Hello,

I have been reading your postings on VINOW since early April 2006. After much thought and research and the help from many VINOW posters, I chose St. John to have my Caribbean Destination Wedding. I wanted to give some feedback for other Virgin Island newcomers and young people who were considering a destination wedding in St. John or Virgin Islands. St. John is truely one of the prettiest islands I have ever been to, and the people there are so friendly and nice. So bare with me, this message is going to be long.

To begin, my new husband and I are in our early 30's and both wanted a beach wedding. We chose St. John because it seemed the water there was the prettiest turquoise color from what I had seen on the Internet and from speaking to other people who had been to the Virgin Islands. Well, I can honestly say after staying there August 24th thru August 31st, St. John USVI, in my opinion has the prettiest water and coastal scenery in the world. My parents, sister and her husband and two small boys ages 2 & 4, and 2 of our closest friends went with us for our destination wedding. After much research from the Internet and VINOW, I decided I wanted to get married on Trunk Bay Beach, Sat., August 26th around sunset. I love anything to do with weddings, and luckily my father is a baptist minister in Kentucky so we were set for me to plan my own wedding and have my Dad perform the ceremony. In St. John, you must first get a permit from the VI National Parks (St. John) to get married on one of the beaches, and if you are bringing your own minister, you must also send paperwork showing the minister's credentials with your marriage license request to the Territorial Clerk in St. Thomas to get approval for the wedding. I will post all of the wedding sites which helped me plan my own wedding at the end of this message.

I chose KELLY GREER (a wonderful, nice, and patient photographer in St. Croix) to take pictures, a client of my sister recommended FELIPE ALAYA in St. Thomas (ROSES EAST TOO) for the florist, and I selected KATILADY Catering to do my wedding cake.

Because weather was bad in Chicago, Aug 24th we were delayed leaving Louisville, Kentucky and finally after 9 hours at our home airport, we were able to get flights directly to Miami and then to St. Thomas. I would definitely recommend this route from Louisville, KY if you go to St. John. We arrived in St. Thomas at about 10:00 pm and took the 11:00 pm RED HOOK FERRY to St. John. Watch out at St. Thomas airport for guys offering to help you with your luggage to the taxi, because not only are you paying them $1 per bag just to get you to the taxi, then you have to tip the taxi guy for your luggage. But I guess it was worth it for all of us traveling because in total we had 13 bags not counting our carry on luggage. Oh, and our 2 close friends got routed thru Puerto Rico and their luggage was lost, and their stay was in a roach motel with yellow water and they were not able to make it to St. John until the next day. So, watch out for traveling thru Puerto Rico from the States.

My fiance and I chose to rent a beautiful villa in Coral Bay thru DESTINATION ST. JOHN (named DRAKE'S LOOKOUT) which I can not commend enough. The views were spectacular of the British VI, and the decor was exquisite. My parents and my sister and her family rented a villa in Cruz Bay thru CARIBBEAN VILLA (named SPLASH), this villa was so cool and the decor here was as nice as mine in Coral Bay. I stayed with my parents the first two nights until my wedding day. Of course, much to our surprise a tropical storm was passing over Puerto Rico August 26th (my wedding day) and it rained all morning off and on in St. John. I had to call my photographer and delay our wedding pictures due to the rain. Well, unfortunately, I stepped outside SPLASH on to their tile steps when the rain stopped at one point to call the photographer, and slipped and fell. And yes, sadly, I broke my right leg that very minute, (the day of my wedding). We went to the hospital in St. John, very very clean ( and amazingly enough, I was the only patient that morning). We received crutches and treatment (pain meds) and proceeded back to SPLASH to go ahead and get married that afternoon even though my leg was (what we thought sprained/broke). We got married inside SPLASH, in the living room/indoor pool area, and just our luck the rain stopped and we were able to have some beautiful pictures taken outside on the patio at SPLASH. I had to wait until Monday, to hear the news from the Doctor at the hospital after having x-rays taken that my leg was indeed broken.

That evening, I had chose the Sugar Plantation Ruins at Caneel Bay to have my wedding dinner/reception but the rain caused our plans to change once again. Since the Ruins are outside, we had to have our dinner inside at the Equator. Richard, the manager of THE EQUATOR Restaurant of Caneel Bay, was so nice and kind. He had arranged for a golf cart to pick me up since I was having so much trouble walking on my broken leg with crutches, and took us curb side service directly to the entrance of THE EQUATOR. The setting and view of St. Thomas was breathtaking. And not to mention the service and food were the best we have ever had. THE EQUATOR offered such an assortment of entrees as well as provided top notch service. I would highly recommend anyone who wants a good dinner with a wonderful view at night, to eat at THE EQUATOR.

So, now to mention our villas SPLASH and DRAKE'S LOOKOUT. SPLASH is in Cruz Bay and offers 3 bdrms, 2 full baths, and an indoor pool with outdoor jacuzzi, hammock, and step down to the Bay waters. This villa is great for a family of 6 and even one with children as long as there is adult supervision because of the indoor pool. There are a family of iguanas that greet you every morning and afternoon on the patio out back with a hungry desire for food. There were even two wooden bowls on the rock wall to feed them on. haha! And the decor of the villa is so tropical and warm and inviting. The only downside is there was not air conditioning in the great room and kitchen. But thank goodness the bedrooms are air conditioned. The price was about $3100 which was not bad considering the decor and amenities of this villa, and of course that we were there off-season.

My new husband and I stayed in Coral Bay in DRAKE'S LOOKOUT. Believe me when I tell you this villa is worth the bumpy ride up a steep mountain that you must have a 4 wheel drive vehicle for. The views of the British Virgin Islands are breathtaking, and the decor of this villa is so pretty. You really feel like you are on an island vacation when you stay here. There are 2 bedrooms and 2.5 baths. Which I can commend the tile showers that both full baths had were really nice. This villa is great for a honeymoon, 2 people or family of 4 vacation. This villa has an awesome outdoor pool and sun-deck with the best views money can buy. The tropical fauna here is also great and each day there are gecko lizards climbing on the fence and a cute little kitty who has made this villa her home. Staying at CORAL BAY at this villa was a great choice for our honeymoon. There is so much privacy, and its nice to be on the other side of the island away from all the tourists. Plus each time you are ready to go to the beach, you have a wonderful drive ahead of you to see sites you wouldn't normally see if you stayed directly on the beach. Oh, and did I mention there were a group of wild donkeys and horses on separate days that travelled our road too. How funny! But don't be scared about the drive up the mountain. It is not too dangerous as long as you have 4 wheel drive and its so worth it. This villa doesn't have air conditioning but it wasn't a problem with the breeze you get thru out the day because you are up so high!! The cost off season for two was about $1975 and worth every penny. We will definitely be back!!!

DESTINATION ST. JOHN were so nice to deal with and on top of things. They call you the day you arrive and set up a time for your arrival and personally meet you at the ferry dock and take you to get your car rental which they arrange for you and take you to your villa. They knew this was our honeymoon, and had left a really nice large gift basket full of goodies since it was so late when we arrived. Thank goodness for the gift basket or my new husband would have been dying of thirst. Because of the water quality, its recommended to drink bottled water thru out St. John. And let me also say, Caribbean Villa was wonderful for my Mom to work with, they even reimbursed us for some of my medical expenses due to my fall on their patio steps. They also met my family at the ferry dock and took them to their villa the evening we arrived.

So, even though I broke my leg the 2nd day we were at St. John, my honeymoon and wedding were wonderful and so much fun. Since I couldn't get around very well, my new husband, drove us in our jeep, from one side of the island to the other so I could see all the pretty beaches and coastal scenery. I ended up have my photographer come over from St. Croix on Tues. and we took pictures at Caneel Bay Resort which was so beautiful and now I will have at least some wedding pictures with a beach in the background even though it didn't pan out the way I had dreamed and planned. And it was fun getting dressed up again too!!!

Here are the sites that helped me plan my dream wedding:
http://www.st-john.com
http://stjohnweddings.com (sunrise/sunset schedule, license info, locations on St. John)
http://www.usviwedding.com/index2.html

Wedding Cake thru Katilady Catering at http://katilady.com

Wedding Photography - Kelly Greer at http://www.kellygreerphotographer.com (if you want to view my photos go to view my images at Wyatt-Brown Wedding)

Wedding Dinner/Reception at The Equator Restaurant at Caneel Bay Resort at http://www.caneelbay.com

Floral Advice and other wonderful island advice from a really great lady, Susan Pratt at Passion Flower Florist on St. John at http://www.passionflowerstjohn.com
Florist on St. Thomas Roses East Too Felipe Alaya

Highly recommend Drake's Lookout with Destination St. John at http://www.destinationstjohn.com/drakes_lookout.htm

Splash with Caribbean Villa at http://www.caribbeanvilla.com/splash/index.html

Other fun restaurants we ate at included Skinny Legs in Coral Bay, Chole & Bernard's at the Westin, Morgan's Mango in Cruz Bay, a Tex-Mex Restaurant in Cruz Bay near the ferry dock for breakfast and dinner (great food & service), and my family ate at the Fishtrap.

So if you want some advice about getting married in St. John or have questions about staying in a villa, feel free to email me at [email protected]

Thanks.
Larissa in Kentucky