*The official St. Lucia Brides CHAT thread*

No I do not plan on having Children there. Would a non AI be affordable on a budget? Is there some one I can call and give them all my information on what I want and for this price and they let me know what choices I have and what would fit m e best?

Thanks so much for your help

I would recommend contacting Awesome Caribbean Weddings. I haven't used them myself, but have heard wonderful things about them. Their website is Awesome Caribbean Weddings - Your Wedding in St. Lucia, St. Lucia wedding planners for unique Caribbean weddings

As for affordability, the villa we rented (we split the cost with our guests) came with cooks, so we had a lot of homemade meals which saved a ton of money. (We chose to do a villa because we wanted to have a place for just us and our guests. We also had a 2nd villa a few minutes away.) For the wedding, we got married on Pigeon Island, had the reception dinner (cocktail hour paid per drink, 8 different canapes, soup or salad, and a choice of 3 entrees) at Jacques Waterfront Dining for about $3500, then went back to the villa for cake and dancing. We had 34 people.

Probably the biggest budget blower in St. Lucia is the taxis. It's definitely expensive to get around, but renting a car wasn't an option for us because I wasn't going to tackle left-hand side driving!

Check out Coco Palm and Harmony Suites for affordable hotels. They're so close to everything. My parents stayed at Harmony for a few days and really enjoyed it.

I hope I'm being more helpful than confusing! And if you really want AI, don't let me discourage you from that!

Thank you so much. Let me do some research and I will posting back!

I need help deciding what type of ceremony musician to hire... the options are a guitarist who also sings with his electrical instruments, a four man band soloist with drums, key board etc, a saxophonist, or a violinist... any input would be greatly appreciated

~Kasey

I had a solo steel drum player. It was the perfect background music for the beach. I'd be afraid it'd be hard to hear the violinist and a 4 piece band seems like a bit much for the ceremony.

Hello ladies! My DH and I are thinking about Sandals Grande for our first year anniversary. We will be there from January 17th to the 24th (2010), is anyone getting married there at that time!!??

Hello to all you St. Lucia Brides!!!

Wow what an amazing place!!! Though I am not a St. Lucia bride (sob), I wanted to stop by all tell you all you made a great choice!!! I have been 3 times in the past 2 years and each time fall more and more in Love!!! Sandals the first time and Discovery Marigot Bay/Ladera, the 2nd, and Discovery Marigot the third! I have to say that Sandals is great lots of action, things to do right in the area! But if you are looking for something a bit more secluded Discovery all the WAY!! It is so beautiful and wow, they did an amazing job with the rooms and grounds!! There is a small beach close, but very small and not as nice as Rodney Bay. It does have 2 large pools and a really good restaurant. Our price included breakfast and the young lady that sat us each day, asked us our names and remembered them all week!!! (It really does add to an experience). There is another Fabulous restaurant across the bay called Rainforest Hideway, and I have to say it is worth every penny!! We went back 3 nights of 7 in our last trip! The menu will change daily based on what is fresh and what the chef decides.

I wasnt however impressed with Ladera's accommodations and after 1 night there (The missing wall freaked me out a bit more than I thought it would) we called our travel agent and had her move us back to Discovery, much more modern and clean and surprisingly more private! (even though Ladera can only accommodate I believe 20 couples at one time, the walls are paper thin and we could here our neighbors singing in the shower!) Now the view at Ladera, ok that is fabulous, it is like you can reach out and touch the Pitons and the restaurant is fab as well!!! Anyone wanting more info let me know, I might be able to post some pictures for all interested in! For those with an adventure side I highly recommend climbing Gros Piton, a little hard on the lungs going up and hard on the knees going down, but the views and Pictures speak for themselves!!! It does take a few hours though.

Happy Planning to all you LUCKY St. Lucia Brides!!

Roxy

So this board hasn't been very active in the last month or so so I was hoping maybe I could liven it up a bit! With that said, When are you getting married/or when did you get married? What resort have you chosen or leaning to? and last but not least why St. Lucia?

I am getting married next year Nov. 27, 2010 at the Ladera resort in St. Lucia. We chose the island due to the Pitons and the hotel being right in the middle of them. We wanted an destination wedding that was a bit unique-- so we decided having it on the wedding pavillion vs on the beach. We will be staying at Ladera for half of stay and Jade Mountain the other half.

Friday night we are having a welcome dinner for all our guests at the Jalousie Plantation . . .has anyone ever stayed there? Then the ceremony will be at Ladera and the reception will be there afterwards.

I'd love to hear about any excursions any St. Lucian brides have taken!

Monica

We have booked Coconut Bay, Vieux fort, St Lucia, april 2010. We are hoping to have 20 guests. We have been together 21 years and are finally making it official. We want a very informal, non traditional ceremony. We picked Coconut Bay for it's proximity to the airport and the price was right. Getting pretty excited!