plagefille

Bonjour Saint Lucia Brides, past and future! I am new to this thread, but excited to have read through all the suggestions, ideas, thoughts, etc etc ... of the last 54 (!) pages. My finace and I will be married this Nov (2011), near month end, in Saint Lucia. Our planner is ACW (well cited throughout this thread, and we agree, very good at what they do). The ceremony is on Pigeon Island, with beach refreshments after, as well as photos near the water and ruins after. Then everyone is whisked to Fire Grill Restaurant for more merriment. I have not heard any mention whatsoever of Fire Grill on this thread, and wonder if I should be concerned? There has been mention of The Edge, which is its sister restaurant. Our wedding is both simple and complex at once. Simple in that it's the beach, in the sunshine, with our families and best friends. Complex because it's a destination wedding and as such pricey for both guests and us. Also complex in that we will have over 100 people in attendance, which greatly limits our options in terms of locations for various events. And complex because all events do not happen in one place, so we have to whisk guests around from place to place, which can be pricey. We hope to have a pre-wedding "meet/greet/reconnect" event the evening before, maybe a cocktail reception. We're hoping for something chic and by the water or with water views, but have struggled to find good places that can accommodate our party size at a reasonable price. Cap Maison is an option but quite, quite pricey, and not especially flexible on what they offer. Villa Capri has a wonderful offering but is potentially not large enough for our party size. We'd be grateful for suggestions here. Our post-wedding event the day after will be the much raved-about day-long catamaran cruise that stops in Soufriere. I wonder if anyone has any words of advice/caution/etc on this. Anything one should bear in mind? We are hoping for a few days of solo R&R at Jade Mountain post the festivities. Is it really worth thousands of USD per night? Do the rooms really only have 3 walls? Anyone know what that feels like in late November, which technically is still hurricane season? How is the service? The reviews on TripAdvisor (of which I, too, am an addict) are mixed. As for decor items for the restaurant reception, it seems a lot of it has to be imported, which comes with stiff duties and other costs. Any advice on sourcing decor/favor/etc type items more cost effectively? There is always lugging it all in our luggage, but there is risk of breakage/theft/seizure/airport taxes/etc with that as well. ACW recommended this site to me for decor ideas. Thought it may be helpful to you as well. http://www.save-on-crafts.com/ Has anyone sourced their own alcohol for their reception? Seems less pricey than the open bar rates at the fancy restaurants, especially for 100+ people. If anyone has experience with wholesaling the booze, would love to hear the pros and cons. Has anyone sourced their welcome bag items locally? Would love to hear ideas on this. The ceremony on Pigeon Island is open air. Anyone have strong views on whether it is crucial to tent an open air ceremony? We love the open air feel but also don't want to be rained on in late Nov. Any strong views out there on hair/makeup vendors? Or hair/makeup for Saint Lucia in general (considering the wind/humidity/etc)? Seems that up-do's make more sense considering the strong winds that blow through the island. There have been many questions about photographers. A classmate of mine is an extremely talented photographer and he and his sister will shoot our event over the course of about 4-5 days. See adagion.com for examples of their work. Stunning stuff, can't wait to see what they will conjure up in Saint Lucia. They are over the moon to shoot on the island. If you are able to post photos of thge various bits of your wedding, we'd be so grateful to see how things look on magical Saint Lucia. I will do same after my event is over. Overall, we and our guests are pretty excited, and the above are small details that need to be worked out. Your advice/words of wisdom are greatly appreciately, and I will continue to offer mine as well if I think it can help you. All the best, Plage Fille