Where to get married in the Bahamas?
 

We are looking to do a destination wedding in the Bahamas. My fiancee has her heart set on the ceremony being held at the Cloister ruins on Paradise Island, but she just found out a minimal ceremony would cost about 10k and she feels that is way too high.

Personally I was thinking more of a secluded area on a beach (cloisters seem to be in the middle of a bunch of chaos and not on the beach)

With the wedding being a destination wedding we were thinking about making it a week long vacation for the guests, as they all will be traveling a long way,and we want to make the trip worth their while. We were hoping to be able to entertain the guests with day trips on our boat and my fathers.

So basically we are looking for an area that we can house 20-30 people, whether it be 2 or 3 homes we rent for a week, or a hotel or ???, and to be in an area where everyone can be entertained for a week and a neat place for a wedding ceremony.

After the ceremony, I was considering doing a little Island hopping/exploring for our honey moon.

Any suggestions on any of this?

Go to Key West and have it there!

My friend did his wedding at Atlantis. Works well because they have a marina.

1st consideration is getting there.......Nassau has daily flights, smaller islands might not.
2nd- anything near Atlantis is going to be ridiculously overpriced. If you are he11 bent on Atlantis, book the Comfort Suites next door. You get free breakfast and internet and all the privileges of the Atlantis property (aquarium, waterpark etc). It is literally 150 ft from the Atlantis Marina.
3rd- passports. All trips to the Bahamas require one. If any of your wedding party/guests don't have one, factor in the lead time to get one.

Just got home from Bimini a few hours ago. We chartered a plane for $2680 round trip. Plane seated 7. Commercial flights were $325 a seat though I had seen them as cheap as $210 RT. Of course I went to book and the price was the higher price. Keep in mind this was 50 +/- miles from mainland FL, 33 minute flight at 140 knots!

We did Atlantis last summer, Bimini this summer. My kids thought Bimini was the "real Bahamas" whereas Atlantis was more "Las Vegas meets the Bahamas!"
Also be wary of Baha Mar or whatever they are calling the newest resort in Nassau/Paradise Harbor......It is NOT OPEN YET despite them taking reservations on the US phone lines. They declared bankruptcy and need 75 million more to finish the place! This was per my neighbor who works in Nassau and was back home last weekend.

Thank you Jupiter Sunsation. I am leaning more towards "the real bahamas"

We also are considering renting a VERY large home to house everyone and have the ceremony, if the backdrop is conducive.

Try Abaco. Great area for exploring by boat. Literally hundreds of small islands. Lots of homes to rent. We rented a boat in Marsh Harbor. Stayed at Lubbers Landing on Lubbers Cay and expored all week around there.

Isn't there a OSO member that has a resort somewhere in the Islands?
Padraig

Yeah, that's the place Payton is talking about. I imagine the would even have leads on house rentals...

My suggestion would be Treasure Cay in the Abacos. http://treasurecay.com/
Awesome beach and a good central hub for daily boat excursions to explore the surrounding islands.
You can easily spend a week and never visit the same island twice!

Guana cay!

One thing about Atlantis when I went there I wanted to loose my virginty!! Because I was in heaven When I went there!

Both great destinations but they will be a hassle to get 20-30 out of town guests to/from.

I just got back from island hopping through the Abacos. It was a great place. Facebook me and you can see the pics. (Cameron Murray) We hit Green Turtle Cay, Great Guana Cay, Lubber's Landing on Lubber's Quarter (Austin is the OSO member that owns it, but it is just three small cottages - very nice, but not what you described you wanted), and Hopetown on Elbow Cay. There are some marinas and mini resorts in Hopetown that might work, as well as a couple on Greeen turtle Cay and Orchid Bay Marina on Great Guana Cay. I also hear nice things about Treasure Cay.

we are starting to lean towards renting several units in a mini resort, be the easiest way to keep everybody in the same area. Treasure Cay looks very nice and we could fly down to the cloisters for the day if that's where we have the ceremony.

So, we were married on the Windjammer SV Fantom in the Bahamas. There were three couples on that cruise, we anchored off Abaco and the minister of tourism/ordained minister did the service with the Captain walking the brides down the deck, and standing next to the minister. The cook made three wedding cakes and we had a rocking reception for the 6 of us. Far, Far, Far too much warm Stout, crew too. I honestly don't recall anything that occurred after 9:00 pm. Very bad off the next couple of days, sea sick and hung over.

Still married to the same wonderful gal, 22 years now.

The SV Fantom was lost with all hands in the hurricane Mitch in 1998, after putting passengers and non-essential crew off in Belize. They sailed south as Mitch was heading north and wanted to get beyond the storm to the south, as it had been forecast to continue north, but then it made a left turn and trapped them against the coast, Windjammer went out of business due to the loss and the lawsuits from the families. Heard they started up again, absolutely the best cruise I've ever been on, barefeet and swim suit for a week, good food (not fancy), sailing under the stars, snorkeling / beaching / exploring during the days.

I didnt read all of the replies but my wife and I got married on the beach about a half mile down the beach from Atlantis and used a wedding planner who got it all organized. I was GREAT! Just what we wanted. This is who we used and her email.

paulette davis [email protected]

If your considering the Bahamas I would highly recommend her. My wife liked her so much that they are still in contact with each other.

Talked with my friend and he said they got a steep discount on rooms at Atlantis for hosting their wedding there. He said it came out around the same as other resorts, renting houses/beach cottages, etc.

Treasure Cay is a beautiful island the people are great the accommodations are great and the food is very good. The island people there like none other it would be the perfect place for your wedding it's like paradise.

The word wedding and paradise don't belong together!!

Sorry if it was mentioned I didn't read through the whole thread but I would look into staniel cay. The exumas are ridiculously beautiful in my opinion.

Have you thought of Green Turtle Cay?
Its amazing here, lots of activities for guests ranging from swimming with the pigs, island hopping. When it comes to accommodations we have houses that can house up to 20 persons. Green tUrtle Cay has alot of options when it comes to hosting large groups.
I am a event planner here check out my FB page Green Turtle Cay - As You Wish and please feel free to send me an email [email protected] and I will be happy to answer any questions you have and also offer suggestions.

Green Turtle was very nice. Loved that little secluded road on the Atlantic side. We stayed at the Bluff House, and those folks make a mean Eggs Benedict.

I would steer clear of Atlantis. No offense to anyone that enjoys it there. It's nice and all but too "gimicky". Reminded me of being in Vegas. If I want to be in a Vegas style casino, I'll go to Vegas. It's a really cool place and all, just doesn't feel bahemian. Plus I'm sure you want to make your wedding special. When your wife is walking through the casino after your wedding or before and there's another bride doing the same thing, it just may take the specialness out of it.

I'd listen to those that recommend upscale hotels off the beaten path. You could always do Saba Rock Resort that a few OSO members have stayed at down in BVI. Hear it's awesome. Definately on the bucket list for us.

Congrats by the way. Best thing I ever did. Don't listen to the nay-sayers. ;)

My vote is for Harbor Island. It is not really easiest to get to, but they have a few really nice resorts there that could all handle weddings. I had a wedding there a few years ago and it was beautiful. My second choice would be Staniel Cay, you can rent little beach cottages and they have an airport on the island which is convenient. I believe you also get a little 13ft whaler to go around on with the cottage rental.

Just find a woman you hate and buy her a house, car and give her some cash. Save all the paperwork. Lol.

Have you ever been to the Bahamas? It is really a 3rd world country so complicated plans can easily fall apart. Nobody is in a rush, getting a hotel room cleaned can be a 3-4 hour delay. You will also find getting to small islands is a one flight a day/ single airline destination. Bigger places (like Nassau/Atlantis) will be easier to get to and will have better service but you lose "small island charm" in the process.

I have been to West End, Grand Bahama, Freeport, Green Turtle, Nassau/ Atlantis and was in Bimini again last weekend and the "laid back style" is pretty common everywhere. This might be very stressful for a bridal party.

Last weekend, Bimini (north and south) as well as Cat Cay all ran out of gasoline! When asking around on when it would arrive, some said tomorrow, some said probably next week.....this was GASOLINE! Not like you were asking for caviar or an IPhone 6s! Bimini is only 50 miles from the US! There were 3 boats stranded on S. Bimini because they didn't have enough fuel to get back to Florida.......big engine CC's burn lots of fuel! We ended up leaving a few hours early, called the charter plane and said pick us up! No gas = no fun (golf carts/boats).

Look into Our Lucaya on Grand Bahama/Freeport. We attended a wedding there in 2008 and it was beautiful. It's easy to get to with the luxuries of a resort but not as commercial as Atlantis/Nassau. We have been all through the islands and Exumas is by far the prettiest but not as easy to get to with that many people in tow. Great Exuma is amazing but can be pricey. They have a Sandals resort there along with others so that could be an option. One thing about Grand Bahama is there are also a lot of houses for rent there (definitely have options there). But the wedding was awesome (small but beautiful) with about 40 people in attendance. Just a recommendation. Good luck!

The Abacos has Marsh Harbor which is pretty industrial as the Bahamas go. Can't imagine it running out of fuel. Green Turtle would probably be the farthest from there he could get and do the kind of wedding he wants, and it is only 21 miles as the crow flies. Also, Albury Brothers runs a Ferry service to all of the major islands in the Abacos, so guests will not have to all take the same boat. I think the trip is $30-40 per person.

Anyone ever stop in to Schooners Bay? My fiance talked to the owners and she is pretty excited. I think they can house everyone. It looks rather desolate, but I think that might be what we are after. March Harbor would be a quick ride from Schooner.

I personally like the idea or treasure cay and renting several condos/cottages. Looks like a much better option in my opinion. Schooner bay looks nice, but I'm not sure there is enough there to entertain everyone.

My brother got married on Spanish, worked out well, airport on the island, marina, rooms and houses available

Atlantis!

Odd name......Kama- means desire, wish
Lame- ???

Place looks nice but I had never heard of it. Rooms seem pricey and the 28% room tax, plus 7.5 VAT, plus 18% gratuity seems excessive..... Does Mercury Marine own this resort by chance? :rolleyes: