star in a procession led by Greek musicians, winding through the streets toward your celebration while townspeople cheer and throw flowers and fireworks explode in the sky overhead. Hopa! Now that’s something to stomp your feet over!
If donkeys don’t do it for you, perhaps volcanic mountains, velvety black-sand beaches, bountiful vineyards and gardens, yacht charters to the other islands, buried cities, castles, quaint villages, and exquisite architecture will.
5. Bahamas: Nassau
Nassau is the epitome of tropical paradise. Grab one of those yummy umbrella-garnished drinks and listen up: this island, with a colorful heritage that traces back through Blackbeard’s shipwrecking days, has wild birds and vibrant flowers, silky beaches with crashing waves of the clearest water in the world, and palm trees galore, all awaiting the arrival of your wedding party. You may also tie the knot in a tropical garden, a traditional church setting, or a 14th-century garden overlooking Nassau Harbour. If you’ve always had an affinity for streamlined, slippery mammals, you can even have dolphins as a part of your wedding experience.
Nassau has plenty to keep you busy before and after the wedding, too: great shopping; an aquarium; a pulsating nightlife, and an abundance of posh resort hotels, casinos, and cabaret shows. The sightseers and history buffs in your wedding group will appreciate the island’s colonial mansions, cathedrals, and ancient forts. What’s not to love?
6. Italy: Tuscany
The perfect setting for a fairy tale wedding, Tuscany, Italy, simply abounds with romance. Picture an intimate celebration at a winery in Chianti. The landscape is made up of green rolling hills, olive and cypress trees, sunflowers, poppies, and shimmering golden wheat. Elegant grapevines twist through the surrounding vineyards, and in the distance Etruscan walls encircle the lovely countryside. The happy newlyweds sit on the terrace, by candlelight, sipping on prosecco. Now that’s amore!
Just when you thought that it couldn’t possibly get more romantic, there’s more: other options for Tuscan ceremonies and receptions include medieval chapels, castles, Renaissance villas, city squares, charming farmhouses, and even hot air balloons! To make your day extra special, splurge on a Ferrari rental or arrange a wine tasting for your guests.
7. Florida: Orlando
It seems that the mouse still has it. Orlando, home of Walt Disney World and of Mickey Mouse and friends, is one of the most popular destination spots in the United States. What princess bride wouldn’t want to get married in the Magic Kingdom, in front of Cinderella’s castle, at an international Epcot destination (these include Germany, Japan, and China), or beneath starry skies accompanied by a stunning fireworks display? If the theme park options don’t interest you, you will also find swanky resorts, pavilions, and ballrooms at Disney. Apparently, when you wish upon a star, anything your heart desires will come to you.
Disney is not all Orlando has to offer brides- and grooms-to-be. You can exchange vows on one of its pristine beaches or in a beautiful garden setting or choose to be really adventurous and partake of one of the many specialty wedding packages the city offers. These include lighthouse, rodeo, medieval, pirate, skydiving, Titanic, skycoaster, tiger, and Sea World weddings. Indeed, Orlando has something for everyone.
8. Jamaica: Negril
Private villas, gently swaying hammocks, ivory beaches, grotto-lined cliffs, cotton trees: Negril is best known for its tranquility and natural beauty. Beach weddings are the most popular type here and it’s evident why. They generally go something like this: the groom stands beneath a flawless azure sky and waits while his bride glides through an aisle of white sand that has been delicately strewn with rose petals. Tropical scents waft through the air as the couple turns to face a flower-covered altar that overlooks the sparkling Caribbean Sea. Sigh.
If you choose to visit this lovely, laid-back island, there a few things you must do. First, treat your wedding party to presunset entertainment at Rick's Café, where athletes perform daredevil dives from a 30-foot cliff that towers beside the local hot spot. Second, go down to the beach in the evening and get down to some live reggae music. Finally, get in the water. With its remarkable coral reefs and calm, clear waters, Negril is a diver’s paradise. And if you’d rather keep your head above the waves, you’ll find that local companies offer numerous additional water sports, including leisurely catamaran cruises.
9. Scotland: Edinburgh
Have you ever wondered what it feels like to be treated like royalty? If you choose to have your wedding at one of Edinburgh’s elegant castles or manors, you’ll leave—in a horse-drawn carriage, of course—with a good idea. The enchanting town, rich in history and tradition, offers a host of prestigious wedding services that perfectly complement the rich beauty and natural wonders for which it is renowned. The Scottish countryside has mountains; glens; lakes; abbeys; castles; stately homes; and lavish, secluded hotels. Weddings are typically celebrated in true Scottish fashion, with the groom in a kilt and the bride in traditional Highland dress, and with bagpipes, Gaelic blessings, and a ceilidh band. The horse-drawn carriage or vintage wedding cars are optional, but in what other fashion would you choose to leave your castle?
Another fun wedding alternative is to charter what has been called the world’s most luxurious train, the Royal Scotsman, for your big day and enjoy royal treatment as you are carried through the ever-changing landscapes of the Scottish countryside. In your downtime you may partake in a ghost tour, a history walk, or a whiskey tasting.
Outdoor sporting options include cycling, horseback riding, hiking, climbing, white-water rafting, canoeing, skiing, and snowboarding.
10. Cruise Ship Wedding
Cruise ship weddings are highly regarded for the wide range of choices they offer, the convenience, and the fun factor. You get to choose from a vast number of sites. Onboard locations include the rock-climbing wall, ice-skating rink, and golf course. At a destination locations may include jungle, vineyard, castle, and rainforest settings. And you get to choose from a vast number of cruises that take you to numerous ports of call all over the world. Set sail for the Virgin Islands, Miami, Alaska, New England, Hawaii, Italy, the Panama Canal, the Mediterranean, Canada, the Greek Isles . . . you get the picture.
Wedding cruise packages generally take care of every last detail for you, from limo transportation to the pier to chocolate-covered strawberries in your room at bedtime. Excursions range from dolphin encounters and parasailing to submarine ride and jeep safaris. The best part is that everything is done for you—you simply show up and say “I do.” Get on board—the love boat’s expecting you.
Local Brides Share Their Destination Wedding Stories
Holly Nelson and Randy Travers of Easton recently celebrated their destination wedding in Negril, Jamaica. The bride kindly answered a few questions for us upon their return.
What’s Up? Magazine: What made you decide on a destination wedding?
Holly Nelson: I always dreamed of getting married on the beach, by the water. I traveled to the Caribbean for family vacations from a very young age and when Randy and I started dating he got hooked on traveling for vacation also. He proposed to me on the beach, under the night sky filled with stars! I also knew I wanted our pastor to be involved in our marriage, as well as our family and friends who would not be able to make the trip. So we got the best of both worlds by marrying in Negril, Jamaica, and having a blessing ceremony and reception at my parents’ gorgeous home by the water in Easton.
WU?: What are some of the pros and cons?
HN: The pros are having a wedding coordinator who basically takes care of everything at the resort; having some time to relax before and after the big day; and, obviously, the beauty of the location. The cons were having to give up a great deal of control in the planning details of the Jamaica wedding—the food, flowers, music, and photography—and trusting that the wedding coordinator would pull everything off after we first arrived.
WU?: How did you choose the destination?
HN: Negril had been one of our best trips ever! The resort was brand new when we first went in 2004—it was beautiful and peaceful, the people were so kind, the weather was fantastic, and the nightlife and music were great.
WU?: Describe your wedding experience.
HN: It was like a dream come true! Every part from beginning to end was perfect—from taking everyone to Rick’s Café and listening to a live reggae band, to Randy and his family blessing the wedding site, and the bridal party looking so perfectly coordinated in tropical kiwi green and cream linen. A mento band played in the background and we recited our vows to one another with the sound of the seawater trickling in. We celebrated with 24 of our closest family and friends, had a wonderful dinner, and had a delivered breakfast the next day on our ocean-front deck!
WU?: How did you make all the arrangements?
HN: I tried to get as much information as I could ahead of time through e-mails with the coordinator. This allowed us to reserve the location and time and the restaurant we chose for dinner. Everything else is done once you arrive and there is basically a list of menu items or packages you choose from. We waited to make our music selection until we had a chance to hear a few bands perform.
WU?: Would you recommend this type of wedding to someone else? If so, why?
HN: Yes, for all of the reasons I just described.
Freelance writer and frequent What’s Up?
contributor Maria Bellos Fisher and her husband, Matt, recently married in Las Vegas. These two took a gamble and discovered they were lucky in love.
What’s Up? Magazine: What made you decide on a destination wedding?
Maria Bellos Fisher: Matt proposed last November, during a trip to Key West. It was an amazing proposal, in front of all of our friends, on a sunset cruise. We’d been tossing around wedding planning for some time, and it all seemed so complicated and expensive. This is the second marriage for both of us. The last time I got married I swore that if I ever did it again it would be in Vegas. It took five minutes of discussion and it was decided—Las Vegas would be our wedding destination.
WU?: What are some of the pros and cons?
MBF: Matt wanted a big party and the task of planning another big wedding intimidated me. The Las Vegas solution made planning easy. I’m glad we did it there. The cons were that I booked during the NBA All-Star game and on President’s Day weekend. Hotel rooms were expensive and the city services could not handle the volume and traffic.
WU?: Describe your wedding experience.
MBF: The day of the wedding I had booked a manicure and pedicure and had my hair and makeup done at the hotel’s salon. I met the female contingent of our guests there and had a girl’s salon day. My various treatments had me busy up until an hour before the ceremony, so we went straight up to the room to get ready afterwards. We went down to the chapel and outside to the gazebo. The wedding staff instructed me where to go. The minister performed a nice, simple ceremony, and we both choked up while reciting vows. We spent about 45 minutes with the chapel’s photographer, and then met up with our friends to go to New York, New York for drinks and dinner. I wore my wedding dress all night and shouts of “Congratulations!” greeted me everywhere.
WU?: How did you make all the arrangements?
MBF: We had planned to stay at the Tropicana, so we checked out the chapel there. It turned out to be tropical-themed and since we are both active Parrot Heads [Jimmy Buffet fans to the uninitiated], it was perfect. We chose a package that included the chapel, music, bouquet and boutonniere, photos, a bridal garter, and champagne. Three weeks before the wedding the wedding planner called and asked what color flowers and what type of processional music I wanted. I chose peach and traditional.
WU?: Would you recommend this type of wedding to someone else? If so, why?
MBF: I highly recommend the Vegas wedding! Incidentally, my husband was only down $15 when we left, so I guess we were lucky in love!
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