Atlantis Wedding Review - Cloisters, Luciano's and Poop Deck

Got Married at the Cloisters in December 2011 with Reception at Luciano's and Rehearsal at the Poop Deck. 

Here are my vendor reviews.  Feel free to email me if you have any questions or want to see pics.  Here's a link, hopefully it won't get deleted!  http://www.michellenicoleblog.com/2012/01/kathy-robert/

Wedding Planner - Anne Marie WIlliams  - I don't know where to begin listing the things that Anne Marie did for me.  She coordinated all of our vendors, picked up rum cakes, Goombay Punches and brochures for my welcome bags, delivered them to my hotel, helped find a backup for our Minister when Matthew Sweeting pulled out last minute, coordinated our rehearsal, got sand for our sand ceremony and name card holders, put out all of our programs, name cards, guest book cards, cameras at the reception and ceremony sites, the list goes on and on.  She was amazing to work with and on the day of, she was the back bone of the wedding - making sure everyone was in place for the ceremony.  Its critical to have someone else take care of the logistics day of so you can ENJOY your wedding.  She made sure all of the transportation arrangements came on schedule and accommodated all of our last minute changes.  She also helped coordinate with the Atlantis and Ocean Club to make sure we got our desired ceremony time AND to arrange for our on site picture taking.  The best part was doing the paperwork for the wedding - we were in and out of the government offices in 15 minutes because she knew exactly who to talk to and where to go!  Lastly, I cannot go without mentioning the thousands of times Anne Marie called the immigration office for my photographer's permits.  She has the sweetest demeanor and is so passionate about her work.  We love and highly recommend her if you want to have a seamless event!!!!   

Transportation  - Bahamas Experience Tours - We shuttled our 100+ guests to/from the rehearsal dinner/ceremony/reception using Bahamas Experience Tours who were easy to work with, on time, well priced and comfortable.  All of our guests really appreciated the organization of the transportation. 

Welcome Drinks - We had Welcome Drinks at Plato's at the Atlantis.  Our Group Coordinator (who got us great rates for the hotel) had everything set up including a sign and a staff of 5 waitresses to help us 

Rehearsal Dinner @ Poop Deck Sandy Port Very good staff, management was easy to work with.  Decor is very nice and easily accommodated our 100+ guests.  Food was ok for a rehearsal dinner, but Luciano's was MUCH better!

Ceremony:  

Minister - Melvin Grant - Matthew Sweeting pulled out last minute which was a BIG disappointment and Anne Marie helped arrange for Melvin Grant to be our Officiant/Minister. Upon her urging, I wrote the entire ceremony and Melvin did a REALLY great job.  All of our guests said he was wonderful!

Flowers - Wildflowers - We had some initial communication problems with Wildflowers but in the end, they did an AMAZING job. We could not be happier.  Natalie's team is truly the best on the island and they over deliver in terms of quality.  The decor turned out more beautiful than I could have imagined it.  Prices were also very good.  I checked around and they were very competitive

DJ - Jose Ageeb - GET HIM!!! Don't even think about it.  Tons of brides on this forum recommend him and there is GOOD reason. He was hands down one of the easiest vendors to work with and extremely friendly.  His energy was wonderful and all I had to tell him was "play top 40" and the music turned out awesome.

Junkanoo - We also had a Junkanoo at the wedding which was loads of fun and really got the crowd going, changing the vibe completely after some emotional toasting.  I highly recommend this splurge because it blew my guests away and everyone can't stop talking about.

Cake - Swiss Pastry Shop - Since we are not fans of Fondant, we asked for whip cream on our cake and we were thoroughly impressed by the artistry on the cake considering how difficult it is to design using whip cream.  More importantly, the cake was DELICIOUS!!  We had 4 layers - 2 chocolate, 2 coconut.  - I can't say which ones I loved more.  

Reception Location - Luciano's - Being picky New Yorkers, we were very particular with the food and Luciano's exceeded our expectations. All of our guests were saying how amazing the food was.  Plates were cleaned with sauces licked up everywhere. The location was also beautiful - on the water with a direct view of the Atlantis.  The staff was also wonderful - telling us they even got teary during the toasts.  They definitely spiced up the vibe but more importantly, Sue was extremely accommodating and easy to work with.  They gave us the whole outside of the restaurant, put up high boys and smaller chairs for our guests to use during cocktail hour.  Helped to unpack all of the plastic wrap on the cameras and favors (which I assure you was ALOT of work). Dealt with our changes to guest numbers up until the day before and gave us a private changing room upstairs.  They bent over backwards for us on top of exceeding our expectations on the food and service.  We plan to make Luciano's a regular dining location for our annual trip to the Bahamas!  

*We brought our own photographer, videographer, hair and makeup artists.  

Overall, our experience in the Bahamas was amazing and my wedding was as perfect as I could have imagined it.  All of our guests had a great time and some even told us it was the best wedding they had ever been to and thats a credit to all of our wonderful vendors! Once again, feel free to email me if you have any questions or want to see pics

I moved this to the proper subforum, but thanks for sharing!

Thanks for the review! FH and I are looking into having our wedding in the Bahamas so this is super helpful!!

I'm also hoping to use the Cloisters for our ceremony, anychance you could give me some information about this? From what I've ready it seems to cost $3500 for two hours, is that correct? What time did you have to hold your ceremony?

Thanks so much!