Going Offshore

By Carole Buia Sunday, July 21, 2002
    • The top honeymoon destination for Americans has long been the Caribbean, but more resorts are pushing to close the loop and get the wedding business too. The best evidence is that Sandals, the fast-food king of island weddings, now markets the term weddingmoons. A decade ago, only 3% of couples wed abroad, but that number is 8% and rising, according to the Conde Nast Bridal Group. What's the draw? The weddings are memorable without being huge drains on money and time. That's because the weddings tend to be small: only really close friends will fly that far for you; your least favorite relatives will probably stay away. The average number of guests is under 50, but "we get a lot of couples whose guests lists are from four to 18," says Barbara Seiler of Weddings the Island Way. Most islands have only a short residency requirement (in Jamaica, for instance, it's one business day before the ceremony), don't require blood tests and charge $30 to $50 for marriage licenses. Resorts and planners can provide everything from the license to a helicopter. You can forgo the wedding dress too, says Seiler: "We've married couples in swim trunks and bikinis." White bikinis, of course.

    Hitching Coasts: Getting Married At the Top Three Wedding Destinations
    BAHAMAS
    7-DAY SAMPLE WEDDING PACKAGES (per couple)
    Sandals Royal Bahamian (all inclusive): $2,800 deluxe room

    HIGHLIGHTS
    Take at least 20 guests and an extra $1,500 to get married on Sandals' private island

    7-DAY SAMPLE WEDDING PACKAGES (per couple)
    Bahamas' Wedding Circle wedding planners: $4,800 for a beach wedding with 10 guests; $900 for a room at Comfort Suites

    HIGHLIGHTS
    For $3,500, you can have your ceremony in the water with dolphins

    U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS
    7-DAY SAMPLE WEDDING PACKAGES (per couple)
    Wyndham Sugar Bay (all inclusive) in St. Thomas: $2,040 for deluxe room

    HIGHLIGHTS
    For $3,200, Weddings the Island Way in St. Thomas will helicopter you and two guests to a private island

    7-DAY SAMPLE WEDDING PACKAGES (per couple)
    Caneel Bay in St. John: $10,000 for a full wedding reception with 20 guests; $2,400 for an ocean-view room

    HIGHLIGHTS
    Couple can split their stay between Caneel Bay and its sister resort, Little Dix Bay, on Virgin Gorda island

    JAMAICA
    7-DAY SAMPLE WEDDING PACKAGES (per couple)
    Sunset Beach (all inclusive): $350 for six guests; $1,620 for a bay-view room

    HIGHLIGHTS
    Includes a one-hour bamboo-raft trip on Jamaica's Great River

    7-DAY SAMPLE WEDDING PACKAGES (per couple)
    Couples Negril (all inclusive): $2,850 for a deluxe garden-view room

    HIGHLIGHTS
    Get married at one resort, like Negril, and fly to a sister resort in Ocho Rios for free