St. Thomas Marriott wedding???

[kayg]

Hi!! I am new to the site and excited to share info!! I am hoping to have a wedding in St. Thomas in Jan and was so close to booking the Marriott until I started reading TERRIBLE!!! reviews about the hotel. Mainly complaints about poor food, poor service, dirty rooms and out of date facilities. Has anyone had a wedding here And info would be great!!

 

Also my second question... a bit personal, but what kind of budget can I expect for a nice wedding for 30-50. I want a nice wedding done as economically as possible:)

 

Thank you thank you for any insight/advice!!

 

Kay

[Willow188]

I stayed there last year, and I'm actually staying there again this weekend while I plan my DW. Although I've never seen the indoor reception facilities, the outdoor site is beautful. The restaurants are lovely - especially Blue Havana - and the terrace is amazing. My only complaint has been that I can't get a hold of the actual wedding planning people to meet with them while I'm there.

 

Unfortunately I can't give any budget advice yet. I'm looking for a economically-friendly wedding for 50 people as well, so I'll post more after my trip this weekend.

[kayg]

Here is the contact info for Lee anne who is at the Marriott.

Leanne LaPlace| Weddings in Paradise – Sales Manager | Leanne.LaPlace@marriotthotels.com

Frenchman's Reef & Morning Star Marriott Beach Resort | #5 Estate Bakkeroe P.O. Box 7100, St. Thomas, VI 00801|

Tel: 340-715-6115 ext. 6024

 

Let me know how it goes!!! Also if you are looking for a wedding coordinator Island bliss wedding looks GREAT and affordable!!! When are you getting married? Have a blast and keep me posted!

Kay

[greysgirl]

I was there this past winter for a continuing education conference for work (not much learning went on...ha!) and thought it was okay. The rooms weren't 5 star, but they were clean. I am not much of a foodie, but I wasn't terribly impressed with the food at the actual resort. The food down on the beach (I think it was called Blue Havana) was super good though...and the upstairs would be an awesome place for a reception. It's open air and has these billowy white curtains. I can't remember the name of the Frenchman's Reef lobby area bar that's open air either, but it has AMAZING views of the harbor and the hillside. That place also would be great for a reception. Very romantic:)

 

The pools weren't that busy as everyone was always on the beach, which was nice. I thought the service was good, although you often had to go to the bar yourself as the waiters weren't servicing the beach. The snorkeling right around the beach was amazing too.

 

One thing I would pay attention to when/if you book, is that all of your guests stay together. Frenchman's Reef is on the hill, whereas Morning Star is down the big stairway or drive. There is a shuttle service to take you between places, but that could be a bummer.

 

It seems like the resort was fairly pricey for not being all-inclusive. But, St.Thomas is that way. It certainly is gorgeous though. I also liked the water taxi that Frenchman's provides to get you to town and back.

 

Enjoy your planning and please PM me if you want more details, or any pics that I took of the place:)

[TaraBinki]

Hi Willow,

Were you able to look into Havana Blue? From the pictures it looks like my dream reception place!! I'm hoping you will have postive feedback on it since your last post..Lemme know how your weekend down there went and waht you decided on!!

[SJHitch]

Hi- I just got married at the Marriott last month and it was AMAZING! Honestly everything was perfect- I wouldn't have changed a thing. We had 42 guests with us and they had a blast- everyone is still raving about how much fun they had. The hotel is very nice- rooms were clean, service was great. The Morningstar is down on the beach- we had an oceanfront room and woke up to the waves every morning... The rooms up at the Frenchman's Reef seem a little bigger and more updated but honestly all rooms were great for an island resort. The shuttle runs between the 2 hotels every 10 minutes or so but it's not a bad walk between them either... I let people have the choice of which they wanted to stay in... just maybe give them the details because some didn't know the difference and just booked at the Frenchman's because it was cheaper. Jess was our planner from the marriot and she rocked... She went above and beyond anything I asked and everything came together perfectly. She's very quick to respond- we planned the whole wedding practically by email.

 

We had a welcome dinner at Mafolie- which is a nice open air restaurant up on a hill with an awesome view... The food got raving reviews from my guests and the view couldn't have been better- it overlooks Charlotte Amalie.

 

I had my hair and makeup done by Je T'aime from Sugar and Spice artistry- she came to my room and was so sweet. She did an awesome job- I totally recommend her.

 

Our photography was Alain from Blue Glass and he was great... I didn't really have any requests for him but his pictures came back gorgeous- They are on www.thehitchcockwedding.shutterfly.com if you'd like to check them out. I made that share site so friends and family put their pics on the site as well but his are listed as professional pics.

 

We got married in the gazebo by Bill Arnett who was very personable. The wedding was perfect- we had Morgan, a steel drum player from the marriott playing our music. We also did a sand ceremony which came out so pretty. The ceremony flew by but it was so perfect- lots of tears!

 

After the ceremony we did a 1 hour cocktail hour with passed hors douvres and the steel drum player...this was while we had pictures so I unfortunately didn't get to try any...but I heard they were great.

 

Then we went to dinner at Havana Blue....the food there is just so gooooood. And their cocktail menu was a big hit as well. I loved everything about HB- the lights, the vibe, the table settings they did for me... it looked awesome. Kate was my planner from HB and she was really great- she put together this beach party for us after dinner since our group was too small to rent out the whole resturant. We had tiki torches and sparklers and a DJ. We had a blast- it went by too quickly!!

 

So all in all I would recommend the Marriot, Havana Blue, Sugar and Spice, Blue Glass Photography, Blooming Things Flowers

 

Jess= Marriott Coordinator

Kate= HB Coordinator

Je T'aime= hair and makeup artist from Sugar and Spice

 

I can't say enough good things about my coordinators and vendors. Our pictures are at

 

www.thehitchcockwedding.shutterfly.com if anyone wants to check them out. I'd be happy to answer any questions about our experiance. Happy Planning!!!

[Willow188]

The only bad thing I've heard about the Marriott is that they don't allow you to bring in ANY of your own vendors. They have their set vendors and the jack up the price on them. That being said, the Marriott grounds are beautiful, Havana Blue is AMAZING and I really like the terrace at the Rum Bar. (I would definitely have a cocktail reception there)

[TaraBinki]

Is that true for Havana Blue though? They are privately owned but just are on the Marriott property. I hope not cause I want to research my own vendors and really dont want to be held to their prices and vendor list.

[ms_ev78]

Hi SJHitch,

Congratulations! I was wondering how long you booked the photographer for? Did you have a videographer and did you book them for the same amount of time as the photographer? I'm getting married in Oct and am estimating about 25 guests. I just don't know if I need video of the whole reception but I'm also afraid of feeling rushed to cut the cake, etc if I only book them for 2 hours for example.

Thanks!

[SJHitch]

I don't think the Marriott was against other vendors for me anyways.... Havana Blue is totally seperate so whatever you choose to do there is entirely up to you. I had a coordinator from the Marriot who was unbelievably good ( Jess)..and one from Havana who was also great ( Kate). I did use a lot fo the marriot vendors just because it was easier and our package that we bought included some of the prices... But Havana recommended an outside bakery for the cake so we did that with no problem and also used that bakery's florist for the cake flowers. The vendors that the Marriott arranged were awesome though- Blue Glass photography was AWESOME, Blooming Things did my flowers and I loved them.... I hired Je T'aime from sugar and spice for hair and makeup and she was so sweet...and very good at what she does. She did tell me that she will be taking over ownership of the Marriot salon and spa so for future brides she will probably be right downstairs for you.

 

For photography we did 4 hours.. from 4-8 pm. The wedding was at 5, but started a little late due to a passing shower. So he took pics of us getting ready, the ceremony, cocktail hour, family shots, and then just me and jon for awhile down by the water... Then he came to havana until 8 ish. We did cut the cake and everything early so we could get those shots but I didn't see the need to have a photographer all through dinner since it was a sit down dinner and wouldn't be much going on. I do kind of wish I had him for the beach party we did after, but our friends and family took some good ones....and we were all gross and sweaty at that point anyways! haha