buttertart

Congrats and best wishes! I don't have any experience with planners but I really like the Hyatt key West for a wedding and reception site. The wedding coordinator is Ava and she's super helpful. Another marriage site that looked really cool is Fort Zachary Taylor. Good luck!

Happy New Year, everyone! Here’s some info for those of you interested in getting married in Key West. My wedding date is Feb 10, 2010. I am having a traditional Catholic ceremony at Saint Mary Star of the Sea Church and my reception will be at the Hyatt Key West Resort. I’m posting this info because I wasn’t able to find much on Key West weddings, especially Catholic ceremonies, so I hope this may help a few of you. Ok, I am from MI and extremely unorganized so ORIGINALY I planned to get married in the Dominican Republic and pick package A, B or C and be done with it. Unfortunately I found out (in Nov 2009) that my Catholic ceremony in the Dominican Republic would NOT be legally recognized in the States (unless you get married in a civil ceremony in the States beforehand…which is not condoned by the Roman Catholic church. A Catch-22 for sure). Since getting married before I got married sort of defeated the purpose, so I decided to get married in the US. I had my heart set on a destination wedding and decided on the southernmost point in the US, Key West. I contacted the only Catholic church on the island: St Mary Star of the Sea. It’s picturesque and it was featured in a James Bond film. Kathy is the wedding coordinator and she’s SO SO sweet and very helpful. I was told that in order to reserve my date I have to: 1) Get permission from the priest at my local parish (thankfully I was already a member) 2) Ask my priest to send a letter of permission/ request to the archdiocese in Miami, FL 3) Take the required Pre-Cana classes 4) Submit a donation (recommended: $500) After I squared that away, I hunkered down to find a resort for my reception. My requirements: 1)Modern, updated rooms 2)Near Duvall Street (the tourist-area that has lots of nightlife) 3)Reasonably priced Most resorts in Key West offer wedding packages that include a ceremony site on the resort grounds and a catered reception to follow. I tried to book the Casa Marina in Key West. They required a $2000 site fee (pretty much every place requires a site fee). I informed them that I don’t need a ceremony site and they weren’t willing to budge on the $2000 which is a PITY since I had 20 confirmed guests (read: 10 rooms staying 4 nights at $300+/night= $12,000 + in lodging), so I looked at Southermost Resorts and Hyatt Key West Resort. Both contacts were very nice and were willing to work with me on the site fees, but I just LOVE the Hyatt’s updated décor – really modern and clean – and I can’t express how beautiful the reception location is: it has an outdoor patio that wraps around building and the inside is gorgeous. But the real kicker was AVA, the wedding coordinator. Talk about a can-do person! She has held my hand every step of the way and worked within our budget to create a menu and that’s way nice (and it even includes a cake by Key West Wedding and Specialty Cakes - Key West Cakes - Key West Florida 1)she worked with us and central registration to get us a multi-room discount (if we booked a certain number of nights, they provided a discount that is 47% off the regular rate!) 2)she worked out a menu that was within our budget (make sure you ASK her – don’t get discouraged by the prices you see online!) 3)offered suggestions for vendors I hit her with all of this at the last minute and I am SO happy with my experience so far. I HIGHLY suggest that anyone having a wedding in Key West consider the Hyatt Key West. I’m getting excited – FINALLY! My wedding’s in 5 weeks and I just have to work on getting a dj – ANY SUGGESTIONS WOULD BE APPRECIATED! I’ll post more info as it comes and I am more than happy to answer questions and give more detailed information/ pricing and contact phone numbers. hyatt key west: Key West Weddings- Hyatt Resort & Spa- Key West Florida Wedding, Destinations saint mary star of the sea: Saint Mary Star of the Sea Catholic Parish

My fiance surprised me with the perfect ring for me! 2.2 Ascher cut set in yellow gold. I know that a lot of people are wearing platinum/white gold, but I just LOVE yellow.

Thanks for the great review - Paridisus is one of the resorts I'm considering and your review was helpful! You look and your party look FAB! Best wishes

I was engaged 08/08 and I'm planning to marry in early 2010. I've poked my head in a few times but never posted. THe informative posts, lovely pictures and thoughtful reviews on this forum are SO helpful! Thanks for helping me to realize that my dream beach wedding is do-able! Because the economy's tight, I figured it might just be me and my fiance, but when I announced my decision to have a destination wedding, my family was all in! And my friends were psyched (esp. when I told them about all-incluive booze . A few have already picked up Passport applications already! I'm the first in my group of friends to do a destination wedding and I think there will be 30-50 so I have my work cut out. I'll be relying heavily on web research and this knowledgable forum...so I apologize in advance for my pesky questions (I'll be glad to share whatever I find, too). Cheers! PS I'm thinking the Dominican Republic or Jamaica