Saint Lucia all inclusive brides out there?

[nicc80]

Hi everyone, I am new to this blog and blogging in general.  I am considering a Saint Lucia wedding in 2012.  I am still looking at Saint Lucia and other islands.  I am not sure.  However I need an ALL INCLUSIVE resort.  My family will be lost with out one. I don't want it to be cheesy, but I am having a really hard time finding a middle ground between  cheesy 3 1/2 resort and $$$.  Does anyone know of a classy all inclusive to get married at in Saint Lucia that wont break the bank for the guests???

 

Nicole

[Jen723]

I'm having the same issue!  When I showed my friends the prices they don't want to go!  But my fiances friends said they would.  But they are more established

[nicc80]

Hey thanks for replying.  Not sure how you are doing on your search.  I am looking at Smugglers Cove seems like the only affordable option. When are you getting married?

 

 

[Kirk]

Hi Brides,

 

Glad to know you are considering St Lucia...

Have you considered WIndjammer Landing?  Although they are traditionally not an all inclusive I think they may offer an all inclusive package.  Also if you book one of their 4 bedroom villas I know at one time they came complete with a chef and groceries (and drink...very important!) are about a 15 minute drive away.

Hope this info helps.

[nicc80]

Hi, just wanted to follow up.  My FI and I did decide on the Windjammer for our wedding.  We are finally excited about it.  It is pretty pricy once you add flight so... it had us debating whether we wanted to ask that of our guests.  But we know it is once in a lifetime.  Kirk, thanks for your post.  I didn't see anything on their website about chef/groceries at the 4 bedroom villa.  We are getting a 2 bedroom villa for ourselves that week.  -one room for the dress:)  You are a photographer?  Do you work for this resort or the resort?

 

Thanks again

 

Nicole

[Kirk]

Hi Nicole,

 

Trust me you'll enjoy WJL.  It's the hotel where I got my wedding photography start back in 1991...gosh, seems like just yesterday...where has the time gone!  And it still remains one of my favorite resorts on St Lucia. 

Because it is a long way in from the main road the beach is practically your own, unlike at some other hotels where there can be lots of "beach boys" selling all manner of trinkets!  Then there is the main pool down near the beach, and the quiet pool high up on the hillside where you are literally in your own private world.

Yeah, I'm a wedding photographer, though I must say that I joined this forum to share info with brides coming to St Lucia rather than to try to sell my services.  And it all came about when a bride who is getting married at Sandals contacted me to shoot her wedding & we started discussing the challenges that that presents.

She told me that she had seen concerns posted by other brides on this forum and we both thought that it would be a great idea if I joined this & shared some of my wealth of wedding & general knowledge of St Lucia.

You see I was the resident photographer at 1 of the Sandals in St Lucia up till they took the service in house.

So ask me anything you wish to know about St Lucia and your upcoming trip & I will tell you the real deal on it.

And if you want to check out my photography here are a few places to look:

http://StLuciaWeddingGuru.com

http://StLuciaHoneyMoons.net

http://YouTube.com/KirkElliottPhotos

or you can call me toll free @ 1.877.499.8476...Oh & here you can see a shot from one of the villas @ WJL http://kirkelliott-stlucia.com/best-of-st-lucia/  It's the picture that says "St Lucia Resorts"

[NamasteLotus]

Hi there... we leave in 25 days for Smugglers Cove Resort and Spa... in total we will be 29, so my guests found it completely within their budget.... (From Toronto we managed to get roughly $1635? per person double occupancy on a standard room - that included 2 promotion discounts for early bird, etc). We started planning it in February not long after our engagement.... we upgraded to a Garden View Room and got the basic wedding package included... So far I've heard nothing but great reviews about them/the resort and services on FB... I'm kind of OCD in my planning though and trying to do it all ahead of time...  Everything does add up though... the chairs we thought we were getting (based on the brochure picture) were actually an upgrade and they wanted a RIDICULOUS amount of money for chair covers, sashes (with chair rental it would have been $464USD) and when I asked for them to replace the arch (as we are getting married on the beach) with other decor (6 vases filled with an orchid stem and tinted water) they wanted $480 USD... this prompted me to start searching for my own stuff to save costs... I am bringing down my own chair covers and sashes as well as I found a local florist to rent vases and buy the orchids from (bringing my own water tint mixture too)... in the end rather than paying $944 USD ($464 for chair rentals covers, sashes and $480 for 6 vases with flowers)  we are paying roughly $487 ($116 for chair rental, $105 to rent 6 vases with an outside florist, $96 for 6 orchid stems and $170 in chair covers and sashes I'm bringing down)... that was a savings of $457 USD!!!

 

It was important for us to cut costs where we could since we were already paying for a private restaurant reception ($1800 USD) since our group is too large to be accommodated within the regular areas of the restaurants and have us all sit together.

 

I am just asking my friends and family to help carry stuff down, they are more than happy to... the coordination has been pretty smooth, Lorna the coordinator answers all my questions promptly, but sometimes I feel like I have to ask the same question 3 different times to get the full answer (with no hidden surprises)...

 

All in all... time will tell...

[akeldon]

Hi, We recently got engaged and are looking at St. Lucia for our wedding, my TA recommended Smuggler's Cove. I have read some mixed reviews online. How was your wedding? Could you give me a bit of info about your wedding at smugglers? Thanks!

[akeldon]

Hi there... we leave in 25 days for Smugglers Cove Resort and Spa... in total we will be 29, so my guests found it completely within their budget.... (From Toronto we managed to get roughly $1635? per person double occupancy on a standard room - that included 2 promotion discounts for early bird, etc). We started planning it in February not long after our engagement.... we upgraded to a Garden View Room and got the basic wedding package included... So far I've heard nothing but great reviews about them/the resort and services on FB... I'm kind of OCD in my planning though and trying to do it all ahead of time...  Everything does add up though... the chairs we thought we were getting (based on the brochure picture) were actually an upgrade and they wanted a RIDICULOUS amount of money for chair covers, sashes (with chair rental it would have been $464USD) and when I asked for them to replace the arch (as we are getting married on the beach) with other decor (6 vases filled with an orchid stem and tinted water) they wanted $480 USD... this prompted me to start searching for my own stuff to save costs... I am bringing down my own chair covers and sashes as well as I found a local florist to rent vases and buy the orchids from (bringing my own water tint mixture too)... in the end rather than paying $944 USD ($464 for chair rentals covers, sashes and $480 for 6 vases with flowers)  we are paying roughly $487 ($116 for chair rental, $105 to rent 6 vases with an outside florist, $96 for 6 orchid stems and $170 in chair covers and sashes I'm bringing down)... that was a savings of $457 USD!!! It was important for us to cut costs where we could since we were already paying for a private restaurant reception ($1800 USD) since our group is too large to be accommodated within the regular areas of the restaurants and have us all sit together. I am just asking my friends and family to help carry stuff down, they are more than happy to... the coordination has been pretty smooth, Lorna the coordinator answers all my questions promptly, but sometimes I feel like I have to ask the same question 3 different times to get the full answer (with no hidden surprises)... All in all... time will tell...

[JennStLucia]

Hey! What Travel Agency are you going with? I'm having a hard time finding someone to book with?