I need information about having my 2012 wedding in St.Thomas please help...

[StThomas2011]

Wow Tara!  You are gonna have 100-150!  That's awesome!  We had 45 total (including us) and I thought that was a lot!  Are you planning other activities for your guests?  I set up a Charter to the BVIs through Limnos.  It was at the guest's expense, but I was able to work out great deals with the company because we booked and paid in advance and it was awesome!   Also, we used Elisha's husband for videography and we haven't received the DVD yet, but I'll let you know how it turns out!  As I think I've said before, we used Elisha for Engagement, Wedding and Trash the Dress (7 hours over 3 days)...I'm in LOVE with all of my photos!  She is totally worth the cost!

 

And it's funny that you mention that about Bolongo Bay and the bad reviews. I had 2 guests stay there (most of our guests stayed at Sapphire Beach) and they loved it.  They said it was so cute and nice!  Maybe they took the bad reviews to heart and cleaned up.

 

 

 

[hmpinma]

Hello,

I am also talking with Janelle from Island Bliss weddings. Do you know how their fees work? What photographers do you recommend. I am just overwhelmed and feel like I am having a hard time trying to plan my wedding being so far away. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

[JQLong]

Sorry for the delay Ms.Foxxy...Leanne advised that once our block of rooms were booked, our guest would still get the reduced rate until they were sold out (I think that is how I understood it to be). 

 

We have also decided to take a look at Havana Blue.  For the amount of money that we advised to have a beach party at Bolongo Bay, we would rather have sit down dinner right at the resort.  We have yet to contact them but because I am getting married at 1:00, we will need to be creative regarding the timing.  Who was your contact at Havana?

 

JQ

[MsFoxxy]

Thanks for the info JQ!!  )

 

My contact at Havana Blue is Kate Atwell.  She's been amazing so far!  Even though they have those three menus for receptions (A,B,C) she said that they're just a starting point and you can pretty much do whatever you want.  We changed ours around to do a custom menu and it was no prob.  Her email is [email protected].  She put our estimate and contract together within 24 hrs of us sending her our menu choices and number of guests.  And if you haven't been to the restaurant, it's BEAUTIFUL in person.  We, unfortunately, didn't get to eat there because they didn't open until 6p the day our cruise was there... but they did take us inside, let us look around & gave us an info packet on their menus/ reception dinners.  There's a shuttle that runs every 10min from Frenchman's Reef hotel down to Morning Star where the restaurant is... but we walked down there & it took about 5min.

[MsFoxxy]

OH.. and has anyone else heard that they may be moving the gazebo?  When my fiance and I were there in February, the coordinator that gave us a tour was telling us about the renovations that the Marriott is doing this summer to Frenchman's reef & she said that they will be getting a completely new gazebo.  The one that's there is beautiful, but you can sort of tell it's been there for a while.. LoL.  She said that it would still be on the cliff (which has an AMAZING view, btw), but they were thinking of repositioning it.

[JQLong]

Thank you for the info too MsFoxxy....I will contact Kate soon. When is your wedding? Yes! Leanne told me that the gazebo was going to be changed. My fiance and I have never been so we are going to be excited regardless. The renovations are supposed to be wonderful. I can't wait until next year! JQ

[TaraBinki]

Amy- Wow thats so great about the charter to the BVI's! I love that idea...we might just tell everyone like we are going to Megans Bay like Wednesday if they wanan join us....  and on thursday which our rehearsal is We are going to have the rehearsal on the catamaran for the regular rehearsal ppl but then afterwards have a Welcome Cocktail Thing at Iggie's at Bolongo Bay that everyone is invited too which my fiance and I are paying ourselves..so lets pray we can actually afford that! haha

 

We are hoping to go down for about 8 days ourselves so I'm hoping we can have time to go to St. John and snorkel and relax ourselves and not feel like we have to entertain everybodyy Which I know I will want to do once in that situation anyways

 

I think it could be wayyy too much for me to plan anything else ya know? Everyone will be arriving different days I'm assuming and want them to feel like they can do wahteva they want

 

Havana Blue always opens at 6pm FYI- they do not do any lunch. JQLong maybe they would open up the restaurant early for your wedding! That might be nice ya know? Then you could end up having it to yourselves for a lil while

[MsFoxxy]

@JQ...  My wedding is October 6, 2012!!  I'm starting super early, but I don't care.. we're both too excited!  LoL.  My fiance actually proposed to me in the gazebo when we were there on Valentine's Day.  It was absolutely perfect!  We'd been talking about getting married for a while & we both knew we wanted to do a destination wedding.  His vote was for the Virgin Islands... I'd never been, but I took his word for it, LoL.  When I saw Frenchman's Reef online, I instantly fell in love.. so when we planned our vacation in February, he told me that we should go by to see the venue I'd been drooling over for so long.  LoL.  The proposal was a total surprise.. I didn't think it was coming for another month or two.

 

But yes... the whole resort is absolutely GORGEOUS.. I was surprised that they're doing so many rennovations, everything looks perfect the way it is!

[avclarke]

 

 

Originally Posted by amys325 

 

@kim, I did ship stuff down to Janelle and yes it can cost a bit.  But Janelle was very sure to let me know 2 important things to keep in mind. 

 

1.  DO NOT ship UPS or Fedex.  They consider St. Thomas international (which I know it is not) and it costs a fortune!  A friend of mine shipped down 2 bottles of sunscreen (special stuff for her sensitive skin) and it cost her $80!

2.  Also, shipping USPS Parcel Post is the cheapest, but it can take forever to get there (a month and a half) and you risk it not making it in time. 

 

Janelle, recommended to me to use USPS Priority and though it was more expensive than Parcel, everything made it down in time!

 

Your other option is to figure out how much you have and pay the extra baggage fees to check a bag on the airline.  It might honestly end up being cheaper.  I personally didn't want to deal with carrying that many bags, but I've heard of other brides doing this.

 

Shipping packages to the US Virgin Islands vis parcel post, from the US mainland, can be a hit or miss. I am from St. Thomas but reside on the mainland. I have mailed packages vis USPS parcel post that arrived within a week and a half; on the other hand, I've mailed a package which took about 4 weeks to get there. The post office tells you it will take 4 weeks. 

 

With that said, I mail all of my packages to St. Thomas via USPS Priority mail...Express mail if I am in a pinch and need it to get there within 2 days. The priory flat rate applies the to the VI and comes in handy if you are not trying to mail a ton.

 

My daughter is the St. Thomas bride, August 11, 2012. She is going back to her home to tie the know with her beloved. 

 

[moemarx]

Hi Girls!

 

My fiance and I took a trip down to St. Thomas last week.  We were there for 4 days and 5 nights.  We had an incredible time and although we got a lot done, we were also able to get a good amount of relaxing in as well.  We can not wait for our wedding next year!!!!  Sorry if this post is a bit long winded but I wanted to fill you all in on my experiences. 

 

Janelle put us in contact with a woman who manages several rentals at Sapphire Village and she gave us a great price for our accomodations.  The unit was nice and very clean, plus the view was great.  Sapphire Beach was nice, and the pool at the resort was quiet and nice.  There was a small bar/grill serving salads, sandwiches, and cocktails.  Food was OK, but pricey.  $15 for a cobb salad, $8 for a hot dog.  This pricing seemed to be par for the course everywhere we went for food.

 

We rented a car through Dependable car rental who I would not recommend.  The rate was only slightly less than the one I got from Amalie Rental and Budget...and boy do I wish we sprung for the extra $30 bucks.  The car was falling apart and not well kept. 

 

We really enjoyed the East End/Red Hook area.  There is something for everyone in terms of shopping, restaurants, and nightlife.  So we thought this area will be great for our guests.  The Elysian Resort in particular was our favorite.  We found the grounds to be really beautiful and we will be suggesting this and the Cowpet Bay area to our guests.  They have two restaurants and watersports on site.  Studio units are managed by the Wyndham are are roughly $170/nt. in May.  There are also 2 and 3 BR units which are privately owned.  I have bookmarked several on vrbo which I will add to our wedding website and the pricing for these range between $250 and $300/night.  I found this to be really reasonable since these will likely be shared between family and friends, and split as such.  

 

We had dinner at Caribbean Saloon, Big Bambooz, Roberts, and the Old Stone Farmhouse.  Caribbean Saloon was OK.  My pasta was too salty and his steak was overcooked.  Dinner came to $100 and we only had 1 drink and no appetizers.  Big Bambooz had fun ambiance, but dinner was only OK.  My fish tacos were OK, but his fish and chips were not.  He was nauceous for the rest of the night.  Roberts and the Old Stone Farmhouse were fantastic.   Robert's had awesome food, friendly staff, and a piano player taking recommendations for songs.  The feel was upscale but by no means stuffy.  There were families with children and couples having a romantic dinner.  I found the prices comparable to the others on the island.  We actually only paid about $20 more for our meal here than for the one we had at the Caribben Saloon and we ordered more food and drink!  Though we didn't have time to meet with the owner Kevin while we were in town, the location for the beach BBQ is really really nice and I believe the pricing is fair from what I've heard.  I would highly recommend this as a spot for a wedding or a welcome dinner. 

 

Dinner at the Old Stone Farmhouse is a must for a romantic night out.  Although, its located on the North side of the island (not too far from Magens Bay) the grounds and building were absolutely stunning!  Dinner was delicious and the chef invites guests back into the kitchen, to choose their protein from the fresh cuts that they have for the day.  They have different cuts of meat such as elk, oxtail, buffalo, and ostrich, in addition to the more traditional pork, veal, and steak.  We both loved our meals and can't wait to go back.  I think we will get the parents a gift card for here to thank them for everything. 

 

We met Elisha for engagement photos at Lindquist Beach.  We loved her and can't wait to see the photos!!!  She was so nice, so much fun, very organized and extremely creative.  She really was a pleasure to work with and worth every penny of her service.  Lindquist is awesome!  So secluded and beautiful.  Definitely our favorite beach on the island! 

 

Some other beaches we checked out for ceremonies were Elysian, Magens Bay, Sapphire/Pretty Klip Point, and Lime Tree.  In the end, although the beaches were nice, we decided on the Oberservation Deck at St. Peters Greathouse for our ceremony.  We thought the proximity to the villa, as well as the experience and views fit what we are looking for. 

 

We also had a tasting with St. Johns Catering.  We took the car barge over (which was simple) and Mat, the owner, was really great and down-to-earth.  The food was fantastic and we hope to work with him going forward.  We ordered some cake samples from Stacy @ VI Desserts (which were great) and Mat @ St. John Cetering provided an additional option for desserts.  Her name is Cynthia and her website is www.islandsweetstuff.blogspot.com.  Though we did not reach out to her while we were there, her work looks really beautiful.  Plus he advised us that her pricing is pretty reasonable and she is the pastry chef at the Old Stone Farmhouse.  Since we were having dinner there that night we had the opportunity to taste test her dessert there and it was defintiely very good.  We will likely get price quotes from both for our cake and desserts table.

 

Hope this could be of help.