click here - The Farm at Cape Kidnappers

west coast road trip
chopped. Chef Alain Soulard revisits the classics of French cuisine with a
hint of what be calls ')ust modernism." After dinner and the first kiss after
your intimate ceremony, feel the love and flashbulbs of friends' cameras as
you ascend to the crown of the tower. Once you've made it to the top of the
Eiffel Tower, make a wish before beading to the Champagne Bar for a glass
of pink bubbly.The panoramic views surrounding you will make for the ultimate backdrop to embody your Eiffel Tower extravaganza. Champ de Mars,
5 Avenue Anatole France. Tel: 33-892-70-1239. www.toureiffel.paris.
~Jeffrey James
MALLORCA, SPAIN
ST. REGIS MARDAVALL
Keyes
season. Since 2009, same-sex couples have been getting legally married in
Sweden. Those visiting from abroad are welcome to make it official here
too, as long as it's legal in their home country. The ICEHOTEL will assist
with certified paperwork and other logistics, with a pricetag of about$ I ,700
for the ceremony, including an officiant. Hotel wedding planners also can
help with accommodations for the happy couple and their guests, and
arrange receptions in one of the restaurants or lounges. Or perhaps group
snowmobiling or Nordic skiing is more in order. If weather cooperates, the
Northern Lights may even illuminate the occasion. Of course, for those couples who fmd winter in the Arctic just a bit too frigid, there's always the ICEHOTEL in the summer- just don't forget your shades for the midnight sun.
63 Marknadsviigen. Tel: 46-98-06-6800. www.icehotel.com
As soon as couples arrive at the St. Regis Mardavall in Mallorca, a moment
~Kelsy Chauvin
of clarity sinks in: they truly picked the right place to get married. The
breathtaking lobby is ornately grandiose with a high, wooden-beamed
domed ceiling, three-tiered foyer with marble columns and archways, a cen- BORA BORA, TAHITI
tral chandelier, and arrangements of billowy curtains. It's palatial to the point UNDERWATER
of art, and on the other side ofthese walls lies a blissful sanctuary. The three- It doesn't take much for Bora Bora in French Polynesia to sell itself. Efforttiered outdoor pool, unfurled green lawns, impeccably detailed landscaping lessly one of the most beautiful places in the world, its trademark lagoons
and priceless ocean views make St. Regis Mardavall seem as if it were built are crystal clear, and unobstructed sunsets are nothing less than commandspecifically for weddings. The dream Mediterranean wedding in a secluded, ing. In fact, we wouldn't be surprised if Bora Bora was the screensaver on
self-enclosed location starts with the signature St. Regis butler that helps your computer. Here in the middle of the Pacific, it's exotic and exclusive,
coordinates all guests' needs, in addition to the competent team of wedding the laid-back ambience is contagious, and the staggering beauty of the natspecialists. It's like having an army of personal assistants from arrival to urallandscape is unfathomable, luring honeymooners the world over. Latedeparture; couples can actually sneak away from backdoor wedding plan- ly, Bora Bora has become a preferred wedding destination for couples that
ning and fully enjoy the property's amenities and services. Four ceremony want to be submerged in tropical seclusion or even underwater. Taking wet
venues, from an elaborate terrace to the romantic, sun-drenched garden, set and wild to a whole new level, adventurous couples are exchanging vows in
the stage for unforgettable "I do" moments with scenery and ambience that's a once-in-a-lifetime wedding by going over-the-top and under the sea for
effortlessly captured in wedding photos. Naturally, with a resort of this cal- their nuptials. Remarkably, Bora Bora is home to an unde.rwater chapel
iber, there's an award-winning spa, private beach with jetty, and a notable known in Tahitian as Te-Ana-lpo (Cave of Love), where water-loving couMichelin-starred restaurant, Es Fum. It's not ve.r y common that a resort's ples can tie the knot just 13-feet below the lagoon's surface. The 30-minute
Michelin restaurant will cater a wedding, but that's what makes St. Regis ceremony includes music, vows with underwater headphones, ring
Mardavall even more special for guests. The wedding menu features beau- exchange, marriage certificate signing with a local priest, and a DVD filmed
tifully plated courses byEs Fum's Executive Chef Rafael Sanchez with dish- by a professional videographer...all underwater! Donned in white wedding
es like roasted beef cheeks on potato and truflle puree and bake with red diving outfits and helmets pumping air (ladies: no need to spend hours on
onion compote, vegetable ball, tomato and cava beurre, paired with exclu- your hair fortbis), newlyweds emerge from one of the most unique wedding
sive wines from Spain's most touted wine regions. Ole! Carretera Pa/ma- experiences on the planet. While in Bora Bora, couples stay at Four SeaAndratx, 19. Tel: 34-971-62-96-29. www.stregismardavall.com
sons Bora Bora (Four Seasons Resort Bora Bora, BP 547, Moto Tehotu.
~Jimmylm
Tel: 689-40-6-31-30. www.fourseasons.comlborabora), a romantic property with I00 above-water bungalows that serve as perfect little hideaways.
JUKKASJARVI, SWEDEN
The resort comes equipped with several private beaches, in addition to a
ICEHOTEL
chapel for couples that prefer dry weddings that guests can attend. The
Calling all botties: test your shared body warmth with a wedding above the Tahitian wedding comes with all the traditional works: outrigger canoe
Arctic Circle. Fly into Kiruna, Sweden and bop on a dogsled (or a taxi) to arrival, local musicians, sarongs, and flower crowns. Island vibes for everyquaint Jukkasjiirvi, Sweden, home of the original lCEHOTEL. The hotel one. Top Dive (www.boraboraundenvaterwedding.com) arranges undercelebrated its 25th year this winter, and it continues to welcome world trav- water weddings, and resorts and other operators may soon follow suit.
elers to its snowy wonderland--some there to share wedding vows in the
~Jimmylm
Icechurch, which, like the actual ice hotel, is built anew every year. The ICEHOTEL is actually a large campus dotted with permanent structures open
year-round (all climate-controlled), and the ice-and-snow structures constructed each fall (which remain a steady 23°F inside). The cold hotel hous- HAWKE'S BAY, NEW ZEALAND
es several dozen uniquely designed and hand-sculpted rooms by artists from THE FARM AT CAPE KIDNAPPERS
around the world, each with a bed covered by reindeer bides to sleep on with New Zealand's otherworldly pastoral beauty and its ultra-lux accommodayour super-insulated sleeping bag. The lcebar and lcecburch are built the tions meet at The Farm at Cape Kidnappers. This hotel situated on 6,000
same way, on much larger scales. Couples head to the Icechurch in their cho- acres on New Zealand's North Island is surrounded by one of the best golf
sen garb, which can span traditional formalwear to snowmobile overalls and courses in New Zealand, and with a golf course comes picture-perfect setboots, and they can invite up to 40 guests. Icechurch weddings take place tings for fabulous weddings. And if you choose to marry at this Relaix &
weekdays only from late December through April, with a handful of same- Chateaux property, you'Ll take comfort in knowing that your guests will be
sex nuptials and ''blessing ceremonies" (vow renewals) marked here every rewarded for their day's worth of travel with an excitement-filled itinerary.
ASIA
AUSTRALWOCEANIA
MAY 20 15 I PASSPORT
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