Help! Reception sites in St. Thomas

[e223s]

Hi everyone!

 

I am brand new to this site, just signed up! I have already seen so much helpful information! You all seem very wise and I was hoping I could seek your help! I am setting sail on my Wedding Cruise next April, getting married in St. Thomas on April 6, 2010! I am NOT going through TWE as I have already had poor experiences with them and I've only just begun planning! My question is..... I'm looking for opinon's on wedding reception sites on St. Thomas. My WC has given me a few options that I am looking into, but I feel like I need to base my decision on more. We are looking to do just something simple, casual and fun! Either heavy apps or a light lunch with LOTS of drinking ;). Any suggestions you may have I would really appreciate! Thanks everyone!

[esbie11]

Wow your post sounds like something I could have written last year! I am also getting married in St. Thomas in 2 weeks, had a bad experience with TWE, and decided to use a private WC on the island. I am using Leslie from Perfect Weddings of St. Thomas. We are having a luncheon reception after our ceremony, with just appetizers and unlimited rum punch and beer (and wedding cake, of course!). We are getting married at Bluebeard's Beach. I liked this location because it is AT the beach, but not ON the beach, which I preferred. I didn't want to deal with the sand and potential sunbathers in the background. There is a grassy area with palm trees that overlooks the ocean and it was just what I wanted! The ceremony is at 11am, and the reception is from 12-2. I have been working with Leslie for a long time now, and she has been wonderful every step of the way and very interested in making your day special and unique for you. I guess I can write a better review when we get back in a few weeks!!:D:D:D

[e223s]

2 weeks away from the big day! That's amazing! Congrats! I worked a little with Leslie (picked up her name from this site) but ended up booking with Janelle (also picked up from this site) and everything has been great so far.... of course, there hasn't been much planned yet! Janelle suggested a beach reception very similar to yours and the pricing is very reasonable... my ONLY drawback is that my group is well.... honestly.... a bunch of drinkers, and I feel like beer and rum punch isn't going to be enough! Please let me know how everything went when you get back! I can't wait to hear details! Are you having a steel drum player or another type of music? I'll probably have many questions for you upon your return! Have an AMAZING wedding and trip!!! :D:D:D Thanks for your reply!

[coasterfreak]

2 weeks away from the big day! That's amazing! Congrats! I worked a little with Leslie (picked up her name from this site) but ended up booking with Janelle (also picked up from this site) and everything has been great so far.... of course, there hasn't been much planned yet! Janelle suggested a beach reception very similar to yours and the pricing is very reasonable... my ONLY drawback is that my group is well.... honestly.... a bunch of drinkers, and I feel like beer and rum punch isn't going to be enough! Please let me know how everything went when you get back! I can't wait to hear details! Are you having a steel drum player or another type of music? I'll probably have many questions for you upon your return! Have an AMAZING wedding and trip!!! :D:D:D Thanks for your reply!

 

Congrats on your upcoming wedding. I had my wedding and lunch reception at magen's bay beach in January. They have covered pavillions there that your WC can reserve for the lunch or appetizer reception. I don't know the price off-hand because it was part of the package.

 

I also had a lot of drinkers in my group of 60. My wedding coordinator (Angela from paradise bridal consultants) went to the liquor store and picked up $250 worth of beer, wine, and hard liquor and set up a serve yourself bar. It worked out really well and there was more than enough booze.

[amattingly81]

I am getting married 4/21/09 in St. Thomas through Carnival. TWE doesn't actually plan the Carnival weddings for St. Thomas. A company called Royal Wed or Royal Ocean Events does and they couldn't have been more helpful with everything. Everytime I emailed, I received a response within an hour and I probably asked a million questions. Good Luck!:)

[esbie11]

I am getting married 4/21/09 in St. Thomas through Carnival. TWE doesn't actually plan the Carnival weddings for St. Thomas. A company called Royal Wed or Royal Ocean Events does and they couldn't have been more helpful with everything. Everytime I emailed, I received a response within an hour and I probably asked a million questions. Good Luck!:)

 

I'm getting married that day too! I am sailing on RC but have a private WC. What beach?:D

[msdeb1107]

Hey, esbie11, hope you will do a nice write-up of your wedding when you get back, complete with photos. You're even closer to The Day than I am. Are you as excited/terrified as I am? lol

 

GOOD LUCK!

[msdeb1107]

forgive :)

[esbie11]

Hey, esbie11, hope you will do a nice write-up of your wedding when you get back, complete with photos. You're even closer to The Day than I am. Are you as excited/terrified as I am? lol

 

GOOD LUCK!

 

Sure I will definitely do a write-up when I get back!:) Oddly enough, I am not worried at all about the wedding itself...more worried about other things like the airline or cruiseline losing our luggage (THAT would be DISASTEROUS!), getting hit by a rogue wave:eek:, or having all of our guests getting seasick since they have never cruised before. As long as those things don't happen, I think I can handle anything else (gee I hope I didn't just jinx myself!) But I am very excited and ready to stop all of the talking about it, planning, and preparing and do this already!!!:D

[e223s]

esbie... what airline are you flying? we haven't even started looking into flights yet, but I heard that some airlines aren't letting you bring your dress on as a carry-on anymore due to everyone having more carry-on's due to checked luggage being charged. I'd rather ship it to our hotel in Miami since we have to fly in the night before since I live on the west coast, than check it in my luggage!

 

I'm really starting to think a beachside reception is the way to go, thanks for everyone's input. Plus we plan to have dinner with everyone once back on the boat that night, so we really don't need to go all out during the day.

 

For those who have already been married in St. Thomas.... what beach did you get married on and did you have your reception there? I don't know what beach to pick!

[esbie11]

esbie... what airline are you flying? we haven't even started looking into flights yet, but I heard that some airlines aren't letting you bring your dress on as a carry-on anymore due to everyone having more carry-on's due to checked luggage being charged. I'd rather ship it to our hotel in Miami since we have to fly in the night before since I live on the west coast, than check it in my luggage!

 

I'm really starting to think a beachside reception is the way to go, thanks for everyone's input. Plus we plan to have dinner with everyone once back on the boat that night, so we really don't need to go all out during the day.

 

For those who have already been married in St. Thomas.... what beach did you get married on and did you have your reception there? I don't know what beach to pick!

 

I am flying on Continental, although my mother already flew with my dress on US Airways and she will be driving it to the cruiseport in NJ. I am also on anothe forum for destination brides and EVERY SINGLE one of them has brought their dress as a carry on. It will count as your one carry on item, but they cant not let you bring it. You may or may not be able to hang it in a closet, but they cant refuse to let you carry it on...at least not that I have heard of. I WOULD NOT ship your dress!! It is way to risky in my opinion! I just shipped some things to my WC and about had a heart attack when the USPS told me that it was "undeliverable." As it turns out, it WAS delivered, but somehwere along the way the tracking got messed up so I spent 2 full days panicking and trying to track down my stuff...and that was using Express mail with insurance...not cheap. Many many many brides carry their wedding dress on an airplane, so don't worry.

And I agree with you about not going all out during the day. I was going to mention that to you. My guests like to drink too, but our ceremony is at 11am, so everyone will have all day and night to party and drink. I dont think it is necessary to go all out so early on in the day or else I would be afraid most guests wouldnt even make it to dinner! There is no shortage of alcohol on cruiseships:D

[PrettyHazardous]

Hey Guys

I have been reading this thread for a while and since this is kinda my issue I'm surprised I didn't say anything yet but:confused:...

Regarding shipping your gown to the hotel I totally agree with Esbie that no no no. I would never ever ever do that. It's way too big of a risk. And I've heard many brides say that they had no problem carrying the dresses on. Again you may not be able to hang it up but you can lay it down in the overhead compartment...

Regarding the Reception site. This has been a big issue for us as well. We wanted something at an open air rest on the beach but A. Our wedding is on Lindquist beach which doesn't really have anything there B. None of the places we contacted really worked. My WC Janelle has a mtg this week with the Grille (Resturant at the Mahogoney Golf Course) and we may be having our reception there. Our wedding is also at 11am so we'll be doing a luchtime reception followed by an island tour. And then we'll just do dinner on the ship. Although we wanted an outdoor reception we'vel heard the horror stories of sand blowing into ur food etc so we're content with the indoor place esp since the price per plate is soo much cheaper than what we were hearing.

Good Luck in ur decision.

[6rugrats]

I agree with not shipping the dress. As to taking it on the plane - I have been on many, many flights in the last three months and on almost all the domestic ones, the plane was packed and overhead bin space was crammed full. People were forced to gate check bags. I have no doubt you would be able to carry your gown on, but don't count on any closet space, if there is any it's for F and still very crowded. Also, on most of these flights, you would not have been able to lay your dress flat, so be prepared to have it ironed/steamed at your destination.

 

IMO, your best bet is to appeal to the FAs when you board, tell them it's a wedding dress and see if they can hang it for you. You could get lucky. Hopefully, you will not hit one in the middle of a bitter divorce :).

[amattingly81]

We decided to get married at a Villa instead of the beach! We might still go to a beach to get pictures though. Good Luck to you and I hope we have nice weather.

[xxjulzxx]

Our wedding is on Lindquist beach which doesn't really have anything there B. None of the places we contacted really worked. My WC Janelle has a mtg this week with the Grille (Resturant at the Mahogoney Golf Course)

 

You will LOOOOOVEE Lindquist Beach and Janelle!

[WeddingCruisers]

I agree with not shipping the dress. As to taking it on the plane - I have been on many, many flights in the last three months and on almost all the domestic ones, the plane was packed and overhead bin space was crammed full. People were forced to gate check bags. I have no doubt you would be able to carry your gown on, but don't count on any closet space, if there is any it's for F and still very crowded. Also, on most of these flights, you would not have been able to lay your dress flat, so be prepared to have it ironed/steamed at your destination.

 

IMO, your best bet is to appeal to the FAs when you board, tell them it's a wedding dress and see if they can hang it for you. You could get lucky. Hopefully, you will not hit one in the middle of a bitter divorce :).

 

 

I leave in 10 days and my bridal shop has suggested that if there is no closet space available, that I try and get away with holding it in my lap. She said to put the hanger side down, between my feet, fold the bag over once and that in most cases the flight attendants won't notice, or, if they do, they won't give you a hard time because you're the bride! :)