St Thomas reception confusion!

[JessicaLovesBrian]

Originally Posted by petunia

Jessica,

I've been to Iggie's Wednesday night all-you-can-eat Caribbean buffet and entertainment, lots of fun. But how did you swing your reception? Did you have a separate menu, or just pay for everyone to take part in the buffet? Did Iggie's have a problem with it? How many guests were there. My fiance (by the way....what does "FI" stand for?) loves Iggie's and when I told him about your reception he thought it was a great idea. I'm also looking into Coral World, but have no idea of the prices. Catered Events & Weddings (Coral World Ocean Park, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands)

Gerie

Originally Posted by S2BLennon

MY FI read your post about the wedding there and loves that idea. The quesiton is will we be fortunate enough to be lucky that all the entertainment is going on the day we were planning on getting married?!

Did you tell them in advance that you were all going there and having the reception there? Or did you just all show up and party? Were you staying at that resort also / a guest at Iggies for the night?

I will check out Mafolie's, I was talking to my TA today and she suggested calling the travel and tourism beureua in NY for options.

Something will come up!

My WC got in touch with the event coordinator at Bolongo, so yes, it was a planned reception at Iggie's. They knew we were having a wedding reception there and the hostess of the entertainment even announced it!

We got to choose our food from a menu. We got to pick to main entrees, three sides and dessert. The food was served family style, so guests didn't have to pick if they wanted steak or chicken in advance. The food we picked from the larger menu was all placed at each table and guests got to pick from there. We had 20 guests total. Iggies reserved a section of tables on the beach for us and set up our centerpieces and favors. We also had the option of reserving the covered dining area off to one side of the bar, but I opted for beach front seating.

I still have the document they sent me about all of their reception options (includes prices, food choices, location choices, etc). If either of you want me to send it to you, PM me with your email and I'll send it over. My wedding was in May 2007, so I don't know if the prices changed, but at least you'll have an idea if this is something you want to consider.

Carnival night is every Wednesday, but I think there is a time in the year when they don't do it. I'm not sure what month(s) that is though. However, since the reception was planned, and they knew I wanted to do it on a carnival night, they verified that carnival night would be held when we were there.

We ddn't stay at Bolongo. Some of our guests did. It's a pretty low key hotel. Nothing fancy, but they didn't have any complaints. Brian and I rented a studio villa for our stay on the island.

LMK if you have any more questions. I'll be happy to help!

PS. One of the days we went to Coral World, we saw a wedding being held there. It was very pretty! That was going to be my second choice!

St. Thomas Wedding Receptions | Wedding Receptions in St. Thomas US Virgin Islands was also another site I was looking at.

[S2BLennon]

Thanks Jessica!

I have been on Bongolo's web site and all the menu's and pricing for locals is on there. I think it is more in our budget than the Mariott at $85 a plate that's for sure!

I really love the Mariott for lodging so I think that we will stick with that. Even though it appears that the Bongolo condo's would be a great option for a cheaper vaca! I will have to check on the price point differences!

So Jessica, were your tables set up on the beach but it was part of the public bar so there were other people floating around? And did you have any issues with those bugs mentioned? Was dancing on a dance floor / on the sand? I love that you had entertainment since there will be a lot of dancers with us!

Does anyone know of a bride that has had their wedding on the catamaran? I am thinking that we can do the ceremony on the catamaran and then go to Iggies for late night! Could be fun!

Regarding Angela's reception, I am wondering if it's paper plates?

I got a response from her and after telling her my budget she told me that we could have the ceremony and reception there for what we were looking at. I guess I am looking for pics to have a better visual!

But now I am thinking that the catamaran idea would be really cool! Especially since I think that they can pick us up at the Mariott!

So much to think about. So I made a pro's and con's list and am down to 4 options for the ceremony and reception local! Wish me luck!

[JessicaLovesBrian]

Originally Posted by S2BLennon

So Jessica, were your tables set up on the beach but it was part of the public bar so there were other people floating around? And did you have any issues with those bugs mentioned? Was dancing on a dance floor / on the sand? I love that you had entertainment since there will be a lot of dancers with us!!

Yeah, our tables were set up on the beach among the public bar. Which was fine. No one bothered us (except to say "congratulations" as we passed people, but really it was fine. There is the private room though if you would prefer to be seperated, but where we were located, we could easily see the entertainment without leaving our seats.

We didn't really have a big issue. However most of us already had bug bites from just being on the island for a few days beforehand. I was basically attacked by bugs 24/7 no matter where I was!

There was a dance floor on the sand in front of the live band.

[S2BLennon]

Good to know about the bugs! We have spent the weekend just making out lists and checking out web sites of where we want to stay and have the wedding- it just seems to get more confusing because the more I look the more there is to do! And if I had indespensible income I would know in a second, but we are trying to keep it really resonable expense wise, otherwise I will not have an AHR!

So I just came back from Barnes and Nobles and purchased books on travel in USVI. I hope to read it and narrow it down.

Also, there are great recources on usvitourism.vi.com BTW!

I am so happy to have met you all! It is nice to have a common thread where we are all planning for the same local!

[petunia]

USVI Vacation Message Board :: Virgin Islands Now is another great place to get information. It's a message board frequented by many residents of St. Thomas and occasionally former island brides will post. You can ask lots of questions there and usually get some helpful responses.

[S2BLennon]

Well I hate to do this ladies! Thank you for your great advice but I am not doing St Thomas any longer. After a HELL weekend, Fi and I decided to go with our gut and keep things as easy as possible in planning. Which means going to an AI, and as we know there is nothing like that on St Thomas. i do plan on visiting at some point.

I have done so much research on St Thomas, and saved files, recieved price points, that as I come across good info that i have saved, I will make sure to check back and update you to assist with your planning!

In such a short time I feel like I got to know some of you! I will still be on the forum.... Just as a Dream's Punta Cana bride.

[LadyP]

there are AI in St Thomas my guests are staying at an AI

[S2BLennon]

Yeah, there are a few AI options, but it ends up being well more expensive than an island that AI's are catered after. That is what the hotels informed me of when we visited also, AI is an option.

[sherri]

Just to add some thoughts!
I was helping a girlfriend with her wedding and we went thru many options (trying to keep things affordable)!
Blue Moon at Secret Harbor had some decent prices per plate, NOTHING like Frenchman's Reef in cost!
We ended up doing this. She rented Ballagio Estate thru McLaughlin Anderson Vacation Villas. We held the ceremony at Magen' Bay and then went on the the villa for a catered brunch! If I recall right, the caterer charged $20 per person! They could have held the ceremony at the villa as well if they had chosen to and the villa owner was willing to work with us and did not charge extra as the guests were all staying there anyway!
The Reef sounds way too expensive and like someone mentioned earlier, if you want that kind of service, you can simply do that back home!
Good luck in your searches!

[Yvette]

We were having the same issue. We are staying at the Wyndham on St Thomas and tried planning the wedding & reception there but it was way too expensive. So we found a wedding planner who has been fabulous! (Island Style Weddings) Mary is taking very good care of us. Plus you get a lot more for your money, well at least I think so. Our plan is still to stay on St Thomas but get married on St John. Then for a small reception we will head to Morgan's Mango. We will offer appetizers and drinks to our guests and if they choose to do dinner that will be on them. (do what you gotta do)

No one will judge, this is the whole reasoning behind having a destination wedding! For most of us it's just not in our budget to have an all to do. Hope I helped a little. =0 )