Recommend June 2017 - 26

"
When someone thinks
of the Caribbean-
Saint Lucia, to be
precise-they think of
the UNESCO World
Heritage-listed Pitons:
the forest, the shades
of green, the sound of
birds. To me, getting
married in the Pitons is
a unique experience
that screams romance
in its purest form.

"

-- Anisha Maximin, Groups and
Events Manager, Sugar Beach,
A Viceroy Resort

Buccaneer Sugar Mill in St. Croix, USVI.

Weddings are so customized at this resort
that it's hard to pinpoint a typical cost, but
according to weddings coordinator Jennifer
Liebsack, most run between $12,000 and
$25,000. Retail travel agents do not earn
commissions on the weddings, but they do
earn 15 percent on the rooms. Even the
smallest of Zemi Beach House's 54 rooms (it
also offers nine 2- and 3-bedroom suites) is
535- to 600 sq. ft. Room rates start at about
$430, including tax. A 700-sq.-ft. Luxury
Ocean View King starts at $740.

Derring Do Meets "I Do"
Sugar Beach,
A Viceroy Resort, Saint Lucia
"When someone thinks of the Caribbean-
Saint Lucia, to be precise-they think of
the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Pitons:
the forest, the shades of green, the sound
of birds," says Anisha Maximin, groups and
events manager at Sugar Beach, A Viceroy
Resort. "To me, getting married in the
Pitons is a unique experience that screams
romance in its purest form."
Maximin can arrange weddings for fit
couples at the summit of Gros Piton (yes,
it's a trek), after which, she says, "we
26 june 2017

encourage guests to indulge in a couple's
massage and then enjoy a relaxed, private
dinner at their villa patio, on the beach,
or in a poolside cabana." However, Sugar
Beach weddings on a suspension bridge near
a waterfall, on the Pitons' lower slopes, are
far more accessible. The bridge ceremony
accommodates up to 10, and the typical
cost for the ceremony and a banquet for 10,
including flowers, a band, etc., is about $6,000.
Sugar Beach pays agents commission on its
pre-set weddings, as well as accommodations.
Rooms start at about $525, including taxes,
and meal plans are available.

Sacred Setting
One&Only Ocean Club Nassau-Paradise
Island, The Bahamas
There's one and only one (get it?) place in
the Caribbean region where couples can say
their vows in an authentic medieval cloister:
the One&Only Ocean Club on Paradise
Island. It's there because newspaperman
William Randolph Hearst once bought this
12th-century Augustinian cloister from a
French monastery and had it dismantled and
shipped to the States; then he sold it to A&P
heir Huntington Hartford, who shipped it to

Paradise Island. Hartford reassembled the
ruins on his estate and set it off with formal
gardens inspired by Versailles.
So many nonstop flights connect to NAS
that North Americans often choose this
place for large weddings with as many as 100
guests. (The cloister can fit as many as 200.)
A 2-hour location rental costs $5,000 and
includes cold towels for the guests, waiter
service, water and pink lemonade, chairs, and
a sparkling wine toast. The celebratory dinner
can be held in the gardens, and the total tab
usually comes to about $1,100 pp. Travel
agents earn commissions on accommodations
but not on the wedding ceremony.
Rooms start at about $890, including tax.
That's pricey, but as Nancy Brenner, director
of weddings, celebrations, and events, says,
"The magic of the cloisters is a touch of
Europe within the Caribbean-there's really
nothing like it." ■
Contact Information
The Buccaneer: thebuccaneer.com
One&Only Ocean Club: oneandonlyresorts.com/one-and-onlyocean-club-bahamas

Sugar Beach, A Viceroy Resort: viceroyhotelsandresorts.com/
en/sugarbeach/wedding

Zemi Beach House Hotel & Spa: zemibeach.com
recommend.com
http://www.thebuccaneer.com http://www.oneandonlyresorts.com/one-and-only http://www.viceroyhotelsandresorts.com/ http://www.zemibeach.com http://www.recommend.com
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