The Island’s Wedding Planners

By Pat Cantor

Just like other couples who have gotten married on the island, for a more relaxed wedding and joyous reception, you should consider hiring a wedding planner. They help de-stress your wedding, giving you lots of time to relax and enjoy your own special day and have fun with your guests. So many brides and grooms complain that their wedding seems to fly by too fast and they don’t get to spend time with their guests. A wedding planner will give you time to enjoy your own wedding. Wedding planners help you narrow your choices, making the process so much less stressful. These local professionals know the island and how much things cost, and they work with all the top vendors—from photographers to the best cake makers. They know the island’s logistics and how much you can cram into a day of fun while still taking care of your wedding plans.

All the planning companies can organize almost anything for you, from the simple to the exotic. They will take care of the legal paperwork, make all arrangements for activities and outings, organize your bachelor and bachelorette parties, keep your guests entertained, arrange for shopping trips, make your ground accommodations, rent cars for your wedding party and more—as well as take care of every detail of the wedding itself. There is very little they cannot accomplish with advance notice. The island is home to more than 115 nationalities, so the planners have access to a wide variety of music, entertainment, food, cultural traditions and diverse locations. They will help you fulfill your dream wedding while remaining sensitive to all budgets.

The Fairy Godmother
Like Lyndy and Charlie, you might choose to work with Jean Rich, often called by her brides “The Fairy Godmother of Weddings.” And just like Cinderella’s endearing godmother, Rich will help you plan a wedding worthy of a fairy tale. Rich, an American who has lived on St. Maarten/St. Martin for 20 years, is a very hands-on planner who brings unique talents to her wedding planning expertise. She has more than 30 years of international event-planning experience, and is also involved in the upscale wine and restaurant business on St. Maarten/St. Martin, as well as Anguilla and St. Barths. Her food and wine credentials are stellar, having traveled the world to experience the top chefs and learn about food. Her extensive hospitality background gives her an edge in wedding planning and the ability to help you create your dream wedding. She understands how to get the best value for your budget, no matter what the current economic picture is or what your budget constraints are. And she is very creative. Rich’s motto is, “If you can dream it, I can make it happen.” She can and she does!

With her “magic wand,” Rich brings alive your dream wedding. She provides very personalized hands-on service, allowing her to create customized concepts that reflect your own fantasy. With her well-honed professional skills, Rich can maximize your budget without sacrificing beauty, fun and joy. She’s quite inventive and a real problem-solver. She also has access to the top wedding suppliers on the island, from talented florists to world-class musicians and more.

One thing she highly recommends if you want a religious ceremony on the island (whether French or Dutch side), especially a Catholic one, is that you really do need to get legally married either back home or on the Dutch side and then have a religious renewal ceremony on the island. You will need to have the renewal ceremony in the local parish church with special permission from the local priest.

In addition to Lyndy and Charlie’s elegant island wedding, Rich has arranged weddings at other creative venues, such as one couple who arrived in separate boats at Anse Marcel and got married on the beach. One bride wanted all fresh red roses, so Rich designed table arrangements using red heart-shaped boxes filled to the brim with freeze-dried rose petals... beautiful and cost effective. For another wedding, a U.K. bridal party was dressed in Scottish regalia and enjoyed a limbo party.

As Lyndy said, “We chose Sint Maarten/St. Martin because it is a beautiful Caribbean island where we have a home we adore and wonderful friends we’ve met over the years. The wedding Jean planned for us was absolutely perfect, and we will always have the very fondest memories of our special day.”

No matter what type of wedding you dream of, remember that Rich is your gatekeeper. She tries hard to exceed your expectations. Contact Jean Rich at wedinsxm@caribserve.net or visit her website at www.stmaarten-beachweddings.com.

Sint Maarten Marry-Me
Brenda Wathey and her very professional, experienced and creative planners are dedicated to providing the most romantic, stress-free wedding you can dream of. They hold your hand through the entire process and literally become your eyes, ears and feet on St. Maarten/St. Martin. And don’t be fooled into thinking that everyone here is tropically “sleepy.” Wathey and her planners are true trendsetters on the island, staying on top of important wedding and event trends worldwide, from the newest color themes to cake requests like special fondant cakes and even gluten-free cakes. And, as the largest wedding planning service on the island, they have an extensive variety of services both inside and outside their company that facilitate their creative planning.

Marry-Me has special resources available to them that are unique among wedding planners. Part of the same group as Marry-Me is Maduro Travel, located right next door to the Marry-Me offices. Maduro can make all the travel arrangements for you and your wedding party, from airfare to hotels to booking your honeymoon destination. Sint Maarten Marry-Me’s sister event-planning company, Artemia Event Planners, offers expanded event services for spectacular weddings for any budget and ethnicity. That’s an important reason they can design almost any wedding you can imagine.

As the largest planning service on the island, their visibility and professional status make them a “go-to” planning service beyond brides. In fact, one reason the French changed the restrictive residency requirements for getting married on the French side is Marry-Me. Their presentation to the French side government and businesses demonstrated the importance of the destination wedding industry on St. Maarten/St. Martin. The French relaxed the laws in order to take advantage of an ever-increasing business for St. Maarten/St. Martin.

So what trends do Wathey and her team see for 2010? According to Wathey, “We are seeing an increase in the number of weddings on island, and the bridal parties are getting bigger. A destination wedding is a great way to combine a wedding and a family vacation. It’s a cost-friendly consideration in this economy. To accommodate this increase in business, the local hotels have really stepped up and will go the extra mile, whether a French-side or Dutch-side hotel. That’s also a cost benefit to the bride and groom.”

Other important wedding trends include the commitment ceremony for couples who want to test the waters by committing to each other... sort of a “super engagement.” The other important trend will be a predicted increase in Jewish weddings, thanks to the island’s new rabbi. Previously you had to fly down your own rabbi. You still need the government official for your legal marriage, but the rabbi can now perform the religious ceremony right after.

Wathey and her planners are also using more interesting materials and colors, resulting in absolutely beautiful and memorable wedding photos. As the official cruise wedding planners, the new cruise trend is to get married right on board rather than move to a land location. Wathey and her team bring everything you want, from flowers to DJ to steel band, right to the ship.

Sint Maarten Marry-Me has the knowledge and resources to design any wedding, in any location and with any budget. They also are sticklers for making sure you have the right papers before you file with either the French or Dutch government. They will also organize your entire stay on the island, including spa days, side trips to the outer islands, shopping excursions, and sports like golf, horseback riding or beach sports. They also organize your evening parties for you and your guests—from gourmet dinners to fun bachelor and bachelorette evenings.

Reading the testimonials on their new, user-friendly and informative website, it’s clear that the Marry-Me planners have created wonderful memories. And after your wedding, your wedding pictures are posted on the company’s website… a continuous reminder of your special day to share with friends and family. It truly is one-stop shopping. For more information, contact customerservice@sintmaartenmarry-me.com.

Celestial Weddings
One of the definitions of celestial is “supremely good and sublime,” making it an appropriate name for one of the island’s top boutique wedding planning services, Celestial Weddings and Events. The company, formerly the well-regarded Ultimate Wedding, has evolved to an even higher level as Celestial Weddings and Events. The highly experienced team at Celestial is very passionate about St. Maarten/St. Martin and the ease of organizing destination weddings, vow renewals and any type of event. The eclectic and exotic mix of cultures on the island creates a sublime mix from which to draw inspiration and resources for any wedding you can imagine. The company has more than 20 years’ experience in the United States and the Caribbean in event and wedding planning, so it is not unusual that most of Celestial Weddings and Events’ business comes from happy referrals. From simple, intimate ceremonies to elaborate affairs for VIPs and celebrities, Celestial provides the same high level of service and personal attention for each of their clients. Celestial also organizes everything you need to entertain and accommodate your guests while you are on the island, from shopping trips to excursions.

Although wedding villas are their favorite venues, Celestial can create a fantasy from a simple shell. For example, Sharon Remy, the island’s best and senior wedding planner at Celestial, once organized a gorgeous mix of the exotic, the romantic, Arabian nights and pure Caribbean. The couple, Aymen and Barihan, met several years ago while attending university in Canada. Over the years, as they were both pursuing higher degrees in separate countries, their relationship was filled with long commutes to see each other and lots of phone calls. They decided to meet up in St. Maarten with family and friends. It was on this island where they became engaged. And it was on St. Maarten where they wanted to have their wedding reception. But first, the traditional Henna with Barihan’s girlfriends and the Arabic (Katb Kitab) wedding were held privately before family and friends traveled to St. Maarten for the reception.

St. Maarten is where Barihan’s dream of an oceanside wedding came true thanks to Sharon Remy. As Barihan recounts, “The hall at Maho Beach Resort was everything I imagined it to be thanks to the listening ear and detailed attention that my wedding planner, the fabulous and talented Sharon Remy, and her team gave to me. The hall was draped with lots of sheer fabric and fairy lights. Starfish and shells were everywhere, from the staircase to the tables and walkways. We were welcomed into the reception area by the traditional Zaffa and led into the hall by an exotic belly dancer. Our centerpieces were conch shells filled with ivory and white flowers; rather than table numbers, names of the island’s beaches were used. Our wedding cake was decorated with cream and blue sugar icing starfish. Our first dance to Jagged Edge’s ‘I gotta be,’ chosen by Aymen, was the perfect memory to an already perfect reception. Even the gifts we gave our guests completed the ocean theme... shell candle holders wrapped in Tiffany boxes. From the Arabic dancing to the candlelight setting, it was an unforgettable moment we are all still talking about.”

To help you create your own unforgettable wedding moments right here in St. Maarten, contact Celestial Weddings and Events at www.celestialweddings-stmartin.com; e-mail: customerservice@celestialweddings-stmartin.com; Tel: 599-542-8908; Fax: 599-542-8909.

Cheers

By Jean Rich

Why is Champagne the traditional toasting beverage at a celebratory event? Surely it has been so for centuries, ever since its accidental discovery in the 1800s by the monk Dom Pérignon and the perfection of the process by the widow ("Veuve" in French) Cliquot. The process of opening the bottle with its "POP!" and possibility for the cork to arc out across a room makes you feel celebratory.

The name "toast" comes from the Greco-Roman times when wine was rustic and didn't taste good; a piece of burnt toast was spiced and dropped into the wine to make it taste better. The charcoal in the charred part helped change the acid balance of the wine, improving it.

When we toast to each other, we usually clink the glasses together. The clink, in superstitious times, was meant to scare off the bad spirits and leave the good spirits. We also clink to add sound—another sensory dimension for added festivity to the occasion. Clinking symbolically joins the participants together. In some circles, rather than reaching across a big table, people clink from left to right around a group.

You can toast with any beverage, but in seafaring cultures, among sailors, it's considered very bad luck to toast with water because it would suggest wishing the toasted person into a watery grave.

Different cultures toast distinctively. A Georgian (formerly of the Soviet Union) toast is a shot glass of vodka, downed in one gulp. It's requisite to then hold the empty glass over your head upside-down to prove it's been drained. A succession of toasts at a Georgian banquet leads to a crowd that literally is drunk "under the table," where drunken guests end up.

The toast itself is a gracious gesture that creates an occasion out of any event. It involves the giver, called toastmaster, uttering a few words or a speech in someone's honor. The best toasts are short and inject some humor or evoke emotion, and are simple, easily remembered statements. It may also be a single word or phrase that reflects a wish like, " To your health," which is universally known in every language and every culture. Cheers! Skal! À votre santé! Salud!

For an island that is a mere 37 square miles, St. Maarten/St. Martin offers an incredible array of locations for your ceremony, parties and dining, entertainment, pre-wedding accommodations and your honeymoon.

Don't leave home without your credit card, or our shopping maps. Click here for quick guides to St. Maarten/St. Martin shopping and shopping maps.

On your tour around the island, sample the island's cuisine. Use our restaurant guide to help plan as well as a handy guide to activities and sights here.