A Wedding Story

Recently, bride-to-be Emily Kreitman was choosing a Manhattan location for her marriage to fiance Billy Gilligan when they came to an impasse on the venue. "It just got too hectic trying to plan our wedding in New York City," says Emily. "It was my dream to get married on the beach. I saw pictures of the weddings at Sandals and wanted to get more details." When their families found out that the couple wanted to be wed in a storybook tropical setting — and knew they could come along — they gave their approval. So Emily and Billy decided to go ahead and seal the deal.

We chose to have the ceremony in Negril because there are both Beaches, a family resort, and Sandals, a couples-only resort, located there," explains Emily. She and Billy decided on Beaches Negril so their young nieces and and nephews could attend. The couple honeymooned at nearby Sandals Negril Beach & Spa so they could rejoice in their time alone.

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Emily and Billy were right in the groove: Destination weddings are a booming trend. Mangan, who has been planning Sandals and Beaches weddings for 16 years, has watched the business grow from five weddings a month to a thousand weddings a month.

"It's no longer just the bride and groom getting married. With Beaches, the whole family can attend. Now stays are split up, with families vacationing at Beaches, while couples honeymoon at Sandals," she says. "WeddingMoons™ have become a very special time of celebration for family and friends. And at a destination wedding, everyone has an enjoyable time."

Yolanda Crous, senior travel editor of Bride's magazine, says, "The destination wedding has always been big with couples getting married for the second or third time. Typically, they don't want a big affair, but rather something small that they can share." Lately, she is seeing a lot more first-time brides choosing destination weddings. The reason? Crous notes that nowadays brides are more likely to have full-time jobs and don't have the time or the inclination to spend a year planning a wedding. Not to mention the financial factor. It's a lot less expensive to fund a small wedding in the Caribbean than a large hotel affair in a big city. Indeed, with Sandals and Beaches' standard WeddingMoon™ package offered on a complimentary basis for couples who stay five nights or longer, you don't need a calculator to draw the same conclusion.

Lastly, people are more mobile these days. A hometown wedding is more of a rarity. Crous remarks, "The mind-set is, if relatives and other guest are going to fly to a wedding, why not have them fly to a tropical wedding in a gorgeous location and have several celebrations instead of just one?"