Bailey’s packages for Sandals range from $1,700 for The Floral Elegance Collection, offering traditionally styled decor in sea green and cream colors, to The Sea Mist Fresh Collection starting at $6,000. Of course, couples aren’t required to spring for the packages to get married at Sandals; the resorts’ Carefree Weddings package includes all the essentials—license, officiant, ceremony and reception locations, bouquet and boutonniere, wedding cake, hors d’oeuvres and sparkling wine—and it’s included in the cost of your clients’ stay, giving low-key brides and grooms all the more incentive to go. But that’s also incentive for couples who want to add a little designer style to their wedding day. After all, if the basics come free, couples have more of their budgets to spend on the extras.
“The beauty of it is that destination weddings in the last few years have multiplied tremendously,” Bailey says. “The idea that a bride can call and add some design to her wedding before going there is very exciting.”
value-priced vows With the recession in full swing, value-priced destination wedding packages are as important as they’ve ever been. Which makes SuperClubs’ new Ultimate Budget Wedding package both a budget-friendly boon for fiancees as well as a valuable pitch for travel sellers. The add-on to the complimentary wedding package at Grand Lido Resorts & Spas and Breezes Resorts, which includes all the basics as well as a private candlelit dinner and honeymoon breakfast in bed, gives couples plenty of extras, as well as discounts on tours and activities that they can use in the lead-up to their wedding day or during their honeymoon afterwards. A 30-minute couples’ massage promises to melt away wedding stress; clients who need a bit more pampering can enjoy 15 percent off all spa treatments. The discounts also extend to 2-for-1 pricing on Chukka Caribbean Adventures, giving newlyweds romantic photo opportunities like horseback riding in the ocean. But what really makes the package unique is the opportunity to consult with a U.S. investment bank representative, who’ll offer tips on joint checking accounts, long-term savings plans, and other ways to build a stable financial life together—tips that could leave the newlyweds with a bigger travel budget for years to come.
The package also includes a guaranteed ceremony at sunset, which makes location all the more important. Grand Lido Negril is the best property within the Grand Lido and Breezes brands for sunsets, with a cliffside gazebo set on an expansive lawn as its ultimate wedding location. And with AAA four-diamond-rated rooms, some set right on the beach—and some on a clothing-optional cove—clients can plan for as romantic or risqué a stay as they want. Ultimate Budget Wedding packages start at $1,450 per couple.
