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Caribbean Wedding Reviews and Legal Requirements Wedding Links 
Check and Check again! Check with the proper authorities and your travel agent to ensure you have all the required documentation for your destination wedding. While we try to keep the information on this page current, requirements may be subject to change. Don't be confused or intimidated by all the requirements you read here. Your travel agent or wedding consultant should be able to guide you through the process! Is our information not current or wrong ? Let us know Save on All-Inclusive Caribbean Resorts with Travelocity  
Did you have a Caribbean Wedding? Share your experience with others.Don't forget to send Debbie your review
Government Court Requirements: Government requires 48 hours for processing a marriage licence prior to the wedding. We can take care of this before you arrive on the island.) A fee of US$284.00 must be paid to government of Anguilla for stamp duty and marriage licence (this fee is reduced if one partner resides in Anguilla at least 15 days prior to wedding). Marriage retrieved from court. Birth certificates or passports needed. Most recent divorce papers (If divorced). Church minister/ pastor permission.
Roman Catholic Church Requirements: Top of Page
One business day prior to the wedding is required to complete paperwork Affidavit, obtained in Antigua, stating that both parties are single and free to marry Birth certificates, Passports, Special marriage license - obtained from the Ministry of Justice, Divorce Decree Absolute (if applicable) Civil Fees (not including resort/hotel cerermony, flowers, photos etc) - April 1, 2002 Special marriage license - US$150 Registration fee - US$40 Marriage Officer's fee - US$50
Antigua Wedding Review Index
For anyone looking to get married at the resort, I highly recommend it. My wedding day couldn't have been more perfect! The resort took care of everything, all we had to do was fill in the blanks! I couldn't have imagined having so much fun getting married! There was no stress what-so-ever. I had my hair done at the salon for $57US and they did a wonderful job. You will have to make a trip to the capital (St. John's) to get a marriage certificate the day before, but it took us only 30 minutes round trip. You will also meet with the wedding coordinator before the wedding to choose your bouquet, music, cake, candlelight dinner and breakfast in bed. This will take as long as you want it to. As far as the dinner, you choose between steak and lobster. The lobster was superb - best dinner we had all week! And the breakfast in bed was unbelievable. We circled everything on the menu and they brought it all!! Top of Page
As for the wedding you cannot script your own ceremony, but the one performed is absolutely beautiful and brings tears to almost all. We were able to pick the type and color of flowers we wanted to decorate the gazebos and for our bouquet and buttonhole. The cake was perfect and so good. They saved the rest of it for us and we had it for dessert after our dinner that evening. We opted for the video and the largest picture package available (Best 50 of 60 pictures all 5x7 with 4-8x10s including the negatives-$280 US) and were happy we did so. The photographer arranges all the photos in a wedding album for you. The photographer takes pictures all during the ceremony, as well as in the garden and on the beach. The video was great and edited with our names and sweet music ($300 US). After our ceremony we proceeded up the jetty to the other decorated gazebo where we cut our wedding cake and signed our marriage certificate. We were surprised that they provided us with 2 bottles of champagne for after the ceremony because it was just the two of us and our two witnesses, that was very nice. We had our wedding dinner in the Palm restaurant because Vivyiens is closed on Sundays and Mondays. A tip-we went barefoot for our ceremony and pictures; the stepping stones that lead down to the gazebo are uneven and when you get down to the beach for pictures you take your shoes off anyways. The next morning the staff comes by and brings a made to order champagne breakfast to your room, which is a wonderful extra that is included in the wedding package. When you receive your video the hotel has free VCRs that they will bring to your room and set up for you to preview your video to ensure that it is to your liking. Jolie is a huge help and is very dependable for all your questions and concerns. Top of Page
Passport/birth certificate & photo ID., all documentation to be submitted fourteen days before ceromony, divorce decree Civil Fees (not including resort/hotel cerermony, flowers, photos etc) - April 1, 2002 Top of Page
Antigua Wedding Review Index
We first went to Aruba in April 05, to see the island, choose place settings, menus, flowers, arrangements and music. Angela had everything ready for us so that we made all the decisions in one day. We were able to see the different room options at the hotel, so that we could recommend to all of our guests and family members the best place for them to stay. During the time between April and August 27th Angela worked very hard to make sure that we had everything that we wanted. My husband wanted a special kind of red wine, Cuban cigars, and espresso coffee. Angela was able to fulfill all these requests. We arrived in Aruba the Wednesday before the wedding. Angela met us at the airport and assured us on the ride to the hotel that everything was on schedule and running smoothly. We had itineraries and different items that needed to be in the rooms as people arrived (since we had so many people coming, they were arriving at all different times). Angela had this all coordinated and everyone had everything that they needed. On Thursday we met with the band leader from The Party Posse. He assured us that he could play anything that we wanted. On Friday night we had a buffet dinner on the lawn by the Beach Suites. The tables and chairs were covered in white and there were tropical flowers and colorful overlays on all the buffet tables. There were tikki torches and little white lights everywhere. We had the Caribbean Barbecue, which was amazing. There was a steel band, a limbo show, which everyone loved, and Coconut Charlie who cut open coconuts for kids of all ages. It was a great warm up party and I think we all thought it couldn’t get any better…. On Saturday morning, Angela had all the tuxedos and dresses pressed and in the proper rooms. She had a conference room off of the lobby complete with snacks, drinks, and a room full of hairdressers and make-up artists ready to make the bridal party breathtaking. We had the bride, 5 bridemaids, sister of the bride and mother of the bride to complete and we were all finished in plenty of time. Angela had all the flowers waiting in our room, where the girls all went to get dressed. She took all the favors, the bubbles, reception cameras and the card box with her to have over on the island and ready. Angela had strict instructions for all of our guests to be in the lobby at the proper time in order to get them all to the island well before my daughter would come down. We had it written on the itinerary and she also made a call to each room to remind everyone not to be late. No one was. She took all the guests in the Sub Seeker, which is covered so that there would be no hair or dress mishaps. After all the guests left the lobby, Angela called up to the room to have us all come down. We took the small boat over to the island. We all sat up in the front of the boat so that no ones hair would get messed up. There were 7 girls and plenty of room so that we would not get wet. We had a light string jazz ensemble playing for the ceremony. It was the perfect musical touch. They played light jazz as everyone was getting seated, and then the traditional music as the procession started. It was breathtaking. The blessing was beautiful, with lighting of candles, offerings of flowers to moms, and exchanging of rings. Everything was timed out perfectly for the pictures in the sunset. The sunset was so beautiful that it looks like a backdrop in the pictures. Then, THE PARTY. It was great. The band was fabulous, they played Caribbean music and party favorites and everyone was dancing. The trees all had white lights, we chose black tablecloths and chair covers with gold bows. It looked great against the white sand. We partied late into the night. The older folks were able to go back to the hotel whenever they wanted. Some of the younger ones staying and even went in the water for a swim. On Sunday, Angela did it again. We had a buffet brunch out by the pools on the beach side. There was an abundance of food and drink for all. The tables and chairs were all covered in white and the chairs had light blue bows, which looked great against the water. The photographer did an amazing job. When I went home on the following Wednesday, Angela had all the photos already in a beautiful book, and she also gave us a disc with all the pictures on it. This was a great surprise, to have them so soon and be able to get them reprinted for everyone. The Party Posse was a great band. They had the whole party, no matter the age, up and enjoying the music. The Renaissance was a great place to have a wedding. We had the whole island to ourselves for the whole night, and did not have to share with other brides or curious outsiders. Angela was an angel through the whole process. She thought of everything before we did and she made it all happen at the perfect time. She is an A+++ wedding planner. We would recommend her again to everyone we know. Thank you Angela and the Renaissance for making my daughters wedding a wonderful memory for everyone that was there. Top of Page
You must have arrived 48 hours prior (including 1 business day) to wedding day in Bahamas prior to application for a marriage license Divorce decree, photo ID, visa More info - The Assistant Registrar General of The Bahamas, P.O. Box F-42602, Freeport, Grand Bahamas, Bahamas Civil Fees (not including resort/hotel cerermony, flowers, photos etc) - April 1, 2002 Approx - US$40 Top of Page
Passport/Birth Certificate, apply in person at Ministry of Home Affairs divorce decree or death certificate, documents must be in English or a certified translation Civil Fees (not including resort/hotel cerermony, flowers, photos etc) - April 1, 2002 Approx - US$90 Top of Page
Completed marriage license application form - Notarized by a J.P. If applicable - divorce decree, Copy of death certificate if widower or widow Photocopy of front 2 pages of passport and page showing arrival date into Belize.(should be certified) Civil Fees (not including resort/hotel cerermony, flowers, photos etc) - April 1, 2002 Approx - US$105 Top of Page
Passport/Birth certificate and photo ID, divorce decree or death certificate a Notice of Intended Marriage needs to be filed with the Register General 2 weeks prior to wedding. Civil Fees (not including resort/hotel cerermony, flowers, photos etc) - April 1, 2002 Approx - US$200 Top of Page
You must contact the Governor of Bonaire at least two months ahead of time requesting temporary residency and for permission to marry, waiting period of three days 3 passport photos, divorce decree and death certificate, birth certificate etc Civil Fees (not including resort/hotel cerermony, flowers, photos etc) - April 1, 2002 $170.00 married in City Hall $230.00 married outside City Hall (additional $56.00 for weekends, holidays, after 5:00pm) $285.00 married on Klein Bonaire Top of Page
Passport/Birth Certificte & photo ID, divorce decree or death certificate documents should be original or certified copies, two witnesses, wedding bans need to be published three consecutive times (Sat or Sun) the waiting period is three days Civil Fees (not including resort/hotel cerermony, flowers, photos etc) - April 1, 2002 Approx - US$110 if resident for 1 - 14 days Approx - US$50 if resident for 15 + days Top of Page
Birth certificate/Passport and photo ID, Embarkation/disembarkment card marriage license from the Chief Secretary's Office, - Letter from Marriage Officer proof of divorce or death certificate. Civil Fees (not including resort/hotel cerermony, flowers, photos etc) - April 1, 2002 Approx - US$175 Top of Page
Photocopies of first two pages of passports, Affidavit of Single Status, you need two witnesses (also must have passports) Divorce decrees Civil Fees (not including resort/hotel cerermony, flowers, photos etc) - April 1, 2002
Costa Rica Wedding Review Index
the wedding was awesome!! The wedding planner took care of everything. it was a no stress situation from the time we booked the wedding to when it actually took place on the beach. I had alot of contact with the wedding planner via email who was very good at answering all my bride to be questions. I met with them upon my arrival and picked out the location of the ceremony ( beach) and where my dinner would be, ( poolside) and what my menu would be ( filet mignon and chicken parmesan) to how i wanted the beach decorated and what colour flowers i wanted for my bouquet and hair, to arranging spa services for my wedding day massage with my maid of honour. The were really good as i did have anxiety surrounding the pending take over by hilton and did not want that to interfere with my wedding plans but everything was perfect.
The planner also connected me with the lawyer who was also very good and took care of all my documents and legalities which was included int he wedding package.
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Getting married in Cuba
1. If you have never been married before, Cuba now requires you to have a valid passport for three months beyond your
2. If either the bride or groom has been married before, the previously married person must, in addition to the valid passport
3. In addition, you must:
-Create a sheet that lists your names, home address, occupations, level of education, nationality
Your marriage will be formalized in the name stated on your passport. Your passport must therefore be correct, and the For more information, contact the Cuban Consulate in Toronto or Montreal.
Toronto:
Montreal: Cuba Wedding Review Index
We picked the Blau for our daughter's wedding because we had been there twice before and didn't want any surprises. We were not disappointed.
There were 31 in our party and all were very impressed. Any minor complaints with the rooms were dealt with in a very timely manner such as A/C or fridges not working.
I won't go into the particulars of the hotel since many have covered them before. The beach remains wonderful, staff friendly and the food very good. The mattresses remain hard but didn't ruin anyones vacation. I will try and give as many wedding details as possible because we would have liked to read a review with wedding details before we left.
The wedding itself was stress free and handled very professionally. Barbara from the hotel who made all the arrangements is just the best. She has such a warm smile and personality and nothing was too much for her to do. She also made some great suggestions when we weren't sure what to do.
On our first day we met with her and made plans for anything above the basic wedding package. We got pictures, a DVD, carriage ride to the beach, bouquet, 2 tier cake and dinner for all after the ceremony. All the extras are very reasonable in price. All this took about 30 minutes and the planning was done. All we had to do now was enjoy our vacation.
The couple must be in Cuba for 3 days before the ceremony can take place. We arrived Friday and they were married on Tuesday. They do not perform ceremonies on the weekend. I also don't think they count the weekend days as part of the 3 days. We also had trouble finding exactly what documents are needed for a wedding in Cuba as some of the websites are a little confusing and the Cuban consulate is a little slow in answering emails. Barbara at the resort again was wonderful in getting us the information. If both the bride and groom are single it is very simple. One month before the wedding fax or scan and email copies of their birth certificate and passport. If you are using your own witnesses you will need their passport number. The resort sends you an email document to fill out. It is very easy. I am unsure about divorced people and what is needed. Sorry. Remember the witnesses cannot be family members.
The weather the day of the wedding was perfect and we were lucky. It poured rain the next day....all day but we did have a plan B in case of rain. The girls in the wedding party had their hair done at the resort hairdressers and she did a very good job. She can do just about anything. You may want to take her some extra hair pins, spray or any other hair products as her supply is a little limited. Someone had told us this so we were prepared.
The ceremony was held on the beach at 3 PM with a decorated arch, chairs set up with an aisle and a great Cuban band playing. My daughter, my husband and her attendants arrived by horse and carriage and the ceremony started. The bride and groom stood in a heart made of flowers in the sand and Barbara translated the magistrates words. It was all very romantic.
We toasted the bride and groom with sparkling wine for all after the ceremony and there was canapes available for all. Nothing was rushed and there was plenty of time for pictures.
The bride and groom went back to the resort by horse and carriage and the rest of us walked back to the resort.
We were then given the piano/lobby bar for a private cocktail hour (or two) . The piano player was there but they allowed my husband to play instead. For anyone who has been at the Blau before Andre is not playing the piano at present. He has had a heart attack and no one seems to know when he will be back. There are 2 younger girls taking his place for now. During the cocktail hour there was plenty of time for picture taking with the bride and groom around the resort.
We had the reception dinner in the Italian a la carte which we chose because we felt it is a bit more romantic than the Cuban restaurant. We had a wonderful 7 course meal that we got to choose from a menu with a very large variety of items. There was plenty of red and white wine to go around. We had appetizers, pasta, soup, cheese platter and steak and all very tasty. We had the beautiful wedding cake with ice cream for dessert that was also very good.
After dinner, the bride and her attendants changed clothes and we attended the evening show. Then we all went down to the disco to party. We had recorded some of our own music (MP3 format) and th DJ did a great job. A great time was had by all.
The morning after the wedding the bridal couple had breakfast in bed and then the whole group went into Guardalavaca to the market to do a little shopping.
We weren't sure what exactly to expect for the wedding but it couldn't have been better. I would highly recommend this to anyone.
There were only a few in our party who had been to Cuba before and the rest now love Cuba too and I am sure they will return.
The DVD is pretty good although if you get one I would suggest you tell the DVD guy to leave the Cuban music and not dub over with his "romantic" music. When you get married in the Caribbean I would have liked to hear that music and not the theme from the Godfather. The photographers pictures were alright but actually my son's pictures were better. We kind of had to tell him what we wanted. You know the typical wedding shots....bridal couple with parents of the bride then bridal couple with parents of the groom etc. He was content just to take pictures of the couple alone. For sure have the photographer take a picture of your whole group standing in the surf. It really made for a great picture. I am going to have a copy made for our whole group. Also ask for a copy of the pictures on CD so you can make copies at home.
The Blau does a great job of a wedding so if you are trying to make a decision I would recommend the Blau to you. If anyone has any questions please don't hesitate to contact me. I would be happy to answer any questions.
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Our Wedding day was amazing. The wedding was set for 4:00pm. There are several beautiful places to choose from to have the ceremony. We choose outside the piano bar, where is it very 'Greek' looking. There are stone walls with an archway and vines hanging down. It was also a good place for a back-up plan, just incase it rained we could easily move the ceremony into the piano bar. We had 32 people including us for the wedding. The package includes one bottle of champaine and one set of flowers. They gave us the extra flowers and a box of champaine to accomodate for the group at no extra charge. There is also a flower archway that they put up, behind where the ceremony takes place. The flowers that I choose were Red Roses, and for my Maid of Honour, Red Roses and Lillies mixed. They were beautiful. Lizbeth sent me to a hairdresser that they normally send the ladies to, at Melia Varadero (there is no hairdresser at Breezes). My hair turned out better than I could have ever asked for. I was so happy with it. I brought in a couple pictures that I found on the internet, and we went with what the hairdresser thought was the best. I definatley suggest having some pictures with you, because my maid of honour was not happy with her hair and we ended up fussing with it a lot before the ceremony. I brought in a few items of my own to make the wedding special for us, such as a Sand Ceremony. The staff were accomodating to make sure we got what we needed to make it happen. A small note for any bride who does the sand ceremony--make sure that afterwards you have the vase filled, capped and in a safe place. Ours was just sitting our on a desk in our room, two days after the ceremony I returned to our room to see the sand shaken up. I think maybe the maid picked it up to look at and then dropped it or something. I was pretty upset about it, as I was planning on putting it in a special place at home. When walking down the isle the trio played "Here comes the Bride", which I wasn't expecting, but liked very much. The ceremony itself is very legal sounding, that is why we added the sand ceremony. Once the ceremony is over the Trio sticks around to play some music while you open the champaigne and cut the cake. They will also play a song for your first dance if you like. We then started to do the formal pictures. The photographer is great. The only thing is to look out for shadows. We have a few pics that would be much better if we were out of the shaddows. Dinner for all 32 people was at 7:00pm in the Italian restaurant. It is very romantic in there. And again the food and service was fantastic. We had the restaurant to ourselves until 7:30, then other guests from the resort were also there. I didn't mind this, I just felt sorry for them having to deal with our roudy group. At 8:30ish we headed back to the piano bar for toasts. I also brought a few CD's with music for a reception. It was a very intimate place for our First Dance and the Father & Daughter dance. We stayed there until after 10:30 and then proceeded to the disco to continue the party. We also opted for a Wedding Video. I believe the cost was $200CUC. We did not discuss one thing with the videographer, and I wish I did. He added songs that I really dislike and think are cheesy. When the video comes to our first kiss, he put it into slow motion and then added the cheesy music. There is a really nice video clip that he put together as well. Again it was music that I would have never chosen. It actually made me laugh the first time I watched it. If you have ever watched a Wedding on Days of Our Lives and the montages that they do...it's exactly like that. :o) For what can often be a stressful day, I have to say that the staff did not allow me to stress. They made me feel confident that everything was well taken care of, and it was. I was able to enjoy the day to the fullest, because of the fabulous job that they did. If you have any questions at all, please feel free to send me a personal message in the Forums section of Debbies Reviews. My username is jennb. Top of Page
Wonderful wedding May 25th, 2006 We just got back from a wonderful wedding in Melia Cayo Guillermo in Cuba. We had started planning our wedding with itravel2000 about 1 ½ prior to our departure, and the wedding ended up being all we dreamed. The rep at itravel (kay) was amazing, and she dealt with all the needs of our party. We were 58 strong, 16 from England, 42 from Canada. For those who are control freaks, I will admit….this may not be your best wedding choice, as much of it is left up in the air until very close to the actual wedding date. Prior to arriving in Cuba, Brenda from Sol Melia and Mary from the resort, answered all my various questions, and advised us how we would proceed once we arrived in Cuba. Our flight out with Sky service was great, and it was early there and back. Once we endured the dodgy bus ride to Cayo Guillermo, we arrived to be greeted by Yaliedy who was the sweetest wedding planner we had ever met. She gave us private check in, and took us to a beautiful suite, with a Jacuzzi and everything. The suite was awesome, however we noticed right away it was very damp, and also not air conditioned. We spent the next day trying to figure out the issue, and then the entire resort’s air conditioning went out. We asked to be moved to another room, but they did not have another suite. They moved us into a normal room, but it was less damp than the original room because it was on the 3rd floor. It was however, very very humid & hot. The wedding planning started out first day, where we picked out flowers, our cake, hired a band for the day, picked our menu (we had three choices), hired a videographer..and all extras we required. We also picked our site (we also had three choices) and picked our dinner location. The language barrier wasn’t really an issue, although get used to everything taking a long time as they really don’t like to rush. Yaleidy was so sweet, and kind, and kissed and hugged us every time she saw us. We were busy the first couple of days, and needed to meet with the band, and the restaurant manager. I also recommend you take a copy of all the documents for legalization of the marriage, as they asked us for a copy when we arrived. We had taken little personal gifts so everyone knew where to sit, and they accommodated us at the restaurant no problem. The day of the wedding was beautiful, and everything went perfectly. We had taken our own hairdresser and photographer, but the on site hairdresser was great. They did all of my families hair and a trial for only $30 pesos, which is really cheap. They looked great. The photographer is a must though, because the quality of Cuban photos is not great. The gazebo was decorated beautifully, and other than a short delay waiting for the notary, everything went off without a hitch just after 3:30 as planned. The ceremony was in Spanish, translated into English by the wedding planner. We have champagne and fruit in the gazebo, and danced to the band, and had a great time. We then went off to have our pictures done, and met everyone at 6:30 for dinner. They allowed us to have the whole restaurant to ourselves for the night. The dinner was great, and they supplied the 3 tier cake, all the wine, the dinner, and even set up a microphone & table for the speeches. Once the dinner was done, we went to the disco were the DJ agreed to play our wedding songs, and we danced the night away. The air conditioning was broke in the hall, and it was a tad unbearable, but we danced anyway J The next morning, they served us breakfast in our room and had a great time. To be honest, I will be writing a complaint about the air conditioning, as Cuba in May/June really isn’t fun when there is no where to cool down. But we did have a great time, and they relocated us to Melia Cayo Coco for the last 4 days to cool down and enjoy our holiday properly. We got our preliminary wedding certificate while we were there, and we met up with the videographer for our wedding video. It was really cheesy, but really cute. All in all, it was a great day. Exactly how I pictured it. Top of Page
A great place to get married and to bring a group! We got married on Feb 15th, and everything was taken care of! We had over 25 people with us which rewarded us with a free wedding! We communicated with the wedding Coordinator at the resort via email (Valentine) for approx 2 months prior to arrival. We let her know what we wanted, and everything was taken care of for us, as well as our group! We were married at 3:00pm in the gazebo by the pool. The resort made this spot very special. There were Roses leading down the isle, and the gazebo was dressed up with flowers, and everything in white to make it special. The ceremony was approx 30 mins long. It was in both in Spanish and English. If you're planning on doing this, you can prepare your own vows as there is the opportunity to share them. Other than that, you will exchange rings, and say "I Do". We then walked around the resort for fabulous pictures. Anywhere from the beach, to the Pool area, to the gardens around the Bungalows. We have some fabulous pictures, as we found some very nice spots around the resort. After the ceremony, we had the Italian restaurant booked for the reception at 7:00pm. They gave our group ½ of the restaurant on the upper level to keep it intimate. We were also provided with a CD player to play our own music. We had dinner, a few dances, and speeches at the reception dinner. From dinner, we headed to the private Disco for the remainder of the reception from 9:00 - 11:00pm that night. The Disco was closed off during this time for our group! They provided bartenders, as well as a DJ. We brought CD's of music we wanted to be played for our 1st dance, etc....and the DJ and bar staff totally took care of us! This was a wonderful, stress free and beautiful way to share our commitment to each other. Absolutely everything went smoothly, and we wouldn't have done it any other way! All of the staff at the resort treated us like the two most important guests at the resort that week! We had free rounds of golf for the group, room upgrades, dinner reservations when requested, Champaign in the room, turn down service every night, and an unforgettable week of fun and relaxation! I would definitely recommend this resort if you're planning on being married in Beautiful Cuba! Take a look at the wedding packages posted on the resort website, as we've only shared a few in this review. Here is a link to see some our photos from the wedding. www.spaces.msn.com/baileypictures/ Top of Page
I have written a separate review of the trip in general and the hotel facilities. This review will focus on the specifics of our experience of getting married at this resort. We were tired from the long journey and therefore decided not to track down Enis Donis wedding coordinator/public relations personnel right away. The next morning we bumped into him and sat down to discuss the time and place of the ceremony. They were completely open to holding the ceremony anywhere we wanted and also very flexible on the day and time. He kept saying "it's your wedding, you decide". He asked for the paperwork which we had done months prior through the Cuban consulate. As we were both divorced before, the paperwork had to be certified, translated and then the translated copies recertified...bottom line $732.00 CAD in papers. We had researched all of our options in Cuba and elsewhere and decided on Brisas del mar because of its size, proximity to Trinidad and the low low cost (paperwork aside) of the actual ceremony...advertised in the Signature website (Dec, 2005) as $100.00CUC for the notary costs. The exact add is right now on their site and reads as follows "Wedding!
Nov 01, 2005 - Oct 31, 2006 We chose the "birdcage" area for the ceremony. It is, in essence, a representation of Trinidad's plaza mayor. It is surrounded with beautiful flowers and white fences and in the centre is this gazebo-like structure which in fact houses paraqueets and the like. So Enis told us that the flowers were not included in the price but not to worry that they aren't expensive like they are in Canada. So the bouquet was $15.00CUC, I gave him $20 and asked for an extra one for my hair. When it arrived, well, it was OK. My friend and I rearranged it a tad and made due. They said that because of hurricane Denis (summer 2005) that flowers were sparse. No boutonniere. We did receive an ocean view room on check in and were upgraded to a suite the day of the wedding which was absolutely gorgeous. No breakfast the morning after ever showed up. We paid the photographer $50.00CUC for 30 some 5 X 7 pictures and 2 8X10s. The poses were OK but the quality of the developing was a little off. I made sure that I received the negatives and we have since reprinted some of them and the color is way better on the reprints. We had family members take shots as well and we ended up with a great selection between all of them. No turndown service. The quartet that played for us was awesome and I dare say MADE the mini-reception. They were really good. The cake and champagne were fabulous and the accessories (champagne glasses, cake tray, etc) were beautiful. The "mini-reception" was held at the a la carte restaurant right after the ceremony. They had a mini-buffet with cold meats, bread, olives, cheeses, etc...I hadn't expected that and it was great. There was also a bar. We paid the quartet extra to come up and keep playing rather than listening to a cd. In case you are thinking that a marriage ceremony in Cuba is a tear-jerking romantic sermon, be warned (and I had been) that the notary (lawyer) "performs" the ceremony by reading sections of a legal document. We thought it was funny and now when we have a tiff I'll yell out "DOESN'T SUBSECTION 3 PARAGRAPH 4 MEAN ANYTHING TO YOU???" You really have to just go with the flow getting married here...I was not disappointed, but I didn't expect much either. We were focused on each other and had agreed to refuse to get caught up in trivial details that would only stress us out. That said... If there was any nasty part it was this: 18 hours before the wedding was to take place (and on our Signature Tours Representative's day off) Enis approached us with the final details and in passing mentioned that we should now pay the $400.00CUC for the cost of the ceremony!!! To this day I'm not sure if it was a shakedown or an honest mistake but we wouldn't fold and told him that if that was the case then we would be forced to postpone the ceremony until we had more time to call home, the Signature rep, our travel agency, the manager, and if need be the ministry of tourism to investigate why the price had QUADRUPLED in one month's time. A little more than an hour later we were told that we, in fact, were right and it was indeed $100CUC. He apologized several times and we smiled and said mistakes happen but no explanation of where the $400 figure came from was ever offered. That said, the ceremony was quick (just as we had requested), the people were great (minus that episode) and we were made feel really special on that day. I lost count of how many gardeners approached us over the next few days (they had been watching the ceremony) and offered my husband a firm handshake and me a bouquet of hand-picked flowers and many years of joy and happiness. Top of Page
My MOH stayed with me in our room, we went for breakfast around 8:30am and then left b/c we knew the guys were coming for 9am. We went back to her room to grab what she needed, dress and makeup and stuff and the other 2 girls grabbed their stuff and came back to my room as well. I had a shower and then I headed to the salon for my appt at 11am. Wasn't sure how long it would take, considering we're in Cuba after all, to do my hair so I wasn't taking any chances. I brought a picture album with me of how I wanted my hair done and he did a good job, considering it was a lot looser than I originally had it in the pics but that was how I really wanted it. He didn't even use a curling iron either, although being under the dryer for a half hour was brutal thank god the place was air conditioned. Every so often someone would come to visit me with drinks or food. I think I was finally out of there around 1pm. By that time it was hot and humid. It was forecast to rain that day so of course I was paranoid. It sprinkled a bit but that was about it. Hung out in the room till it was time to leave. My MOH's sister came with the flowers, we had picked pink lillies for them to put in their hair but it came as a few buds on one big stem that they ended up holding them. And if you decide to get flowers for the guys make sure you have pins, all they have are safety pins, which really didn't work too well. We also had to get the guys roses cut b/c they came with a full stem as well. The bus was leaving at 2:30pm for everyone else to go to the ceremony our time to start was 3pm, it was 20mins away, on the virgin beaches. Since there was only room for 3 people, my father and my MOH came with me afterwards in the jeep. They came and picked us up at my room at 2:40pm in a golf cart to bring us to the lobby where the jeep was to take us over. I was fine until I got there and saw the whole set up and my husband standing there waiting for me, it looked incredible, and so I lost it and started to cry. When we got there though, the girls started to walk down the aisle and here I am being handed a drink and someone trying to get my shoes from me, lol. My Mom later told me how she agonized over what shoes to wear with her dress for the wedding, only to find out that they took them away from her and everyone was barefoot. The ceremony was short and sweet, listening to one version in Spanish and then in English. We had decided to do this ceremony at that beach b/c we didn't really want alot of onlookers that tend to lurk at the hotels so it was quite amusing when the train shuttles that are used to trek the hotel guests from the hotels to those virgin beaches goes by as we're right in the middle of our ceremony, totally ironic!! Of course it stops and if you've seen the pics, all you can see is everyone taking pictures, they were also all yelling and hollering. Ah well. After the ceremony we did tons of pics and had a dance with the band, it was very nice and very romantic. They even had a table set up as well so people could grab some water and refresh themselves. We then travelled back to the hotel and got in this decorated golf cart with a sign Just Married on the back and a bunch of cans. So they proceeded to take us around the resort blowing a whistle and honking the horn letting everyone know we just got married, it was funny and embarrassing at the same time. Lizbet told us before we left the beach that they were taking us back to the resort and were going to plant our own palm tree! We had no idea, what a nice surprise! So after our golf cart jaunt we ended up at the place where they do this for all the couples who get married there, we had a little post as well with our initials on it which was beside our tree. My husband filled in the sand around the tree and I poured the water, it was very touching and can't wait to visit it once again. We were transported once again via golf cart to the pool restaurant where we relaxed and hung out. The bartender, Michel, who we got friendly with at the swim-up bar had put aside 3 bottles of champagne for us to celebrate with before dinner. Took some more pics around the resort and then we headed back to our room to grab a couple things before heading to the beach restaurant for dinner. When we got there it was entirely decorated. Ribbons everywhere, towel art, petals in the sink and tub, a fruit basket...etc. It was beautiful. After taking some pics, lol, we headed to dinner. They had separated us from the rest of the restaurant so it was like we had our own private room. And again the table looked amazing, wonderfully decorated and we were all around one big table. The food was delicious everyone kept commenting on the meat, sooo good. Had some speeches, we really didn't have an agenda and just left the floor open to anyone who wanted to talk. Had some kisses, then came the cake, again beautifully decorated with pink roses and petals, not sure what kind of cake it was but it was good.
Went to the disco afterwards for some dancing and relaxing from a tough day, lol. Gave the DJ our CD with our song and then the rest were just dance songs. My Mom came up and asked me to ask my Dad to dance, he was tired and wanted to have the father daughter dance so he could go to bed. Thing was we didn't put anymore slow songs on the CD b/c we weren't going to do all the dances just our first one and that's it. So my Dad and I ended up boogying to Hung Up by Madonna, it was humourous. Danced all night, we left not too long after that, it had been a long emotional day and we wanted some time alone. We found out the next day too that the DJ never came back so the bartender kept replaying our CD, people got a little tired of hearing the same songs, ha ha.
14 of us visited this resort from Jan 7 to 14. for a wedding. It was our daughters wedding and I must say that all of our expectations were met and well exceeded. When I contacted the wedding personal "Tania" she assured me that everything would be taken care of. And that it was. They did and amazing job and we couldn't have asked for a more beautiful time. Without going into great detail every little thing was taken care of. Our daughter and her new husband said that their wedding couldn't have been any better. A tree planted on their behalf was a very nice touch, something they can see on one of their anniversarys when they return. Or we will let them know how it is doing because we will definatley be going back. The only downfall was the mosquitoes. They appeared around 7:30am and again at 7:30pm. The only thing that seem to keep them at bay was OFF deep woods with deet. Please dont hold this against the Cuban's because they are very confused also as to why they are here now. The only thing we can think of is the hurricanes. This has never been a problem in January. The beach, even though it was smaller than it was a year ago was still very amazing and very relaxing. If you a planning a wedding in the Carribean, please give this place a thought, I promise you won't be dissapointed. Top of Page
We got married at this resort on February 24th of 2005 and it was perfect!!!!!
History
Reasons I loved my Cuban Wedding
Things I would recommend to a bride having her wedding at this resort
-Don’t stress your on vacation The Most Important thing Top of Page
We booked our wedding at the SCG through Thomas Cook. We expected a stress free wedding and will state now that we did not get this. Booked over 14mths in advance and the only request we had was for a King Size bed. On checking in (no special priviledges for wedding parties here)we were last in queue and found that we were allocated a room with twin beds. They offered us an alternative which smelled of sewerage. Finally after 2 hours and a few tears of frustration, we were given an upstairs room with the paid for sea views but with twins on the promise that we would have a king size delivered the next day. We eventually got the King size bed 10 days after arrival and 6 days after our wedding after numerous broken promises. Part of the wedding package was a room upgrade(if available) this never materialised. Why were we upset? Some of the other people who checked in at the same time as us who had not requested King size beds or paid for sea views were allocated them and yet we who had requested one for obvious reasons(and paid over £569 for the wedding package on top of the holiday price)had to fight to get one! Thomas Cook rep was no use at all in attaining this request. We were asked to move rooms 2 hours before wedding and when we went to inspect it,the room was already occupied! Wine & fruit welcome basket delivered 2 days late. Breakfast in bed on day after wedding delivered to wrong room! Friends presents delivered to wrong room! We Chose Cuba as in brochure it said "Only 1 wedding per day" there were 2 on our wedding day! Previous wedding guests & glasses etc still in gazebo when the groom and party arrived at the allocated time! Wedding co-ordinator forgot to tell us to take our passports to the ceremony so this involved a mad dash in full regalia of 15mins back to room in temperature of over 85 degrees! Notary was 30 mins late! When we finally got the offical photo (1 day before our departure) it was not posed, out of focus and over exposed! Names on wedding certificate were spelt wrongly even though we had corrected them on arrival! Thomas Cook rep was no where to be seen! Apart from all this the actual ceremony was wonderful but certainly not the "Stress Free" wedding we had been dreaming of. The resort it self was wonderful and the beach was fantastic.....don't expect to get a sunbed and shade unless you are prepared to get up extreemly early and put your towels out! Not supposed to be done but it seems as if everyone else does it and the staff do not discourage this practice. Service in the main bar was very slow unless you were young, pretty and female or flashed a tip! Food was good and enough variety to see our party for 2 weeks....best tip the bananas cooked fresh every night were fantastic as was the young lady who cooked them.. Staff were generally very friendly through out our stay. Would return to this resort but only for a holiday and would not 100% recommend the wedding package through Thomas Cook. Any questions please contact us. email: fiona7355@yahoo.com Top of Page
Married on May 21 2008
We choose the Iberostar Varadero after travelling to Varadero for a holiday and falling in love with Varadero Beach. It is really a beautiful area.
Our group of 25 people arrived on Sunday at approximately noon. Not all rooms were ready so we changed into our swimsuits and started our holiday. Our group was scattered throughout buildings #12, 13 and 14. We all quickly noted who was in which rooms and would call between rooms to find out what was going with everyone. The resort is truly gorgeous. All rooms are large, clean and fresh. Each room has the same bathroom and it is phenomenal. The bathrooms are all marble, with a large soaker tub and a glass stand up shower. The buffet is very nice and has a good selection of food. One night they had a gourmet cheese selection, another night was seafood night. We had dinner at two out of the three a la cartes, the Japanese restaurant and the Mediterranean. The Japanese restaurant was good for a show as they cook the food in front of you. The pool and ocean was great. Tons of lounge chairs and umbrellas for shade.
We were supposed to meet with Belkis at 9:30 am the Monday morning which was the same time as the excursion meeting. I talked to Belkis and she agreed to do our meeting right then. I can not believe how simple it was to plan. You pick your location, you pick your flowers, the colour of the decorations at your location. You also can let her know if you want to use the resort's photographer and videographer. I had actually found a photographer through a friend, who is not the resort's photographer and I was allowed to use him. His work is amazing and after seeing some other pictures from the resort photographer, I am so glad we used him. The photographs are 3 CUC each, we ended up buying 145 of our pictures and so we spent 435 CUC on photos. The video is 200 CUC and worth every peso. We also choose to rent a "classic" car which cost 60 CUC for one hour. We used it for photos and went for a little drive in it. My guests loved it, they even had the driver pop the hood so they could check out the motor! Belkis asks what you want for music and tells you to go to the spa to confirm your hair appointment and your free massages. We then went down to the beach gazebo and did a quick walk through of what would happen. Very simple, groom and wedding party and guests meet at the beach at 3:45 pm. Bride and Father and Maid of Honour wait at room for Belkis to come and pick them up with decorated golf cart. They arrive at beach, do walk down the aisle, Father shakes hand with groom. Then on to the gazebo platform for ceremony.
My wedding day was very relaxed. Sat by the pool until about 11 am, then went and had a bath in the huge tub and then off to get my hair done. The hair dressers do an amazing job to put it mildly. My maid of honour has really long hair and choose what looked like a simple style, a side pony tail with some curl. The hair dresser washed her hair and blow dried it, then pinned her hair in the side pony tail, then curled all if with a curling iron! To top it off, it cost only 25 CUC! My hair was a simple updo and it cost 30 CUC. By the time we got out of the salon, it was about 2:45 pm, so we rushed to the buffet for a quick bite to eat and then rushed to the room to do hair and make up. Belkis brought our bouquets and then it was time to wait for her to come back to get us. My fiance's father had passed away about 8 weeks before the wedding so we wanted to do something to honour him. We bought a cylinder vase and had it engraved with his father's name and Jason and his mother lit the candle before I arrived for the ceremony. The Cuban ceremony is very simple and would take only about 10 minutes They read the Cuban Family Act and you both say I do. At that point you are married but they wait until after you say your vows ( if you choose to say your own) and exchange your rings. Then you get to kiss!! and are married. We did our first dance on the gazebo and instead of individual parent dances, Jason danced with his mom while I danced with my dad. Then our group did the cha-cha and a congo line on the beach and then the pictures start. We did some group shots on the beach, then did some bride-groom shots on the beach and in the wooded area. Our guests went to the lobby bar and admired the classic car while we took pictures with it. We then went for a drive in the car and did more pictures. By the time we came back, it was time to go for dinner. We had dinner at the Mediterranean and said speeches while we had the restaurant to ourselves. The meal was great and the wedding cake was delicious. After dinner, we did change out of our wedding gear, except I wore my veil and my husband wore his shirt and tie to the disco where we partied with everyone until the early hours. It was an amazing day. The only thing I would change about my wedding is how much I stressed about it because there was really no need. The day was perfect, even when my maid of honour almost passed out while getting our hair done because she hadn't eaten. The funniest thing I remember about that day was the hair dresser continued to curl my friend's hair while the doctor took her blood pressure.
On another note, the wedding package is supposed to cost 700 CUC. The exchange rate is $120.00 canadian for 100 CUC. So if you were to exchange all your cash to pay for this it would cost about $1140.00. We decided to save our cash for excursions and charged the wedding on my visa. It ended up costing us $804.44, which was originally 716 CUC ( we had asked for an extra bouquet which was 10CUC and 2 extra boutonnieres which were 3 CUC each). I paid for my maid of honour's hair and mine, which was 55 CUC and we charged that to my visa and it cost $61.94.
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The wedding was great if you like something quick and simple. I was smoking a cigar and in my swim trunks sunbathing 45 minutes before my wedding! The resort takes care of everything. We met once with the wedding co-coordinator who asked what color of flowers etc. We did use the photographer service and were really pleased with the beautiful photos. We paid 210 CUC for 36 5”x 7” photos and the negatives. My wife had her hair done for 25 CUC + 5 CUC tip. We were married on the beach and the vows were translated from Spanish to English by the wedding co-coordinator. The whole thing was done in 10 minutes and we toasted champagne and had our first dance there in front of the ocean. We then went off to take photos around the resort while the rest of our group went back to finish off the champagne! We were told we would receive all the paper work from the Government in about 3-4 weeks upon our return to Canada. Top of Page
Well ladies, my "dream wedding" has come and gone and it was beyond my wildest expectations. February 16th was the best day of my life and the memories of this day I will cherish a life time. 23 of us arrived at 2am so check in was a complete breeze. When Hubby and I got to the front desk we were being checked in and low and behold we were in building 17, which is the junior suites building. I was thrilled about this. It was all decorated with balloons and 5 baskets of flowers and champagne on ice, very nice touch on the part of our travel agent. Most of our guests were in building 15 which was really close, no doing on my part, resort had it planned out this way. Belkis had a note left for me with a time to meet her the following morning which pleased me off course. So, at 10 the next morning off to meet Belkis. She is a sweetheart and very easy to work with. She had a sheet of questions to ask me and she said once those were out of the way I could ask her things I wanted to know. She showed me some pics of flowers and cakes to chose from and once this was done she took us down to see the location of the wedding. Explained to us how things would work and that was that. Done.
Wedding Day: Our wedding day was magical and I wouldn't change one thing about it. If anything, I would relive it over a thousand times if I could. I have watched the video quite often since returning home and I am so glad we purchased the dvd. For those brides getting married at the IV, if I could give you one word of advice, book the resort photographer and videotographer, it will be the best money you ever spent. The photograpger is Ebrium and the videotographer is Angelo. The resort has more then one of each so ask for them by name. Our guests are all ready asking us where we are going for our one year anniversary.............. Top of Page
We had a group of 30 for our wedding, a few which were a surprise. We did not do any planning from Edmonton, Canada. The only exception was our travel agent liasoned with hotel wedding coordinator months before our departure to book the wedding day and time. We had the option to have a catholic priest or justice of the peace marry us. We choose the JP. Please remember you must be in Cuba for a minimum of 72 hours before you can be married. Keep that in mind when booking your wedding day. We booked it the third day in country so ourselves and guests could relax for the rest of the trip. We arrived late Monday November 14, 2005 and the following morning we met with the wedding coordinator to choose flowers, menu for reception, location for our ceremony, type of cake and some colours for decorations. This was very easy and took about 30 minutes! The wedding package (through the hotel) which includes legal fees, JP, flowers, reception, etc, costs 700 CUC (Cuban Convertible Peso). We hired a photographer and videographer for our wedding day. The photographer charges per picture and they cost 3 CUC per 5x7 or 10 CUC per 8x10, but we purchased 40 or so 5x7's plus all of the negatives to take home and blow up pics as needed. The videographer costs 150 CUC for 2 professionally done DVD's on the NTSC format so people from Europe remember that it will not work in your home country who use the PAL system for electronics. We highly recommend both as both the photos and video turned out absolutely beautiful! Very professionally done!! The wedding package is paid when you check and is added to any other expenses you charge to the hotel. The video and photos are through the individuals and you can only pay with CUC (cash). PLEASE PLEASE if you are going to use your non-american credit card the government slaps a 11.5% surcharge on every purchase. We did not know this as this is new as of April, 2005. We planned on using credit card for everything as a safeguard and brought minimum cash. We probably paid 400-500 USD extra just in surcharges!!!!!!!! If you can get your hands on CUC before entering Cuba please do, becuase there is no ATM's and the Cuban banks/hotels give a rather poor exchange rate. The CUC is pegged at the USD. The only somewhat disappointing aspect of the wedding was that our wedding coordinator/translator had a very thick accent which made communication as times difficult and translation of our nuptials very difficult to understand. Furthermore, our guests could not follow the ceremony for this reason. But again a very minor detail and we figure it was all part of the experience. If you expect to go to a foreign country who's first language is not English and not have some minor glitches, DO NOT GO. At the end of the day, the hotel and the staff were spot on and made our special day very near perfect! Our guests could not stop complimenting us on how great the wedding and hotel turned out to be. CHEERS to Iberostar Varadero and all the staff!!!!! Top of Page
We got married at Melia Varadero, Varadero, Cuba Nov 26/04. Mariela was our wedding Coordinator. The year of prep and paper work was well worth it. There was a total of 30 of us that went down for our wedding. Mariela was a big help before and during the wedding. She answered all the questions we had about the needed documents, banks, ATM and everything else before we even got there, that 30 people could worry or wonder about. We did not know what to expect at all and even as the wedding unfolded we were not sure what to expect. It went just like clock work, from the walk down the path of petals of flowers till the end of the reception. From there the younger ones carried on in the kareoke Bar. The wedding was in the Gazebo and we were scheduled to have the reception out side but the wind picked up. The reception was held inside at the art gallery. I would recommend that anyway as we had all the seating we needed , head table etc and lots of room to dance and a PA system. for music and the MC. Bring your own CD's. I wish I could remember all the names of the staff but They ran a 1st class act for our wedding. The supper was excellent. and Fransico and the other waiters treated us like Royalty. Near the end some of the girls were trying to teach them some of our dancing as well. Everyone had a blast. As part of our package (free over 17 quests) we got upgraded to a suite which was as far as I could tell the best in the place. Top floor. We also had the option of a group dinner one other nite so some quests only stayed one week. We opted for the last nite before they left to have that one. Once again it was 1st class service. It was B B Q Sea food dinner. We had the small photo package as there was probably 15 cameras there, but we did hire the video people and the DVD they made was worth every penny. It will be with us forever. There was no scrimping at all for the whole wedding package, and I could not thank everyone there enough for showing us a good time. If you are thinking of a wedding in Cuba this was a great place. Top of Page
We just returned from 2 weeks (November 12-26/04) at the Melia Cayo Coco and loved it! We had our wedding there the first week and it was amazing. I choose this resort for my wedding because of what I had read on this site and because they offered a free wedding it you bring 17 people. We had 17 people and it was a great time. The resort in my opinion is an excellent choice for a wedding, better than any other of the resorts on Cayo Coco because it is a really quiet resort and not a party place at all. The fact that it was adult only was nice too, my guests especially the ones that left kids at home loved the idea of 18plus. We choose to have our wedding in gazebos which are in a beautiful garden area that is perched up on a hill that overlooks the pool, the grounds and there is an ocean view. It was beautiful, this was a perfect spot as it was so private and allowed all of our guests to stand in the gazebo and hear the ceremony. It also allowed everyone to be out of the sun for a little while, it was a hot day. The wedding planner Niruka was incredible, she was in constant communication with me via e-mail in the weeks prior to our arrival answering all the questions that I continually thought of. Once there we had about a half hour meeting with her to arrange the wedding day and what we would like done. It was very easy and she looked after everything. On the wedding day she stayed with us the whole time as to help assist the photograher who didn't speak english set up all the shots I wanted taken. We took pictures all over the resort and on the beach and they turned out really nice, she did a good job and was very patient as I wanted alot of photos. We also opted to have the videographer at and added cost and was so glad we did. He did an excellent job, it turned out great, we loved it. He also took pictures and put them on a CD rom that we can send to people. A cuban band was another service we added on and was a nice touch as they played after the ceremony while we were toasting and cutting the cake and then played while we did our first dance and then allowed us to play a song with them, it was well worth the money spent. We arranged for a horse drawn carriage to pick us up after the pictures and for $10 he took us on a half hour ride, it was so romantic and gave us a little time alone, we loved it! The dinner afterwards was in the international restaurtant and it was set up beautifully!! We had the restaurant for about an hour and a half before other people were allowed in which was great. The restaurant is on stilts in the lagoon and we felt it was so perfect for this occassion. There were musicians there as well that played on and off throughout the night. I would highly recommend this resort for a wedding, my friend got married at a Super Club 3 years ago and it didn't compare to the Melia at all. I was a little worried as to the quality of pictures and video because hers were terrible but we lucked out and were so pleased with everything. They went above and beyond and made us feel like we were in a fairytale. Top of Page
The wedding was beautiful, when we got there someone was waiting for us to check us into the rooms early. I met with the wedding cordinator the next day to choose the flowers and the cake for the ceremony, and where on the resort we wanted to get married. Everything was beautiful, the flowers were white roses, the cake was a 3 tirer wedding cake with yellow roses on it, very pretty. The cost of the wedding itself was 350$us, but you pay with convertible pesos, which is equal to the us dollar, i also booked the photographer down there which costed 186.00, the pics were beautiful, he did a great job, the package was 30 5x7, 2 8x10 and anything over that you pay 3$ each. All your wedding papers gets done down there and they will send them to you in about 2months after you get married.The only thing was a little troublesome was that if either person was married before you have to get your divorce papers translated into spanish before you go , you have to send them to cuban consulate in toronto and its takes at least 3 months to get them back, and the costs to get this done is 608$can. Overall the wedding went very well , it was beautiful and i would reccommend that getting married down south is the way to go. Top of Page
The Wedding
The cost of the a la carte wedding package is 350 USD and is divided as follows: 150 USD cash only for government fees payable to the notary during initial visit (see below) and 100 USD cash or credit card payable to the resort day after ceremony. The package includes the following:
If you have never been married before all you need is your Canadian passport and a tourist card, which is provided by your travel agent. A birth certificate is not required. You must have the originals and a couple of days before the wedding ceremony you will be required to go to a notary in Varadero to apply for a marriage license. The resort event coordinator, Angelo, accompanied us and acted as translator. The notary fee was 150 USD plus 2 USD for a stamp (cash only). We made a quick stop at a flower shop and selected the flowers for the ceremony. The cost of the taxi was 40 USD cash. Top of Page
I honestly couldn't have imagined a more perfect wedding, it was so amazing! Yaly, the wedding coordinator will bend over backwayrds to satisfy everyone as best she can, she is an incredibly hard worker and always seems to be there. We had the ceremony on the beach on Tuesday January 9th at 4pm. The hairdresser came to my room at 1:30 and did my harid and nails and then did my sister's and mom's hair. The only complaint there is that we were rushed for my mom's hair, if you have more than just you getting your hair done I would advise asking for her to come a bit earlier. Also, be sure to bring bobby pins, they don't have a lot in Cuba (I left my three packagfes with her). Her curling iron quit also, so I would advise bringing one. luckily I had one, I was going to leave it with her, but it is butane and I figured she wouldn't be able to get refills for it. The carriage picked us up after four and brought us to the beach where there was a beautiful aisle and seats laid out. There was a cuban band playing (we bought their cd for ten pesos) and a table with cake and hors d'eouvres and rose petals on the aisle. Definitely get the dvd, for 30 pesos it's so worth it, make sure you bring the money to the ceremony though, because they will ask for it afterwards. We danced on the beach as the sun set and then the train came along, took us to the lobby bar for champagne (lobby is wonderful, especially with the piano player) then we took the train to the Gondola restaurant where we had a fabulous, huge, meal. The violin player was a nice touch, we even had a dance to the violin. Be prepared for the meal to last a long time, we were there form 6:30 to 10pm, it was nice though. Top of Page
Lovely, had a great day! I was so stressed out about the weather so Yaly the wedding coordinator very kindly changed the day from the first week to the second week which was a good move because the weather was perfect on the wedding day. The flowers were a bit late but very beautiful. A horse and cart took me to wedding gazebo by the beach, where a Cuban band played the wedding march. After the ceremony the band played (they were brilliant, we bought their CD) and we danced and had sparkling wine and canopies. We then were taken to beach for photos, then the lobby for more photos and sparkling wine. We all had our meal at the Italian restaurant on a long, nicely decorated table and we were serenaded by a violinist. We cut the cake after the meal which tasted great but very sweet. We ended the evening at the disco where we had our first dance. It was a great day, nice and relaxed, just as I imagined, loved every minute of it! The photos were ok but a little dark and disorganised and the DVD wasn’t bad either for 30 peso! Top of Page
Well where do I begin.....My fiancé and I decided to get married somewhere south as it seemed to fit our personalities (laid back and relaxed) We choose Las Brisas Guardalavaca Holguin, Cuba. We both agreed on this resort as there were approximately 63 guests joining us for a week of fun in the sun!! This resort stuck out for us as it was affordable (1149.05 txs in) for a week pp. It seemed to cater to all age groups, and I have heard a lot of great things about Cuba but have never been. I had my travel agent confirm with the resort prior to arriving that there was no construction that it had been all completed......Upon arriving to the resort (after over an hour of dealing with the baggage people at the airport as I the Bride lost her luggage!!!!!) I am presently in a dispute with Air Transat right now and I am hoping they do the right thing) Anyways....
THE RESORT:
THE BEACH:
THE WEDDING: After the wedding my husband and I took a buggy ride and then met up with our group in the piano bar for some drinks. Dinner was at 6pm ands then we had the disco privately from 9 to 11. We took our wedding song which they gladly played! All in all it was truly amazing!!! You have to relax when doing something like this and roll with the punches... we took 63 + people with us which made our trip that much more amazing and that much more of a party!! .I did get my luggage but not until 3 days later which is why it is VERY important to carry your dress on board! I would go back to this resort as the staff are amazing and now that all the renovations are completed it is a great spot! Remember that when you go south to get married that the bride and groom take 2 weeks as the first week for some reason goes by way to quickly and you need the second week to relax after everything is done!!!! Top of Page
My fiance and I had planned on a normal everyday wedding, I had everything planned and paid for, when he decides to tell me he would love to go away and get married on a beach. So that is exactly what we did. We packed up our family and 2 of our friends (16 people total) and we wen't to Brisas Guardalavaca in Cuba. I talked to Yoania the wedding coordinator well in advance. She answered any of my thousands of wacky questions. The have salt and pepper and ketchup. We found out what day we were getting married through email. You can get married Monday-Friday - Anytime between 10 am - 4pm. We didn't want to be hot, so we got married April 26th 2006 at 4pm. We arrived in Cuba after midnight and made our way to the hotel, it was gorgeous. I suggest putting you bags in your room and go sit on the beach, the waves are amazing.The next day book your specialty restaurants for the week - If you don't you may not get to eat there. When you get married down there you get a villa room as a wedding/honeymoon upgrade. We met Yoania on Monday and decided if we brought our own music or wanted the trio. We had both I walked down to my own music, and had the trio for after. We chose the flowers and if we needed witnesses (please note: Witnesses cannot be family). We relaxed for the next few days. The day of our wedding we got our hair done. It was 10 convertible peso's each. (Very cheap) Beautiful job. She is quick in there but book ahead of time - There is only one hair dresser and people love getting their hair braided. We ate lunch and wen't back to our room to get ready. We waited in our room and I could see my fiance just barely through the trees (he couldn't see me). At 4pm on the dot another wedding coorinator came and got us from my room. We walked towards the beach...... they had a beautiful aisle made of flowers, my music, my man and the waves rolling again'st the shore. I couldn't have asked for more. We had sparkling wine on the beach but chose to eat our cake at the reception - We chose the Pasta restaurant - You have your choice of specialty restaurants - Seafood and Pasta. LOVED IT!!! When you return to your room at night - You will be in for a surprise, a wonderful one but that is all I am going to say. :) If you want to ask me questions or see pictures email me. Have a great time - people are great, food is great, the experience PRICELESS! Top of Page
My husband and I have just returned from 2 weeks at Las Brisas and we had a fantastic time.We actually got married there,and we couldn't have asked for a more beautiful wedding.If anyone is thinking about doing the same then i certainly recomend it.We met with a wedding planner on our second day and went through what would happen on the day.She goes through everything from flowers to location,and once she has all the information you just sit back and enjoy your holiday while she gets everything sorted out.I had a horse and carriage take me to the gazebo that we had chosen as the location,you get a cuban musical trio,a 2 tier wedding cake,sparkling wine,beautiful flowers surrounding you aswell as a lovely bouquet and matching buttonhole.You also have the option of having 2 cuban bridesmaids,which I chose,and they were lovely girls.They came to my room a little before the wedding and helped me to relax and made sure all was ok.The hotel staff really make you feel special and you get little "extras" throughout your stay. Top of Page
We traveled to Cayo Coco, Cuba from April 8th to April 15th, 2006. We flew with Sunwing airlines out of Toronto. We had no problems on departure or return. We were actually home 15 minutes early! We stayed at the beautiful resort of NH Krystal Resort & Villas (formerly El Senador). I would highly recommend this resort to anyone. The reason for our travels was to get married. We got married on April 12th and everything was absolutely perfect!! We traveled as a group of 13 adults and 2 children. Not one of us had any complaints about the whole trip. Not enough can be said about Yosvany (Falcon) the wedding coordinator. He is the most amazing person. He will accommodate your every need. The flower arrangements were beautiful. They decorated the wedding site with flowers and balloons…very nice. We got the photo package along with the videographer. I was totally amazed at how well the photos and video turned out. You don’t really know what to expect, especially in a different country, but they were done very professionally. I would definitely recommend getting this package; it is well worth the money. We had the reception dinner at the Cuban restaurant, which was also decorated really nice. They took the floral arrangements from the wedding site and had them in front of the tables. The food and service we received was excellent. There are plenty of places to eat at this resort. They have Cuban, Italian, Seafood, Steakhouse and V.I.P. restaurants (V.I.P. costs $25CUC/person unless you are staying in a villa). And they also have two buffets, one on the Laguna side and one on the Emperador side. I would recommend eating at the one on the Emperador side; they just seemed to have a better selection and more seating. We ate at the Cuban, Seafood and V.I.P. restaurants and both buffets. The food at all of them was good and the service is even better. The Cuban people are so nice. They also have many different excursions to go on and scooters you can rent. We went on the Jeep excursion and I would do it again in a heart beat. You HAVE to go on this excursion. It is an all day thing and they take you everywhere. You get to drive across the causeway onto the main land and they take you to a horse ranch and a crocodile farm. You get lunch and snacks along the way. You get to drive into the town of Moron and stop at a little shop. It is all very interesting and a must see. Just make sure you pack the sunscreen and passports!!
Pointers:
Overall, this was an awesome vacation. I would highly recommend visiting this beautiful resort. If you have any questions, or would like to see pictures, please e-mail me at Top of Page
Well what can I say every girl wants to feel like a princess on her wedding day and I was treated like royalty, Oldays the wedding co coordinator took care of everything for us we had a brief meeting with her on arrival to discuss the flowers etc and she came up trumps with everything. I would recommend that you pay a visit to the masseur before the ceremony as it was fantastic, also the hairdresser is wonderful she done all our bridal parties hair including mine which took her 1 hour and manicures for the two mums, my bridesmaid, my auntie and myself. What can I say she is a talented women she done the lot by herself and no one was disappointed. Should you go and see her though I would say that if you have any nail varnish that you don't really use give it to her as she will always find a use for it. Now moving onto the ceremony its self it is very short and takes about 10 mins from start to finish the notaire will speak in Spanish and you have a translator there as well they are lovely and put you at ease in fact all you have to say is I DO! After the ceremony we took the horse and cart around the resort then had some photos taken by their photographer who I would recommend he is very good at this job and we had the photos back with in two days. Top of Page
Penny & Janne (British & Finnish – currently both living in the UK), ages 33 and 29 We stayed at the Paradisus Rio de Oro from 2-23 March 2005 and had t |
