When I met Mindy at a local wedding show, she was already planning her honeymoon to the Caribbean. I wished her luck in planning her wedding, and I did not expect to hear from her again.



Several weeks later, I received a call from John, Mindy's fiancé. He explained that Mindy works a fast-paced, high-stress job and is on the road much of the time. He is a small business owner, and they were overwhelmed by the whole wedding planning experience. They had decided to consider a destination wedding because they wanted a beautiful, intimate wedding, and they wanted the planning to be easy and stress-free. So I told John about the Sandals WeddingMoon® (destination wedding + honeymoon all in one package), and within a day or so we had planned their destination wedding and honeymoon at Sandals Grande Antigua.

I always recommend that honeymooners - and especially those getting married on resort - book one of Sandals Love Nest Suites. These suites are Sandals most romantic, intimate accommodations, and staying in a Love Nest Suite makes for a very special, unique honeymoon experience. John and Mindy chose the Ultra Luxury Ocean Villa with Private Pool at Sandals Grande Antigua.

Once their suite was booked, I scheduled their wedding for 11am on their third day on resort at Mindy's request. She wanted to get married as soon as possible and enjoy the honeymoon. We went over some of the custom wedding options, made sure the appropriate legal documents were received by Sandals wedding department, and the planning was complete!

Mindy and John returned from their destination wedding two very happy clients - as I knew they would. Sandals always takes such great care of my brides and grooms. The most common comment my clients make is that the service that the Sandals staff provided went far above and beyond their expectations. Below is Mindy's account of her experience with Sandals wedding staff.


Mindy says that the wedding staff was absolutely fabulous, and that in some ways they were the best part of getting married at Sandals. As soon as the couple arrived on resort, two girls from the wedding department took them to the court house to fill out the remaining paper work. The wedding staff knew Mindy and John's travel schedule, made the appointment with the court house ahead of time, and had them back on resort in no time. Then, they had their official wedding planning appointment with the wedding staff. They went over many options and customizations for the wedding ceremony and reception. Mindy was able to select options that reflected her style.

Last, the wedding staff took Mindy and John around the resort and made several suggestions for the location of the wedding ceremony. At each site, they showed pictures of past weddings so that Mindy could get an idea of what the area would look like when it was set up for a wedding and what her ceremony pictures would look like. Mindy and John chose a gazebo near the water so that the ocean would be in the background of their pictures.

The next day, Mindy and John were able to hit the beach and relax knowing that all of their wedding planning was taken care of.


When the wedding day came, one of the girls from the wedding staff came to help Mindy get into her dress and escorted her to the ceremony site. John spent the time before the ceremony with the clergyman who was to marry them. Mindy's assistant and the clergy worked together to make sure that Mindy and John did not see each other before she walked down the isle.

The couple was very impressed with the clergy. He took time before the ceremony to get to know John and kept them smiling and comfortable during the ceremony. The two girls from the wedding department served as their witnesses to the marriage, and Mindy was touched that one of them cried during their vows.


Mindy points to the fact that one of the wedding staff used Mindy and John's video camera to capture the ceremony for them as an example of how committed the staff was to making their wedding day perfect. Sandals does offer videography services through their wedding photography department, so this may not necessarily be an option for all couples, but it is a good example of the level of service that the wedding department provides.

Mindy and John were also very impressed with their wedding photographer. After capturing the ceremony, he spent another 2 hours with them making portraits at different locations around the resort.

Mindy says that her destination wedding was perfect. She would not have changed a thing, and that Sandals wedding staff was wonderful. They were "Johnny on the spot" and made sure that everything was in order and went smoothly so that Mindy and John could enjoy every minute that they were on resort.

The couple decided to have a wedding reception at home. They still got to eat, drink and dance with their friends and family. But Mindy laughs and says that planning the wedding and the honeymoon took 15 minutes (that's a slight underestimate) and planning the reception took forEVER.



Mindy and John have several engaged couple-friends who are at various stages of the wedding planning process, and they say that they keep telling them… You should just go to Sandals!

Thank you Mindy and John for sharing your special day with me.

If you are interested in learning more about a Sandals destination wedding, please click below to request your complimentary destination wedding consultation.

[This is the forth entry in a 4-part blog series on the Sandals WeddingMoon®. Previously, I talked about planning steps for "Before the Ceremony,"  designing the ceremony and reception in "Your Wedding, Your Style," and what to expect on "The Wedding Day." Here I will discuss your Sandals Honeymoon. This blog series is intended to give a general overview of the many options Sandals offers through the WeddingMoon® product and show how a Sandals or Beaches all inclusive destination wedding can fit most any bride's style and any budget. It is not intended to be a complete guide to planning your destination wedding. That's where I come in! So at any point, please click the Plan My Wedding link on this web page to send me a note and request your complimentary all inclusive destination wedding consultation.]

The Honeymoon

All Inclusive
The Sandals and the Beaches resorts are Luxury All Inclusive resorts. The price of your stay includes airfare; transfers to and from the airport; unlimited gourmet dining; unlimited premium brand liquors, beer, wine and champagne; water sports such as SCUBA, snorkeling, sea kayaking, wind surfing, waterskiing and more; golf; taxes, fees, gratuities and much more.

If you are like most couples, wedding planning means lots of thinking about budgets. And by the time the wedding day arrives, you are sick and tired of thinking about money. With an all inclusive honeymoon, you get a "two-for:"

1. When you look at your wedding budget, you know exactly how much the honeymoon will cost. You pay for your honeymoon before you travel (like most any other trip), and after that you do not have to pay for ANYthing else. Compare this to a cruise. When cruising, you have an on-board charge account that all bar drinks (including sodas), tours, gratuities, etc. will be charged to. Before you leave the ship at the end of the cruise, you will be asked to settle that account by paying cash or placing it on a credit card. I've known honeymooners that spent almost as much to get off the boat as they did to get on. You don't want to leave your honeymoon feeling disapointed that you spent more money than you planned to.

2. While you are on your honeymoon, you don't have to think about or discuss money. I tell honeymooners, you certainly don't want to be discussing what you can afford for dinner tonight. You want to be in the moment, making the most of your special time together. Compare this to a honeymoon in Paris. When traveling in a big city, each night you will choose a restaurant for dinner. You want to dine in romantic, gourmet restaurants, and you want him to be able to order a steak for dinner without worrying about how much it will cost.

As you've seen throughout this blog series on the Sandals Destination Wedding, the Sandals and Beaches resorts offer a fabulous destination wedding option. But what makes this option absolutely perfect is that they are also the resorts I recommend to honeymooners. I recommend a Sandals honeymoon because first, I am 100% confident my clients will have a honeymoon that exceeds their expectations. And because at Sandals, LOVE is all you need - everything else is included.

Sandals Love Nest Suites
You want your honeymoon to be the most romantic time you have spent together. There should be plenty of time spent relaxing and connecting with each other. A Sandals Love Nest Suite is the perfect setting to ensure your time away together is memorable.

The Love Nest Suites are the most sought after rooms at each Sandals resort, and they boast amenities such as private plunge pools and hot tubs, outdoor grotto showers, expanded marble bathrooms, private balconies and verandas with amazing views of the Caribbean Sea, and of course Sandals exclusive Personal Butler Service.

Click here to view some of our favorite Love Nest Suites. (Don't worry. The link will open in a new window so you can easily come back!)

Personal Butler Service
Your honeymoon is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and you deserve the best of everything. I sell Sandals Personal Butler Service to my honeymooners because it is an unimaginably supreme standard of service and luxury where your every need is anticipated. Sandals Personal Butler Service is unquestionably my personal favorite inclusion that the Sandals resorts offer, and your honeymoon is the perfect time to experience it.

If you're like many of my clients, you're thinking, "I'm not high maintenance. Why would I need a personal butler?" Check out my blog series here to find out why your honeymoon is not complete without Sandals Personal Butler Service. You will NOT regret it.

Even More Romance
So if that wasn't romantic enough for you, or even if your budget just won't allow for a LoveNest Suite or Personal Butler Service, you can add on several extra romantic activities to your Sandals honeymoon.

To my clients who would like to leave the resort and see more of their island where they are staying or who would like a little adventure during their honeymoon, I recommend the off-site tours offered by Sandals sister company Island Routes. With Island Routes you can chose to go zip lining through the jungle, bicycle through a volcano, swim with dolphins, ride horses on the beach, or take a romantic sunset catamaran cruise. You can read more about Island Routes tours here, and once we've booked your trip, I'll take care of booking your tours for you as well.

Your Sandals or Beaches honeymoon includes unlimited gourmet dining at as many as 15 restaurants (depending on which at which resort you stay). However, for the couple who wants an extra special dinner celebration one night, I recommend Sandals romantic candlelight dinner for two. Have a sunset dinner under the stars served by a waiter in white gloves, on a table specially decorated with tropical floral arrangements and candle lights. The resorts book a limited number of these each night, so be sure to let me know early that you'd like to add this special event to your honeymoon.

Whether you want more information on planning your Sandals or Beaches WeddingMoon® (destination wedding + honeymoon) or you are interested in a Sandals honeymoon, just click below to request your complimentary planning session.

[This is the third entry in a 4-part blog series on the Sandals WeddingMoon®. Previously, I talked about planning steps for "Before the Ceremony" and designing the ceremony and reception in "Your Wedding, Your Style." Here I will discuss what to expect when you arrive on resort and Your Wedding Day. In a subsequent post, I will describe "The Honeymoon." This blog series is intended to give a general overview of the many options Sandals offers through the WeddingMoon® product and show how a Sandals or Beaches all inclusive destination wedding can fit most any bride's style and any budget. It is not intended to be a complete guide to planning your destination wedding. That's where I come in! So at any point, please click the Plan My Wedding link on this web page to send me a note and request your complimentary all inclusive destination wedding consultation.]

The Wedding Day

When you arrive on resort
Each Sandals and Beaches resort has an on-resort wedding department. I have visited with wedding staff from several resorts, and I speak from experience when I say Sandals Wedding Department staff are passionate wedding professionals and they provide impeccable service. I consider it a huge honor to help you plan your destination wedding, and I take my role very seriously. I have absolutely no hesitation with turning my brides and their bridal parties over to the Sandals Wedding Department staff when they leave the states.

Once you arrive on resort, you will have a pre-arranged meeting with the wedding department staff. This is usually scheduled for your first full-day on resort. During this meeting, your wedding coordinator will review the plans that we made before you left for accuracy and to ensure everyone is "on the same page." They will have already scheduled an appointment for the bride and groom to go to the local municipality and complete any necessary legal documentation. The resort staff will accompany you to this appointment.

Choosing a location
Also during your meeting with your on-resort wedding coordinator, she will take you around the resort and make recommendations for where you might have your ceremony and your reception. You will make the final decision on location once you have seen the options in person. However, if you would like to get some ideas before you go, I have pictures from each resort that we can look at. Below are just a few of my favorites.

Spa options
The Sandals and Beaches resorts each have an immaculate, world-class spa that offers massage and other body services, hair and makeup as well as manicure and pedicure services. If you want to get your hair or make up done for your wedding day, or if you and/or the groom and bridal party need some extra pampering to prepare for the wedding, we will book these services while we are planning the wedding. The spa also offers trial hair and makeup appointments. By booking your spa services during the wedding planning process we will be able to choose the appropriate appointment times to coordinate with the rest of your wedding day schedule.

Photography and Videography
Each of the Sandals and Beaches resorts has a professional photography department staffed with Kodak-certified photographers and videographers. Sandals offers several wedding photography and videography packages as well as a la carte options. Additionally, a few of the wedding themes include photos and a video of your wedding day. Many of our brides and grooms choose videography for their destination wedding, and then they have a reception with a larger group of family and friends once they return home. The video of your wedding day produced by Sandals is perfect to be shown at the party! No matter the package you choose, a highly experienced Sandals wedding photographer will capture your wedding day. Below are photos from some of our real Sandals weddings.

Now, let's not forget one of the most important parts of your wedding - The Honeymoon! Look for the final entry in the blog series on your Sandals or Beaches Honeymoon. If you're considering a Caribbean destination wedding, just click below to let me know that you'd like more information on how we plan your dream wedding!

Are you planning an extra special celebration such as a honeymoon, destination wedding, renewal of vows, anniversary trip or family reunion? Sandals Personal Butler Service is the cherry on top of the perfect Caribbean celebration.

In the video below, view how your every need is anticipated and catered to by your own personal butler.

To start planning your special celebration today, click below to request your complimentary travel consultation.

Make sure you didn't miss Part 1 and Part 2 of this series!

[Updated May 22, 2012 to reflect enhancements to offer]

Did you know that Sandals and Beaches resorts offer a complimentary wedding when you stay for six nights in any room? That's right! Basically, you buy your honeymoon and they give you your wedding.

Sandals Weddings by Martha Stewart

In an industry first, Sandals has partnered with Martha Stewart to design six signature wedding themes that capture the magic of the islands in distinctive ways. The Beautiful Beginnings wedding theme above is included with qualifying stays at no additonal cost. You can choose to upgrade your wedding theme for prices that are very competative compared to a traditional wedding budget.

Or you can design you own custom wedding theme by choosing from 100s of options offered by Sandals and Beaches resort.

Every Destination Wedding at Sandals includes a personal wedding consultant, picturesque wedding location, bridal bouquet & groom's boutonniere, champagne & hors d'oeuvres reception, two-tiered wedding cake and much more.

I have been trained by Sandals to help you pick the perfect resort for your wedding, plan your guests' travel and customize every detail of your wedding day. Talk about an easy destinaton wedding! Contact The Sandals Lady now to start planning your destination wedding.