Looking for beach wedding advise

Our family has been coming to SXM many years. Our daughter wants to get married on the island. I searched forum for recent info & suggestions. Any thoughts on her dream plans?
Wants to say her vows in front of a Priest, wants wedding party/reception on the beach preferably in the evening, immediate family/friends (12-15 pp) <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Clapping.gif" alt="" /> Also, the difference in getting married legally in the states before. No definite date has been set, but hoping for March 2016.

Check the grey tabs for a bunch of info on getting married on the French side:

http://www.grandcasebeachclub.com/the-resort/wedding-events/overview/

I would suggest that you remind everyone that a beach is a beach. You know, soft sand.

Quite a few years ago I saw a wedding on the beach on Sanibel Island, FL. It was a full, formal affair. The men were in tuxedos, the women were in long gowns--at least some of them, including high heels. Really? Did it never occur to them that maybe high heels and a beach don't go together very well?

In the end the dresses were all sandy/dirty around the bottoms. The men all ended up taking off their shoes and rolling up their tuxedo pants. One of the brides-maids very nearly did a face-plant before the women all decided to take off their shoes. It looked to me, watching from a distance, as if it was really touch-and-go as to whether it would end up a full-blown disaster, or merely a hard-won lesson. Part of me felt sorry for them, and part of me wanted to laugh out loud.

It worked out in the end, but I think they learned the hard way that a beach wedding is, first and foremost, a BEACH wedding!

Just a little warning so that your daughter does not have to learn the hard way. Good luck!

Congratulations to your daughter. I understand why she would want to be married on the island. We got married on the beach at the Westin last year and had the best time. I recommend getting legally married at home prior to the actual ceremony in SXM. It's over $1000 more to have a legal ceremony there not to mention the hours and hours of paperwork you will have to gather, file for and have notarized and translated. Guests and family will never know the difference if that is a concern.

The Westin went above and beyond for our 50 person wedding and I cannot say enough about how amazing they were. We did use a planner, St. Martin Marry Me. While they were very nice, their execution was a disaster. There were so many things completely wrong or not done. It was quite disappointing. In their defense, they did reimburse us for many of the mistakes and apologized profusely.

Touching on Deverd0n's comment, all of our guests were dressed appropriately and were barefoot/sandals for our ceremony on the beach. The Westin cleans and packs the sand where the ceremony is held. You will not "learn the hard way". My Monique Lhuillier dress still looked great at the end of the night! It was a classy affair and not just a dirty BEACH wedding.

Feel free to ask any other questions you may have. Good Luck!

No one has yet responded to this part of your question, and I am going to surmise that she and/or her fiance is Catholic. It certainly would add complexity to the arrangements to try to find a RC Priest on island to perform a beach ceremony, especially by March 2016.

Another option would be to be married by at church by a Priest with a very small ceremony (just the couple and their witnesses) at some point before going to SXM where she can have her beach wedding without the hassle of all the legalities.

Just food for thought. I wish her the wedding she dreams of but more importantly a long and happy marriage.

Our daughter was married on the beach at the Flamingo Resort this past February. The reception was at Topper's By the Sea, on the beach at the resort. Topper handled just about everything. He performed the ceremony, got the DJ, cake, & photographer. He sets up chairs on the beach, we brought chair covers and bows. He provides flowers on the tables, we brought colored table clothes & napkins, candles & starfish. We has drinks & apps on the beach with steel drums before dinner. Guys wore linen shirts & pants, girls had simple light long gowns & the bride had the gown of her dreams. Elegant, expensive& not appropriate for the beach but she was happy & looked gorgeous. All of us were bare footed. PM me if you want more details. Good luck & congratulations.

I agree with what someone else suggested--have your daughter get legally married at home and then have the 'ceremony' on island. I think the priest might be a problem, as many ministers of any religion will not marry someone that they do not do marital counselling for. As far as a place, I might suggest Dreams. They are on the beach, but the setting is very elegant and the party could be there and pretty much never touch actual sand, except walking to and from the car..

We just had our daughters wedding in Puerto Rico. We really wanted to fly our catholic priest down to do the ceremony. The amount of hoops to jump through was incredible mainly because they did the premarital classes one place then they were relocated to Seattle and had to join a Parrish there. That Parrish had to contact our priest who had to contact the dioceses of San Juan for a disposition to have a ceremony outside a church...need less to say we stopped dealing with that madness <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/duh.gif" alt="" />. Do it before you go. Granted we had alot of moving pieces but I cant imagine trying to get arraignments done through a French dioceses. If you want to do it, start now.

Correct. When we renewed our vows the Minister that the coordinator arranged for us didn't show and refused to do the ceremony unless we has a meeting with him. So the coordinator performed the ceremony herself at the last minute.

Yes, getting an actual Priest on the island to officiate the wedding ceremony is a touchy issue. While getting a Registrar to do it is a simple formality that requires some paperwork but nothing overly bureaucratic.

Other than that, send me a PM or email me via [email]info@stmaartenflowers.com.[/email]

Thank you all for your input. A lot of good ideas & advise. The wedding couple agrees to legally marry in the states quietly, to keep things simple. I don't see a need for a planner if the resort/restaurant offers private wedding arrangments? Also, as a MOM, I worry about safety on the beach after the sun goes down. Do they have security on site? A lot of questions... <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

Depends on the resort or restaurant. Not many will have that service available. Since they will already be married then it will just be a renewal of vows ceremony.

Security on a beach after sundown is normally a function of how many people are around. If the party is all close to the restaurant you choose, and doesn't go walking off down the beach, I wouldn't think you would need to have security concerns. But I suppose maybe someone on island would know a private security guard you could hire for the evening? If your question has to do with Dreams specifically, I've never been there at night, so don't know if Bruno has private security at night or not. I kind of doubt it, but you could ask.

In light of these questions, I'll repeat my GCBC recommendation. Gated resort with on-site security, Sunset Cafe to provide catering, ceremony can take place on the beach or overlooking the village from the patio on top of the "rock", tented pavilion also on the rock as a fallback for inclement weather, lodging for all guests.

If its only going to be a renewal of vows then it doesn't matter what side of the island you do it on as there are no country marriage laws you'll have to deal with.

I photographed a wedding with the ceremony on Baie Longue & reception at the villa they had rented, which I thought was perfect! You can see the pics here - http://tpozphotoblog.com/st-martin-destination-wedding-irinatim/

Wedding planners on the island will know all the possibilities, suggest locations, advice on rules and regulations and locations etc. It might be easier though not cheaper than doing everything piecemeal yourself.