Archive for the ‘destination weddings’ Category
Posted on October 25th, 2008 by Kori Ellis in Wedding Favors, destination weddings
Mexico is one of the most popular locations for destination weddings. It can be relatively inexpensive compared to some other tropical locales. One of my favorite places to stay in Mexico is Al Cielo Hotel and it’s perfect for weddings.
Al Cielo Hotel is located on Xpu-Ha Beach in Riviera Maya, Mexico. It is technically a boutique hotel because of its small size. The entire hotel is made with local woods and materials. Each room sits directly on the Xpu-Ha Beach, making the gorgeous blue water a part of each guest’s front yard.
Al Cielo Hotel has only four rooms – water, air, earth and fire. Each has an upstairs bedroom area and a downstairs living area with guest rooms. Rooms get fantastic views of the beach and of the surrounding jungle. The sunsets are absolutely dazzling. All guests receive complimentary breakfast, Tai Chi lessons for two, free parking, access to the beach club, hammocks, daily maid service and wireless internet.
The spa has special massages for adults and children. It also features antique healing technique sessions based on methods used in Hawaii, China, Thailand and in Mexico. Al Cielo Restaurant, located next to Al Cielo Hotel, is situated in a comfortable thatch roof palapa. The menu consists of fresh local fish and shellfish prepared under world renowned Chef Francisco Morales.
Al Cielo Hotel is proud to host weddings, anniversary parties and honeymoon escapes. They have a full time planner to help coordinate your wedding, including finding musicians, planning your menu and every other special detail. To learn more about Al Cielo and how to host your destination wedding there, visit their website at alcielohotel.com. They can accommodate a sit-down plated dinner for up to 104 people.
For a beach wedding, don’t forget the beach wedding favors. Truly Wedding favors offers a variety of unique wedding favors that are perfect for a beach wedding. They feature elements from the beach, including palm trees, sand, surf, seashells, boats and more. Check out the entire selection of beach wedding favors.
Photo credit: Al Cielo Hotel
Many couples are taking their weddings to the beach these days. Up to 20% of all weddings are destination weddings with most of those being at beach locations. 
Whether you are having your wedding at a local beach or an far away exotic locale, you should decorate with items that incorporate the beach theme. Use plenty of shells, ships and palm trees. Also pick unique wedding favors that use beach colors and motifs.
You can get a variety of beach wedding favors from Truly. Some of my favorites are these beach theme cork coasters. Coaster wedding favors are both cute and practical. These cork favors are available for under $2 each. Each favor consists of four square cork coasters depicting a beach scene of two beach chairs and an umbrella right on the sand.
To place your order, you can call toll-free to 1-888-44-TRULY where a customer service rep will be happy to answer any questions.
09/09/09 is the lucky date for couples heading to St. Maarten! Sonesta Maho Beach Resort & Casino and Sonesta Great Bay Beach Resort & Casino “Lucky Love” package is an exclusive bonus for visiting couples with a marriage date of 09/09/09. In addition, couples holding their wedding at either resort on 09/09/09 can qualify for the ultimate wedding gift – a free honeymoon!
Sonesta Maho and Sonesta Great Bay will each provide complimentary honeymoon packages to all on-site weddings that day. That’s three days and two nights to revel in wedded bliss! Sonesta Maho Beach Resort & Casino’s honeymoon package includes: bottle of champagne and chocolate amenity, spacious Pool or Ocean View guestroom, round-trip airport transfers, private in-room dinner for two including signature dessert and house wine (one per stay), American breakfast in bed for two (one per stay), 20% off treatments at the Good Life Spa and turndown service nightly.
Sonesta Great Bay Beach Resort & Casino’s honeymoon package offers Deluxe Ocean View accommodations (free upgrade to one-bedroom suite based on availability), a complimentary bottle of Champagne and assorted Belgian chocolates upon arrival, daily breakfast at the Bay View Restaurant and one romantic dinner (beverages, Champagne and featured wines included). A complimentary “Lovers Retreat” island excursion from the resort lets couples snorkel and lunch on a barrier island.
2009 rates at Sonesta Maho Beach Resort & Casino and Sonesta Great Bay Beach Resort & Casino begin at $270 per room, per night, based on single or double occupancy. Rates are for room only and subject to 21% tax and surcharge. All-inclusive rates are also available. Some restrictions apply to offers. To learn more about the resorts and for bookings, call 1-800-223-0757 or visit www.sonesta.com.
If you are planning a beach wedding in St. Maarten or anywhere else, you will want to have beach wedding favors. Truly offers a variety of wedding favors depicting a beach theme with seashells, palm trees, starfish, sailboats and other nautical touches.
Whether you are looking for something whimsical, such as the flip flop key chain, or something a little more elegant, such as the sand and shell placecard holder, you can find it here at Truly. We offer a wide selection of unique wedding favors at very affordable prices.
I have seen personalized cookies at various weddings over the years, and these flip flop cookies are perfect for a beach wedding. Many companies sell these cookie favors and they are usually about $5 each.
If you really love the idea but don’t want to pay that much, shop around online and at local bakeries. You can probably get a discount deal in bulk. If not, maybe you can enlist a family member or friend who loves to bake to make a homemade version.
These cookies pictured here are from Weddings By Dezign and run just over $5 each, including two lines of personalization.
Check out other beach themed wedding favors here at Truly, including flip flop luggage tags and sea shell candle holders.
If you are having your wedding at a tropical beach destination, palm tree wedding favors are an obvious choice. However, you can also use these favors at a local beach wedding to give it a more tropical feel.
At Truly Wedding Favors, we offer several favors depicting a beach theme and palm trees are prominent. My favorite palm tree favor is not really a favor at all but rather a favor box.
This palm tree favor box, which is priced at under a dollar, features green palm fronds and brown coconuts atop the tree trunk. The trunk is a hollow base that can be filled with treats and opened from the bottom. These boxes are very cute and perfect for a tropical themed wedding.
Other palm tree favors, include cookie cutters and tea light holders, among others.
If you are planning a destination wedding, here are a few choices that you should consider. A destination wedding at an exotic beach location is a wonderful option for a couple looking to do something a little different and get away from the hustle and bustle of city life.
Pink Sands Harbour Island, Bahamas
The world-famous Pink Sands beach is a secluded three-mile spot of heaven on Earth. Bride and groom glide over the soft coral sands as their first steps into marriage. Bahamian chic with resources for small to large events, Pink Sands offers wedding packages starting at $2,300, which includes marriage licensing, reverend, wedding cake, bride’s bouquet, bottle of Champagne and photographer. Go for a Bahamian flavored dinner menu and a night of dancing to cap off the evening. .
Villa Premier Hotel & Spa, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
Relax, re-program and reboot with a marriage in Mexico, courtesy of Villa Premiere Hotel & Spa. Ocean views, a full-service spa, whimsical vibe and warm personalized service of this boutique hotel lull couples into wedded bliss. Newlyweds indulge in the serene romantic city filled with cobblestone streets and old world charm. Or wedding guests can walk to colonial Puerto Vallarta and its famous boardwalk while bride and groom slip away for alone time. New amenities include: pillow menu for extreme comfort, butler service for the ultimate in pampering and rejuvenating Oxygen Bar. The “Unforgettable Wedding Package” begins at $205 per night and the “Unique Wedding Package” runs for $345 per night. Includes accommodations, chilled towels and Champagne upon check-in, relaxing five-minute welcome anti-stress massage on neck and hands, special in-room hotel amenities, complimentary use of gym, yoga lessons, reflexology lessons, meditation workshops and access to sauna and steam room at Villa Premiere Spa.
Sonesta Maho Beach Resort & Casino, St. Maarten
St. Maarten is known in the Caribbean as “The Friendly Island” – and with casinos, dance clubs, great restaurants and beautiful beaches, Sonesta Maho Beach Resort & Casino is where weddings win big! Couples can work with a wedding coordinator to create their ceremony of choice or select one of Sonesta Maho’s signature wedding packages. Wedding packages include the Silver Ceremony $1450, Gold Ceremony $1850 and Platinum Ceremony $2450. All offer a wedding coordinator, bouquet, location and marriage license. After the wedding excitement, flip the coin for a relaxing honeymoon at sister property Sonesta Great Bay Beach Resort & Casino. Just a few miles down the road, couples will enjoy its stretch of pristine white-sand beach, clear waters, and proximity to the island capital Philipsburg for shopping and dining.
Sunset Resorts, Jamaica
Sunset Resorts in Jamaica gives the big kiss off to over-priced weddings! The destination wedding now marries any budget with its “We Do” wedding package. Guests staying a minimum of seven nights at Sunset Beach Resort & Spa in Montego Bay or Sunset Jamaica Grande Resort & Spa in Ocho Rios can now get married for free, courtesy of the resort. Sunset Resorts is an escape from escalating wedding prices, which can transform the “big day” into bigger bills. And the headaches of ceremony planning and tracking down vendors? Gone! Sunset Resorts will handle every move. You’ll be free to enjoy your vows backed by beautiful Jamaican sunsets.
For a beach wedding, you should choose beach wedding favors that depict a beach theme. Truly Wedding Favors offers a variety of beach themed favors that include colorful fun choices, or something a little more elegant.
Three of my favorites are:
Information about the resorts provided by travel expert Andria Mitsakos, AMPR President & CEO.
Sandos Hotels & Resorts is offering two ultra-romantic wedding packages, Wedding-Your-Way and Wedding Of Your Dreams, at its four all-inclusive resorts on the Riviera Maya, Mexico.
If you are thinking of a hosting a destination wedding at the beach, these are terrific pacakges that you should definitely check out.
The Wedding-Your-Way package is priced at $1,100, which is added on to the cost of an all-inclusive hotel stay and features:
- Judge or minister to perform the ceremony
- Personalized service from the wedding coordinator
- All paperwork arrangements including marriage license and certificate (legal documents issued in Spanish)
- Decorated wedding site such as a private area on the beach or a tropically-inspired, private location (including guest seating)
- Bridal bouquet and groom boutonniere
- Set of 10 wedding photographs
- Background music during the ceremony (or couples can bring their own songs and use the hotel’s CD player)
- One-tier wedding cake
- Sparkling wine for the wedding toast
- Free room upgrade for the wedding couple (based on availability)
- In-room amenity of fine pastry, fruit basket and sparking wine upon arrival
- Special guest room decoration
- Plush bathrobes for the wedding couple to use during their stay
- Breakfast in bed, with champagne, the morning after the wedding
- Gifts for the couple including a basket of aromatherapy products, “Just Married” “his” and “her” t-shirts, and a commemorative wedding photo of the couple, presented in a keepsake Mexican-style picture frame
- A romantic dinner for the bride and groom at one of the resorts’ a la carte restaurants with VIP service and a special menu
- Priority reservations at the resorts’ a la carte restaurants
- 15% spa discount on all treatments that can be used throughout the stay
- 10% discount on motorized sports including banana boat rides, jet skiing and parasailing
Couples can upgrade their nuptials experience with the Wedding Of Your Dreams package, priced at $1,900, which is added on to the cost of an all-inclusive hotel stay and features:
- Judge or minister to perform the ceremony
- Personalized service from the wedding coordinator
- All paperwork arrangements including marriage license and certificate (legal documents issued in Spanish)
- Decorated wedding site such as a private area on the beach or a tropically-inspired, private location (including guest seating)
- Décor for the entrance to the wedding ceremony
- Table flower arrangements and a bag of flower petals
- Bridal bouquet and groom boutonniere
- Set of 36 wedding photographs, plus the film negatives and an album
- Background music during the ceremony (or couples can bring their own songs and use the hotel’s CD player)
- Traditional wedding cake
- Sparkling wine for the wedding toast
- Private check-in and free room upgrade for the wedding couple (based on availability)
- Preferential room location in the room category reserved by the couple
- Welcome fruit basket and bottle of wine
- Guaranteed dinner reservations for the wedding party in one of the resort’s a la carte restaurants (maximum 25 people)
- Special guest room decoration and turn-down service for the wedding couple
- Post-ceremony bottle of sparkling wine and chocolate-covered strawberries
Sandos Hotels & Resorts, headquartered in Spain, has four properties on the Riviera Maya, Mexico – Caracol Beach Resort & Spa, Select Club Beach Resort & Spa, Playacar Beach Resort & Spa, and Sandos Playacar Riviera Hotel & Spa – and one resort, the Papagayo Arena Beach Resort & Spa in the Canary Islands.
An all-inclusive Sandos Hotels vacation features: all meals and beverages; sporting activities; watersports; use of fitness center and spa; daily activities program; water and beach activities; supervised “Kids Club” and a “Teen Club;” nightly entertainment and entrance to the disco; and all hotel taxes and service charges.
For more information on a Sandos Hotels & Resort Wedding, please visit their website at sandoshotels.com for details and contact information.
If you are planning a destination wedding at the beach, don’t forget about wedding favors.
Truly Wedding Favors offers a terrific selection of beach wedding favors. Whether you are looking for something fun and whimsical, like flip flop key chains, or something a little more classic such the elegant sea treasure candles, you will find everything you need here at Truly.
