IF you want to book your client a wedding with the glamour and pzazz of an A-list celebrity bash, why not do as the stars do. Travel Weekly gets the lowdown on the hottest celebrity spots for tying the knot.
Turks and Caicos
Star status
Ben Affleck may have attracted huge wedding attention for the ‘Bennifer’ engagement but he now seems over the moon to have held out for the second Jen – actress Jennifer Garner. The couple said ‘I do’ on the beach at romantic Parrot Cay resort in Turks and Caicos in June this year. While mere mortals may not be able to stretch to rings by celebrity jeweller Harry Winston, they can follow in Ben ‘n’ Jen’s footsteps and marry at the exclusive Caribbean resort, a 1,000-acre paradise.
Who would it suit?
It’s a ‘see and be seen’ place, but in a relaxed Caribbean way. If you can’t stretch to a Donna Karan dress – the designer has a home in the islands – then splash out on some of her perfume instead and still feel the part.
How to do it
Caribtours offers a Sun and Seclusion weddingmoon package from £2,187 per person on a bed-and-breakfast basis. The price includes seven nights in a garden-view room plus a wedding that can be tailored to suit the couple. Other goodies include champagne on arrival, a one-hour massage at Como Shambhala spa and a picnic on a secluded beach.
California
Star status
Home to almost all of Hollywood’s celebrities, California is the ultimate spot if you want to wed like the stars. Secrecy is key, with helicopters and paparazzi often unwelcome guests at A-list nuptials. Recent stars to get secretly hitched in California include Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher at a hush-hush Kabbalah ceremony in September at their Beverly Hills home, and Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin in Santa Barbara at the end of 2003. British actress Kate Beckinsale married director Len Wiseman at the Hotel Bel-Air in Los Angeles last year, while Sandra Bullock and actor Jesse James exchanged sunset vows in the grounds of The Folded Hills Ranch in Gaviota.
Who would it suit?
Unlike Sandra Bullock, you may not count Hugh Grant or Keanu Reeves as wedding guests at your reception, but the trip to California’s great climate for the big day will be a treat for friends and family. In California you can sample the celebrity lifestyle without spending megabucks.
How to do it
Head to the peaceful Napa Valley. California’s wine country is around 50 miles from San Francisco and Virgin Holidays offers deluxe wedding packages at the River Terrace Inn from £499. Included in the package is a ceremony at the Terrace including the services of a minister, an upgrade to a riverfront deluxe room, decorated venue, wedding cake and champagne toast. The seven-night holiday starts at £849 per person room-only, including Virgin Atlantic flights from Heathrow to San Francisco and car hire.
Mexico
Star status
Leggy supermodel Heidi Klum married British singer Seal in May this year at the Cuixmala resort near Puerto Vallarta in Mexico. Cuixmala is a 25,000-acre eco-paradise and biosphere reserve, where previous guests have included Madonna, Mick Jagger, Simon Le Bon and Quentin Tarantino.
Who would it suit?
Mexico has major wow factor, and again, you don’t have to have star status to tie the knot there, with fantastic choice in brochures on both the east and west coast. It’s cheap enough to take friends and family there too and is a virtually year-round destination, so pick a time and pick a spot.
How to do it
Caribtours offers one week at One&Only Palmilla, Los Cabos, Mexico from £1,784 per person twin-share room-only in an ocean front superior room. Price includes return scheduled flights and private transfers.
Australia
Star status
Pocket-sized pop-star Natalie Imbruglia married fellow musician Silverchair’s Daniel Johns in a very romantic ceremony on New Year’s Eve 2003 at the Thala Beach Lodge, in the resort of Port Douglas in tropical North Queensland. Not ones for the celebrity lifestyle, the only big star guest was fellow pop songstress Kylie Minogue, who caught the bridal bouquet.
Who would it suit?
There can be few places in the world as down-to-earth as Australia, so anyone will feel at home tying the knot here. However, it is a bit far to ask your granny to travel to, and some parts can be extremely humid, with
wet-season rains.
How to do it
Turquoise Holidays can tailor-make a wedding similar to Natalie’s and up the star status with a stay at the stylish W Sydney for the honeymoon. Seven nights at Thala Beach Lodge in a Coral Sea bungalow including a simple wedding ceremony, combined with seven nights at the W Sydney, including all flights and transfers, cost from £5,570 for the couple including the wedding ceremony.
Las Vegas
Star status
From Ross and Rachel’s drunken marriage in Vegas in an episode of Friends to Britney’s quick and ill-fated tryst to old mate Jason Alexander – some people just can’t help themselves. Stars who have got hitched here include Elvis and Priscilla Presley; Frank Sinatra and Mia Farrow; Bruce Willis and Demi Moore; Cindy Crawford and Richard Gere; and Billy Bob Thornton and Angelina Jolie.
Who would it suit?
Apparently it suited 128,250 couples last year – that’s how many marriage licences were purchased in Clark County, which includes Las Vegas. Drunken japes aside, this is a popular spot for anyone who likes a bit of fun and over-the-top glitz, from a 24-hour drive-through chapel to a breathtaking outdoor ceremony at Mount Charleston.
How to do it
Virgin Holidays’ premier wedding package at the five-star Bellagio starts at £2,005. Goodies include a stretch limousine from the airport, limousine transfer from the hotel to the court house and back, court house fees, a wedding in one of the hotel’s chapels, an official to perform the ceremony and champagne after the wedding. A week’s stay at the Bellagio starts at £1,029 per person twin-share, room-only, with flights and car hire.
US Virgin Islands
Star status
It may all have been short-lived, but Renee Zellweger and country crooner Kenny Chesney said ‘I do’ on the Caribbean island of St John in the US Virgin Islands. Two-thirds of the 19 sq mile island is protected national park so this is the Caribbean as nature intended.
Who would it suit?
For anyone who loves getting back to nature this is bliss – the absence of an airport and high-rise hotels makes this a tranquil Caribbean spot. Just don’t wear a Stetson…
How to do it
Caneel Bay resort is a popular venue for wedding ceremonies, with unusual and stunning locations including the ruins of an old sugar mill. Complete Caribbean offers 10 nights’ room-only in a Courtside Room. From £1,843 per person twin-share, the price includes flights and transfers with a private ferry transfer to St John.
