Calling all BERMUDA brides

[BermudaBride922]

I am getting married in Bermuda on 9/22 at Coco Reef Resort .. anyone else out there??

 

I have some great advice on brides planning and for those in the midst I still have a ton of questions!!

 

Thanks and CONGRATS to all!

[Jenn79]

I was married last year at Coco Reef, and loved every minute!

 

Congrats and have a blast with your planning!

[Justine Miller]

Congrats! Make sure your photographer is Local there, Bermuda is one of the toughest places on intruding photographers, under no circumstance will they allow a foreign photographer to have a work permit for your wedding. just in case you didnt know that already.

[Cattie]

Hi! I'm getting married in Bermuda in May 09. We just hired Barbara at The Wedding Salon. She's been great so far. Right now we're waiting on quotes from a few different hotels to see what we choose.

 

What are your opinions of Coco Reef? We'll be on a cruise so it would only be the wedding and cocktail reception.

 

There doesn't seem to be to many brides to be getting married in Bermuda!!!

[Reba2009]

My fiance and I hope to get married in Bermuda June 09. We plan to cruise there from NJ and have the ceremony and reception at the same place. Right now Coco Reef seems to be the place. I just e-mailed Barbara last night because we need lots of help! We may have between 40-60 people at the wedding which blows our budget! Plus, someone said we should provide transportation to and from the boat. What are your thoughts?

[Cattie]

We have around 20 right now including the FI and myself. We're providing transportation to and from the boat also. It's running us around $650.

 

Reba, I'm working with Barbara also, she's great.

[BermudaBride922]

YAY, so happy to hear that there are other Bermuda Brides!

 

I personally am working directly with the wedding planner onsite at Coco Reef, Tydee Douglas and she is handling mostly everything (catering, flowers, cake, music, transportation). I found a photographer (ernest mcreight), videographer and guitarist for the ceremony on my own (she could have done this for me but I did my own research and found these people who i loved). There are pro's and con's to working with her. PRO - she comes with the place so I am saving a couple thousand by not hiring an outside planner . PRO - she works for Coco Reef so she knows everything about the hotel. CON - because she is the only planner at CR it is sometimes hard to get in touch (especially now when she is in the midst of wedding season) but then PRO - I am somewhat of a control freak so as much as she is the official "planner" I feel like I'm doing most of the work (and dont mind it).

 

We visited the Island last October and loved CR, we went to several places and we felt that it was the best hotel in terms of location, price and services offered. We are also not going through any planner on the ship since we only have 1 event planned (cocktail hour the night before) and nothing wedding related.

 

We are expecting 70 people on the ship with us and another 15 meeting us there. Just like some of you we are just doing food stations but not a formal dinner since all we do is eat on the ship. Really focusing on the drinks and dancing.

 

We are providing round trip transportation to the ship, pre-paid cabbies @ $50each way, 6 people per cab. You defintely dont have to provide this but i think its a nice thing and considerate for all guests. In case you havent been to the Island CR is about 45 minutes from the Navy Dockyard.

 

 

Hope this helps !!

 

The only thing that I am still looking for is a hairdresser (that doesnt charge over $150) to come to the hotel ... any suggestions?

 

Oh one more thing, the only "complaint" I have with this whole experience is that EVERYTHING in Bermuda is so EXPENSIVE and no one bargains. Oh well, price we have to pay for having such a gorgeous backdrop!

[BermudaBride922]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JenniferLynn I was married last year at Coco Reef, and loved every minute! Congrats and have a blast with your planning!

Hi Jennifier - I am working on my program. Did you have your ceremony done by the local minister? If so what generally was the order of events for the ceremony and how long did it last?
THANKS!

[Jenn79]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BermudaBride922 Hi Jennifier - I am working on my program. Did you have your ceremony done by the local minister? If so what generally was the order of events for the ceremony and how long did it last? THANKS!

Yes, we had our ceremony done by the minister, and if you have a choice, I highly reccommend him, Alan Garrity. He was really nice, friendly, and even though I didn't meet him until I made my way down the aisle, felt like someone I had known my entire life.

We had a very simple ceremony, and it lasted maybe twenty minutes. Neither my husband nor I are overly religious, but laws in Bermuda say that only a minister can perform civil ceremonies (unless you get married at the court house). We did the vows that are part of the official ceremony, added a few of our own words, kissed, signed paperwork, then were presented as man and wife. Short, simple, and just what we wanted.

Hope this helps!

[Reba2009]

It is official! We booked the cruise and the wedding date will be 6/22/09. We also spoke with Barbara and hired her as the planner. Now we just have to decide on a place. Coco Reef is in the lead but now we are checking out 9 Beaches, Fairmont Princess and Lido Complex. Any comments on any of these? By the way, Barbara said there will be all new ministers in 2009 since the ones there now are all leaving at the end of the year.