A young couple on a tight budget of £2,000. They want to take 10 people with them, who will each pay for their own holiday, including their elderly grandparents and young niece and nephew. They want somewhere that will suit all the different age groups.
Suggestion: Kuoni special services manager Phil Boswell suggests the Rex Halcyon Cove in Antigua.
Why? Excellent value for money, with the wedding thrown in for free if the party includes 10 adults or more. Entertainment at the hotel includes water sports, tennis and a children’s club. It’s on one of the best beaches on Antigua, just 20 minutes from the airport and three miles from St John’s.
After the wedding? Visit Heritage Quay for duty-free shopping, theatre and restaurants or take a wander around the saturday market in St John’s. Tour Nelson’s dockyard, the former British Navy base in English harbour, take a trip in a pirate ship around the island or in a glass-bottom boat over a coral reef.
Cost: Seven nights costs from £986 per person, with Kuoni. This is on an all-inclusive basis and includes return flights and the wedding.
2
A middle-aged couple on their second marriage. They want somewhere very quiet and intimate. They don’t want to make a song and dance about it all, but they do want it to feel luxurious and special. They are travelling alone.
Suggestion: Cosmos Dream Weddings Joanne Dewhurst suggests the all-inclusive five-star Paradisus Rio de Oro in Guardalavaca, Cuba.
Why? Guardalavaca is much quieter than Varadero, and therefore more suited to a middle-age couple. It’s relaxing with stunning scenery and excellent beaches surrounded by lush mountains. The hotel has a gym, sauna, tennis and badminton courts as well as archery, water sports, cycle hire and horse riding. Wedding couples get a free room upgrade, private check-in and late check-out.
After the wedding? Take a day trip or two-day-tour of Havana; swim with dolphins; go on a jungle tour; take a catamaran cruise; visit Santiago.
Cost: SSeven nights starts at £889 per person, including flights, with Cosmos. The wedding package costs £849 per couple and includes romantic dinner in a private area serenaded by a musical trio, breakfast in bed, cake, flowers and wine. Optional extras include photographs (£101), champagne (from £8) and video (from £135).
3
Young wealthy couple. Money is no object. They are inviting 50 adults to their Caribbean dream wedding and want all the frills. They want to be the only couple in the property getting married on that day.
Suggestion: Azure managing director Gloria Beyer suggests the couple and 18 of their immediate family and close friends stay at Cove Springs, in Barbados, a luxury villa set in its own private sandy beach cove, while the other 30 stay at the nearby Treasure Beach hotel.
Why? The villa is secluded and comes with its own house manager, butlers, cooks and maids, while Treasure Beach is very quaint, individual and stylish.
Gloria suggests holding the actual wedding here as it has got a reception area that could easily hold 50 people. The couple could also book exclusive use of the Tides restaurant, which is within walking distance of the villa, for a wedding brunch or dinner. As money is not an object, the couple could charter a private jet to fly the whole wedding party from the UK to Barbados.
After the wedding? There’s plenty to do at the villa as it has its own cinema and fully-equipped gym. Massages, reflexology and other treatments can be arranged at the property.
Cost: Seven nights at Cove Springs costs £31,900, with Azure, which works out at £1,595 per person, including economy flights. Seven nights at Treasure Beach costs £945 per person, including economy flights. The wedding package costs £770; three-course dinner with welcome cocktails at the Tides restaurant costs £4,000. Travel by private jet from the UK to Barbados would cost an extra £3,850 per person.