Weddings Away!
Sherry Amatenstein
It’s true that there’s no place like home. However, for an incredibly memorable wedding, consider getting married out of town – way out of town. More and more couples are choosing exotic and/or unique locales in which to stage the most important event of their lives. A sensational destination wedding can be arranged on any budget — just check below: BIG BUCKS BASHES San Ysidro Ranch If the wall of this breathtaking 100-year-old Santa Barbara retreat could talk, it would spill the romantic beans on couples ranging from Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier (they wed here) to the Jack Kennedys and Julia Roberts and Danny Moder (they honeymooned here). The Ranch Wedding Garden seats 100 guests under an elegant white canopy. Or go with the Oliviers’ pick: The Ceremony Garden, adjacent to three rose and bougainvillea-bedecked lawns. Each offers an ethereally gorgeous setting. For $85,000 all 38 guest cottages (including the one shared by Jack and Jackie) are yours for two nights. The price includes a basic four-course meal for 100 guests, cake, wines and a champagne toast. You’ll have to dig deeper into your wallet for a more elaborate menu and décor, pre-wedding brunch, flowers, photography and music. Relax, there are also $18,000 and $11,000 packages available. For more information, call 800-368-6788 and check out www.sanysidroranch.com. The Most Memorable Day Of Her Life Liza Utter sighs, recalling the perfection of her wedding this past June. The 38-year-old Californian says, “The staff goes out of their way to make guests feel taken care of yet also removed from civilization. Tom and I brought our dog and above our cottage door was a nameplate with all three of our names.” Liza, who owns two restaurants, had a very specific vision of her wedding, which the ranch bent over backwards to accommodate. “We chose to marry late afternoon, under an arbor created from flowers in a small garden lit with twinklelights. The wedding dinner was prepared to my specifications. Afterward, even though most of the guests stayed at the ranch – we hardly saw them. All the couples chose to revel in their own magical, private worlds.” Fisher Island Book a wedding on this 216-acre paradise and your party will be the ONLY special event of the day. Once the winter retreat of the Vanderbilts, Fisher Island, south of Miami Beach, is now a private and uber-chic residential community. However, you needn’t be a member/resident to marry on the island if you reserve a bridal suite. Choose the Vanderbilt mansion’s elegant ballroom for your ceremony or the library, whose mahogany-paneled walls were originally part of one of Napoleon’s estates. Or wed outdoors in the aviary under the shade of a 100-year-old banyon tree. This sanctuary boasts a salon, spa, two deep water marinas, six restaurants and a mile-long stretch of powder white sand beach. Heaven doesn’t come cheap: a wedding for 30 to 50 people typically runs from $15,000 to $50,000. As this doesn’t include music, flowers, or photography, expect the cost to spiral up. Some couples have spent $100,000, which makes the additional $1,550 to $2,000 for a two-night stay chicken feed. Call Shelagh Smith at 305-553-6013 or preview Wedding Packages at www.fisherisland-florida.com. The Most Memorable Day Of Her Life Before deciding on Fisher Island as the site of their September 2002 nuptials Lizabeth Leffler and Anthony Kountz considered marrying in either the Caribbean or a French chateau. Lizabeth, who is 30, recalls, “Finally I thought, ‘We’ve been coming here for years. It has such a special, secluded quality to it. What could be more perfect?’” Guests later said it felt like a fairytale wedding. Lizabeth purrs, “It was exactly what I wanted – intimate and elegant but not overblown or kitschy. The mansion has such a warm aura to it and it was a lot easier for our friends to travel to than France.” NICE CHUNK OF CHANGE Herbert Glacier Be the first on your block (probably your state) to have a spectacularly unique ceremony. This not-for-wimps package combines a 7-day Alaskan cruise with a ceremony atop a glacier. The shipboard part of this romantic adventure is totally luxe: the two of you are on a mega-cruiseliner replete with a salon, spa, gym, pools, miniature golf course, casino and of course non-stop food ops. On the day of days, you’re met by a limo driver at the ship’s gangway, whisked to the Juneau courthouse to pick up a wedding license, then guided onto a four- or six-person helicopter that will transport you into the sky. Bridal wear for the civil ceremony includes glacier boots and a bouquet of Alaskan wildflowers. Awaiting you back in your cabin is champagne and a small wedding cake. Intrigued? A cruise and glacier package begins at $6,000, not including airfare. Bookings should be made six months in advance. See travel agents listed right here in Long Island Weddingpages. The Most Memorable Day Of Her Life Crystal Graff succeeded at her goal. The 30-year-old Wisconsin newlywed laughs, “Jesse and I wanted to do something no one else had done.” She recalls of her June 2002 wedding, “Our witnesses were the pilot and the photographer. I had long underwear on under my wedding dress.” Most surprising to Crystal was how turquoise the glacier appeared. “It looked like we were standing on top of the ocean except there was ice and a helicopter around!” Westin St. John Resort And Villas One of the many benefits of destination weddings is that only the people you most want to show up will get on a plane to attend your nuptials. Another is that it’s cheaper to arrange an all-stops-out party offshore than in the states. Those who think bliss is exchanging vows while barefoot in the sand can easily achieve this sun-kissed fantasy. Rates are about $5,000 for a private ceremony and seven nights accommodations, and rise to $15,000 to $35,000 to declare your love before 30 guests. Prices go from $3,000 to $950,000 for the resort’s four Wild Wedding packages (i.e.: a Wetsuit Wedding for dive-certified couples.) Since St. John is part of the USVI, obtaining the wedding license is a piece of cake. For more information, take the first step by looking right here in Long Island Weddingpages for a travel agent. The Most Memorable Day Of Her Life Although Leian Cadogan lives in New Jersey, the 32-year-old’s dream was to marry by palm trees and the sound of lapping waves. That fantasy came true August 2002 when 30 guests who’d flown to this tropical paradise from around the world witnessed her union to Jean-Pierre. “We picked St. John because of its beauty – two-thirds is a national park. The hotel arranged everything from the photographer to the DJ and flowers to the scrumptious buffet of foods like chicken with salsa and rich, dark rum cake. All I had to do was show up by the beachside gazebo in my wedding dress covered with seashells.” Leian adds, “Whenever I’m stressed, I remember the wedding and a big smile lights up my face.” PRACTICALLY PAIN-FREE Las Vegas Care to bet on the odds of having a Vegas (inexpensive) wedding that is tasteful, not tacky? You were correct if you said 100 to 1. Sure, you can still waltz into a “chapel of love,” fork over $100 and moments later be heading to the casino as Mr. and Mrs. However these days classy hotels like Caesar’s Palace Tesana and Paris have wedding packages starting at $629 that buy you a wedding coordinator to plan the details, wedding bouquet and boutonniere, photos, a photo album and wedding certificate holder. Splurge for $999 weekdays, $1,050 weekends and you’ll also get music, champagne, a video, lace garter and much more. These days it’s actually possible to spend $8,000 for a Vegas wedding replete with a “romantic and/or spiritual” ceremony, witnessed by 100 of your nearest and dearest. For an overview, check out www.lasvegas.com. Then contact a travel agent listed right here in Long Island Weddingpages. The Most Memorable Day Of Her Life Marissa Harper did not have the stereotypical Vegas wedding. She and husband Paul invited 100 guests (70 showed up) to share their joy and easy access to slot machines. Marissa, 22, says of her August 2002 nuptials, “People assumed the wedding would be cheesy. It was the total opposite. It had the glitz of Vegas coupled with the beauty of a traditional ceremony. We told the wedding coordinator to add a small, quirky touch. She came through: when Paul and I walked back down the aisle after being pronounced man and wife, our musical accompaniment wasn’t the Wedding March but Viva Las Vegas!” Occidental Grand Flamenco Xcaret Got a large number of family and friends who want to witness your nuptials – wherever they take place? A unique and wallet-pleasing choice is Occidental Grand Flamenco Xcaret, an all-inclusive five star resort and spa near Cancun. It is also near Mexico’s famous Mayan-themed eco-archeological preserve Xcaret Park where you can swim in an underground river, snorkel, visit archeological sites, a butterfly farm and much more. The $1,299 wedding package includes a photographer and photo album, wedding cake to feed 50, champagne toast, one-day passes for all your guests to Xcaret Park and a “Boda” (Spanish for wedding) Butler who can handle everything from getting the groomsmen fitted for tuxes to securing flower arrangements. Since meals are included in your stay, dinner at any of the resort’s 11 restaurants is complimentary. Naturally a special meal in a private room can be arranged. The $1,299 fee is waived if your guests occupy 25 or more rooms (at $129 a night) for three nights. Begin by making plans with a travel agent listed right here in Long Island Weddingpages. The Most Memorable Day Of Her Life Until two weeks before her scheduled vacation to the Yucatan in Mexico this past September, Karen Barbero didn’t realize the jaunt would also be her wedding! The 48-year-old enthuses, “Jack popped the question and, knowing I’d always wanted to be married on the beach, suggested we do it while at the resort.” The couple flew down from Nevada with two friends (a.k.a. witnesses). Karen says, “The Boda Butler found the photographer and florist, and suggested a Mayan theme for the wedding.” Karen wound her way up to the altar on a path strewn with rose petals. After a candle-lighting ceremony with a Mayan priestess, a rainbow illuminated the sky as the couple said their “I do’s.” Karen says, “I got my beach wedding – and so much more.”