Dreaming of a beach wedding but worried about privacy, i.e.

a beach of
your own
Dreaming of a beach
wedding but worried about
privacy, i.e., interruption
from random frisbeepassing strangers? These 10
resorts offer private or semiprivate (guest-only) beaches
that ensure beautiful
ceremonies with minimum
interference.
By Jill Fergus
Derrys Richardson
80 destination weddings & honeymoons
cap juluca
july/august 2012 81
Costalegre, Jalisco, Mexico
Sitting around a roaring bonfire on a tawny beach along Mexico’s
Pacific coast ... gazing at a night sky blanketed with twinkling stars
... roasting marshmallows ... sipping cognac cut with Mexican coffee.
Sound like heaven? That’s how couples can cap off a magical wedding night at Las Alamandas, a 1,500-acre luxury hideaway with
a mere 16 suites decorated in bold hues of turquoise, orange and
fuchsia. Located south of Puerto Vallarta, this place is so exclusive
it has its own landing strip for private planes. On the main beach,
make your big entrance down an aisle of bougainvillea-lined bamboo
mats as a string quartet softly plays. (Or for something more rugged
and dramatic, try the tiny cove of Chachalacas Beach.) Once you’ve
exchanged vows, a mariachi band can lead guests to the resort’s
palapa bar for celebratory pomegranate-and-kiwi margaritas, along
with quesadillas and coconut shrimp skewers. Dine in the torch-lit
garden of Plaza de los Delfines, then it’s back to the beach for dancing to a salsa band and the aforementioned late-night bonfire. Rooms
from $371; weddings custom.
get married here!
Maundays Bay, Anguilla
Anguilla has long been one of the Caribbean’s best-kept secrets. The
16-mile-long island flaunts pampering hotels, postcard-perfect beaches
and a wealth of laid-back pastimes, from snorkeling to horseback riding. One of its most upscale resorts is Cap Juluca, a collection of
whitewashed Moorish-style villas set along a wide, crescent-shaped
mile-long beauty. Two choices for beach weddings include the far end
of Maundays or the more private Cove Bay Beach, on the opposite end
of the property, facing the hills of St. Martin in the distance. Just before
sunset, approach down an aisle of fuchsia and purple bougainvillea petals (grown in the resort’s own garden) to tie the knot under a bamboo
arch. Continue the casual-chic theme with a flip-flop-friendly reception,
where you can sip rum-based Julucan Sunsets and ice-cold Carib
beers while nibbling oysters and shrimp from the raw bar. Meanwhile, a
chef manning a large outdoor grill will whip up local lobster, mahimahi
and chicken with accompanying Creole and lemon sauces. It’s not over
yet — a five-piece calypso band will ensure guests groove till the wee
hours. Rooms from $495; weddings from $2,930.
LaLuna’s isolated cove, on
Grenada. Opposite: A rusticchic scene at Curacao’s
Lodge Kura Hulanda.
Vieques Island, Puerto Rico
Marco Island, Florida
Vieques, a once little-known island off Puerto Rico’s eastern coast, This barrier island, just below Naples and part of Florida’s Ten Thousand
is celebrated for its deserted beaches, sleepy fishing villages and Islands chain, is renowned for its stellar white beaches — which is probresident population of wild horses. The island is home to a number ably why one of the most popular ceremony venues at Marco Island
of small, casual guesthouses, or you can add a little San Juan sizzle Marriott Beach Resort, Golf Club & Spa is a thatch-roof tiki
to your tropical getaway at the super-stylish 156-room
hut on the beach, one of the Sunshine State’s largest priW Retreat & Spa Vieques Island. Weddings can
vate strands. If you crave something even more secluded,
Make your
take place on the main beach, but many couples opt for
the resort just launched a program that lets adventurthe more secluded Whisper Cove, a crescent-shaped entrance down ous couples marry within a national wildlife refuge on
strand with sugar-soft sand between rocky outcropsparsely populated Caxambas Island. After a 15-minute
an aisle of
pings (room for up to 50). Say your I do’s amid romantic
ride (where you might spot bald eagles, dolphins or even
bougainvillea- a manatee), the resort’s 55-foot pontoon will deposit you
touches like a chiffon-draped arch, candlelit floor lanterns and oversize throw pillows matching the wedding’s
lined bamboo and up to 49 guests on gorgeous Cape Romano Beach
color scheme. Afterward, toast your union right on the
for a simple ceremony with a tiki-torch backdrop. After
mats.
sand with the hotel’s famous Isla Nena mojitos and a
the I do’s, snap photos beside an abandoned white dome
Bacardi rum tasting. Then let a salsa band lead your
home dating from the ’80s. Back at the resort for the
party to the Lawn, beautifully set for dinner (think long tables dressed reception, enjoy sunset piña coladas and mini Cuban sandwiches, folwith calla-and-driftwood centerpieces), for a Puerto Rican-style pig lowed by Floridian/Pan-Asian fusion fare like guava barbecue-glazed
roast with regional sides like rice and black beans and fried plantains. pork loin and Gulf Coast red snapper. For dessert? Spongecake with Key
Not ready to call it a night? Gather round the ocean-facing fire pit lime custard filling, of course! Rooms from $279; wedding packages from
to rehash your blissful day. Rooms from $289; weddings from $1,000. $85 per person, plus site fee.
82 destination weddings & honeymoons
march/april 2012 83
St. George’s, Grenada
Looking for a destination off the beaten path? Consider the Spice
Island, one of the Caribbean’s lushest isles — and a little-known gem.
It’s all about la bella vita at LaLuna, an intimate Italian-owned resort
on a private estate in the Morne Rouge area. Set around a scenic
cove are 16 indoor-outdoor suites — 15 hillside cottages and one
beachfront villa — making it an ideal place for a property takeover.
One of the most picturesque ceremony spots is beside scenic rocks
on the beach’s northern end, where staff will set up an arch fashioned from coconut-palm branches and tropical orchids. After you’re
officially husband and wife, stroll over to the open-walled bar outfitted
with carved teak daybeds and tiki torches to toast each other with
glasses of prosecco and savor antipasto imported from Italy while a
calypso or merengue band gets things lively. Under the restaurant’s
thatch roof, tuck into a gourmet dinner of Italian specialties with
a tropical twist (think steak in a tamarind sauce, pappardelle with
nutmeg cream), complemented with a selection of vintages from the
all-Italian cellar. Late night, get your sugar rush with mango-andbreadfruit sorbet and glasses of grappa. Rooms from $365; wedding
packages from $4,380.
Chatham, Massachusetts
It doesn’t get more Americana than Cape Cod. At Wequassett
resort & golf club, a historic 120-room escape spanning 22
84 destination weddings & honeymoons
Clockwise from top left:
Las Alamandas’ vivid Plaza
de los Delfines; a festive
chickee hut at the Marco
Island Marriott; Scott Beach
at Caneel Bay. Opposite:
Sea Island’s graceful Ocean
Room Terrace.
acres of the isle, charming gray-shingled cottages are accessed via
lantern-lined brick pathways, and wedding parties reach the superprivate ceremony venue by boat. After distributing complimentary
pashminas and personalized flip-flops, gather up to 50 guests on
the resort’s long wooden pier for the 15-minute boat ride across
Pleasant Bay to Outer Beach, part of the protected National Seashore
(the other side of the narrow strip is the Atlantic Ocean). Wed amid
wicker baskets brimming with local blue hydrangeas, and symbolize
your union with a sand ceremony using grains from your favorite
beaches. Back on board the boat, pop some bubbly, then continue the
New England-style bash in the Outer Bar & Grille or on the Garden
Terrace. On the menu: cranberry martinis and Cape Codder cocktails
(local cranberry juice, vodka and lime), followed by seafood starters
such as clam-chowder shooters, Wellfleet oysters and mini lobster
rolls. Dinner options run the complete gamut — go for a formal plated
affair or a traditional down-home clambake, no forks allowed. Rooms
from $550; wedding packages from $395 per person.
Curacao
Worried about weather? Then head to this Dutch island, conveniently
located beneath the Caribbean’s “hurricane belt.” Sister property to
popular Hotel Kura Hulanda in the capital of Willemstad, the 74-room
Lodge Kura Hulanda & Beach Club is perched on a cliff above
a cove on the island’s secluded western coast, assuring privacy for
get married here!
march/april 2012 85
hour south of Cancun, features 45 acres of mangroves and freshwater lagoons, not to mention a 700-foot sugary-soft beach. On its
far end, walk a shell-strewn aisle to exchange traditional vows, or opt
for a Maya ceremony in which a local shaman blesses you and your
beloved with copal incense, corn seeds, flower petals and seashells.
Throw the reception right on the sand, with potted palms marking
your space. Or reserve the lagoon-facing infinity pool, where you can
arrive in dramatic style via la lancha — a small thatch-roof boat with
a “just married” sign fastened to the back. Dance the night away,
and between sets enjoy tequila tastings, plentiful margaritas and
pitchers of sangria, along with Mexican specialties like cochinita pibil
(slow-roasted pork) and barbacoa de res (spicy braised beef). It all
amounts to a blowout fiesta of which even the Maya would approve.
Rooms from $199; wedding packages from $1,000.
Sea Island, Georgia
Southern romance gets a seaside twist on the barrier islands off the
southern Georgia coast. St. Simons gets loads of local visitors, so for
more privacy, look to Sea Island, an exclusive gated community
next door. Venue options include the charming Cloister Chapel and a
serene lawn shaded by 80-year-old oak trees dripping with Spanish
moss. But for many couples, only the beach — a gorgeous five-mile
stretch fronting the genteel 175-room Cloister resort — will do. Amid
tall sea grass and swaying palms, tie the knot under a wooden frame
swathed with blooming vines of wisteria and confederate jasmine.
When it’s time to party, experience true Southern hospitality in the
beachfront courtyard, where servers pass mint juleps and vodka
lemonade in mason jars, along with sweet-potato crab cakes and
Southern fried lobster pops, while a bluegrass band gets your toes
a-tapping. Pull up a chiavari chair on the Ocean Room Terrace to
savor a plated dinner (fried lobster tail, sweet-tea-marinated pork
tenderloin) in the salty sea air, followed by scrumptious red-velvet
cake. Back in the courtyard, dance the night away under the stars,
and cap off your coastal celebration around a huge copper fire pit (a
former cane-sugar melting pot), where you can congratulate yourselves with cigars and whiskey — Sea Island has its own blend of
Woodford Reserve bourbon, which also makes a great groomsmen
gift. Rooms from $425; wedding packages from $290 per person. ■
for more info, see the 411 on page 119.
Twilight at Wequassett Resort,
on Cape Cod. Opposite: A
reception setup on the sand at
Fairmont Mayakoba.
your big day. Ceremonies for up to 50 take place on a quiet corner of peninsula, the 166-room property sits on a former sugar plantation
the beach, where your only uninvited guests are diving pelicans. For and boasts seven camera-worthy beaches where white-tailed deer
some local flavor, ask the officiant to offer a blessing in Papiamento, and wild donkeys roam. Turtle Beach, a Robinson Crusoe fantasy
Curacao’s native language (you’ll also likely hear Dutch because the fragrant with the scent of white frangipani and lined with overhanging
island is part of the Netherlands Antilles, along with
sea-grape trees, is the most popular for weddings
Aruba and Bonaire). Ready to get the party started?
(up to 75); couples looking to tread off the beaten
Fairmont Maya- path can head to smaller Scott Beach. Floral arches
Kick up some sand during a beachside cocktail hour
featuring Blue Lagoons (made with coconut rum
koba features 45 and petal aisles are available for decor, but most
and local Curacao liqueur) and bitterballen (Dutch
and grooms opt for a no-frills ceremony; with
acres of mangroves brides
spicy meatballs). Then head to the Christoffel Terscenery this gorgeous, why not? Set the laid-back
and a 700-foot
race for a barbecue buffet featuring dishes such as
mood with a pre-ceremony serving of chilled rum
beef tenderloin, Jamaican jerk chicken and Caribbesugary-soft beach. punch, made with generous amounts of local Cruzan
an pepper shrimp. Stroll back to the beach to share
rum. Receptions take place in Turtle Bay Estate, an
in one last surprise for your guests: a spectacular
18th-century plantation house, or in the intimate Sugfireworks display across the night sky. Rooms from $200; wedding ar Mill Ruins, romantically lit with candles and torches. Come morning,
packages from $1,750.
take advantage of the resort’s six other strands — may we suggest
Honeymoon Beach? Rooms from $338; wedding packages from $3,500.
St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands
Three-quarters of the land on charming St. John is preserved as
national parkland, so it’s no surprise so many nature-loving couples
choose to marry here. The only resort within the park, 170-acre
Caneel Bay makes for the ideal setting. Perched on its own remote
86 destination weddings & honeymoons
Riviera Maya, Mexico
Given all the hype surrounding the Maya calendar, what better year
than 2012 to get married right at the source? The sprawling 401room Fairmont Mayakoba, on the Yucatan peninsula about an
march/april 2012 87