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Tag-Archive for "virgin islands"

St Thomas wedding package for nautically inclined Author: Feb 15

When you have an urge to be outdoors enjoying nature at its best, no place is better than the U.S. Virgin Islands.

You have the blue sea, boats of all kinds, sandy beaches and weddings.

Put them all together and you have a formula for a tropical wedding paradise.

If you two are adventurous and looking for a unique wedding read on.

 

 Whether you’re looking for the perfect location to escape the everyday and get married in an intimate ceremony or just want a different alternative to St.Thomas public beaches that  can get pretty crowded, especially in High Season.  By George we have it here.

You may end up getting your feet wet so if you are not the adventure craving, laid back, relaxing, exotic wanting wedding couple then stop reading here.

 

We have created a wonderful, romantic wedding ceremony package on Honeymoon Beach located on St.John.  An all inclusive package for your wedding day.

 

 The perfect St John Wedding romantic get away.

  • Unlimited phone consultation, email.
  • Marriage license processing and Court house fees
  • U.S.licensed Wedding Officiate.
  • On site coordinator for ceremony
  • Choice of vows
  • Bridal Bouquet and Groom boutonnière (mixed flower- color of choice)
  • (2) Certified copies of your marriage license from Court House sent via express mail
  • Round Trip transportation for Bride and Groom: To Court House, to ceremony and back to Ship or hotel.
  • Round Trip for Bride and Groom + 4 guests via private charter boat toSt. JohnandHoneymoonBeach. (1/2 Day private charter.)
  • St. Johnwedding location.HoneymoonBeachlocation fee included 
  • Certified Professional Photography package: one hour of coverage
  • A DVD with 80 high resolution digital negatives
  • Set of 4×6 proofs prints.
  • Online Gallery to show family and friends.
  • Photographers consultation

$2395.00

Up grade with a wedding cake decorated with fresh flowers, champagne and you have the mood, the scenery, and the memories. 

 

This package should have been called “The Best”. Because we didn’t skimp, you have the Best photographer Gary Felton, The best boat Captain Jimmy and The best wedding planner Deb McDonald.

Category: beach weddings, Cruise ship weddings, St Thomas wedding packages, vi wedding packages, Virgin Island Weddings, Wedding tips  | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,  | Comments off
How to plan a summer wedding on a Tropical Island. Author: May 03

AHHh summer time and the living is easy, and warm, and sometimes very warm.

Summer in the tropics can be a challenge and planning a summer destination wedding on one of the  U. S. Virgin Islands can be a downright gold medal event.  Now don’t get me wrong, summer on St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands is wonderful and beautiful.  It’s considered the off season so you will find the best rates for air, hotel, charters, and weddings.

The beaches, hotels and restaurants are less crowed and island time takes on an even more relaxed atmosphere.    But if you are not prepared for the climate you may be in for a surprise. 

Oddly enough if you were to look at the temperature data of previous years you would not see much of a fluctuation in temperature.   But it does get warmer.  How can that be?   It’s all in the heat index.

The heat index (HI) is an index that combines air temperature and relative humidity in an attempt to determine the human-perceived equivalent …
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heat_index

The temp that reads 86 degrees really feels like 95 degrees even with the trade winds.  But don’t despair with a bit of knowledge and preparation your wedding can be a dream come true.   That is if you have dreamed of palm trees, turquoise blue water, white sandy beaches and beautiful lush tropical landscapes.

Below I have listed a few suggestions to help make your day perfect, actually you could use them any time of year.

  • Plan either a morning wedding up to 11:00 am or an afternoon wedding after 4:30 P.M.   There is day light until 6:30 P.M…
  • Plan on the wedding party clothing around the weather. Cotton and linen for the men, sun dresses, for the ladies.
  • Consider using decorative parasols for wedding party. Hand fans for the guest.
  • As a wedding Officiate I always have small cloth hankies available for the bridal couple for during the ceremony. Great for sweat and or tears. 
  • Plan with your Officiate to have a ceremony that is meaningful to you but is not over 15 min. in length if in the sun.
  • Wedding cakes melt in a warm environment.  Good thing is if you use Fondant as the frosting, they will hold up longer, the down side is the flavor.  One of my brides had a fake decorated cake to have pictures with, and then offered cup cakes to the guest.  This was a big success.
  • Choose a location that offers protection from the sun while waiting for ceremony to begin and after.
  • Make arrangement to have water available to guest and wedding party even if you are having a champagne toast.
  • Plan with your photographer. 
  • Make a list of people to be in group shots and have a member of family coordinate it.
  • Arrange to have cake pictures before the reception to avoid a cake melt down.
  • Have water proof makeup, comp , powder and lipstick close by for touch ups 
  • Plan on a more relaxed less formal wedding, consider a charter reception after a beach wedding. Often with bar, lunch, wedding cake served on board while snorkeling and island hopping.
  • Plan a reception with a catered meal at one of the beach covered facilities right after the wedding ceremony or in an air-conditioned local upscale restaurants

Summer time doesn’t mean you have to sweat the small stuff. (Did I really write that?)

Organization and planning can make it all perfect.   If it all seems too hot and heavy (yep that one too.)

Call us Beach Weddings By Deb for help we will put our blood sweat and tears into it so you don’t have to.  (Couldn’t pass that one up)

Category: Virgin Island Weddings, Wedding tips, What to know when planning a destination wedding.  | Tags: , , ,  | Comments off
International Weddings. Author: Feb 05

This is a first for me,  three international weddings so far this year and its only February.  I don’t  know if it has to do with the dollar and its value  or that the Virgin Islands is wedding capitol of the universe  but for what ever reason, I like it.

This last wedding was so romantic.  A couple from Roma, Italy.  The ceremony took place in St. John and was attended by me the Officiate, a Limo driver and the photographer as witnesses .   The Bride was bi-lingual English and Italian.   The Groom was a bit more challenged on the English side.  

They declined an option of having a translator available during the ceremony.  So how it worked was,  the Bride would translate for the groom.  It was really very sweet.  It also got me to thinking ,  The ceremony is really  a formal promise in front of witnesses.  But its what’s  in your heart, that really counts.  The look of love and devotion in the grooms eyes really said it all.

I spoke the vows very slowly, and he repeated after me correctly but I doubt that what ever he said did not match what his heart was saying.  

They are on the way back to Italy today and I am on my way to the Lt Governor office to get the apostilles signed to make every thing legal. 

But somehow I think it was  made legal in their hearts long ago.

Category: Virgin Island Weddings  | Tags: , , , ,  | Comments off
I’m a newbie in the sailing world. Author: Jan 27

I have just entered the world of sailing. The sailor that has captured my heart has also introduced me to keels, masts, jib sails and knots. Lots and lots of knots. I never realized that sail boats were held together with so many different types of knots. There is the anchor hitch used to attach a line to an object, The rolling hitch for exerting force along another line, The sheet bend is used to attach two similar lines together just to name a few. But aside from learning how to tie a knot, there is the ride. It’s when the wind catches the sails and the boat takes on a life of its own. It becomes light and fast as it skims the surface of the water. I was born and raised in Minnesota land of 10,000 lakes and millions of power boats. And yes I was a power boat fanatic. (They always say opposites attract) Owned my first one at 18 and sold my last before moving down to St.Thomas. For a girl I could talk Mercury inboard/ outboard verses Chrysler out board with the best of them. Now horsepower has been replaced with weather reports of wind speed and direction. Relying on the wind or lack of it to dictate your destination takes a bit of getting use to. I am learning to sit back and let Mother Nature work her magic and its starting to be a wonderful experience. I have seen the best sunsets on the water without the drone of a motor or the smell of fuel. The plowing through waves racing along other sail boats has exhilaration. Even waiting for the wind to fill the sails lends to discussions, if not lessons on knot tying. We plan on trip to Jose Van Dyke, Tortola and Virgin Gorda in the near future I’ll let you know if my enthusiasm continues, but I wish we had a bigger motor on the Dinghy.

Deb and Kevin( from Ruth Avery) on board Shanti

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Open Mic Night with the Blues Author: Jan 19

I have  heard about  impromptu jam sessions in the Big Easy. Always wanted to attend one and listen to  musicians getting together for great music.

Last week I attended a wonderful Jam session and it wasn’t in New Orleans. It was Wednesday and open Mic night at Tickles in Crown Bay Marina.  We were there to lend moral support to a friend who played guitar and sing.

Never intended to stay past his performance but as luck would have it, we lingered. Between talking, eating their famous potato skins, drinking a cruzen rum and coke  the night turned from a middle of the week quick stop, to a great night to remember.

Musicians  from around the St. Thomas  gathered to play some wonderful blues music.  Magical was the ambiance, spell binding was the music as Singers , steel pan , guitar, harmonica and flute all performed  without knowing each other before hand.  Selections to perform were decided on via a group discussions on stage before each number.

When the flute arrived we were skeptical and I saw more than audience member  get a poke in the ribs from fellow patrons.   We were pleasantly surprised to hear the flute mix in and really play unlike any other flute I have heard before.  That flute blew the blues.

Not only was the instruments great but the singers were on track , on Que and in rhythm.

The musicians could have played all night in a veritable jam session of the blues.
 
Who would have thought it but it happened here in St.Thomas Virgin Islands at Tickles restaurant and bar in Crown Bay Marina.
I just might make Wednesday a Tickles night more often.

 

Category: People in the Virgin Islands, Uncategorized  | Tags: , , , ,  | Comments off
Deborah mcDonald Author: Dec 14

Hello,

My name is Deborah McDonald but my friends call me Deb.

I would like to take this time to introduce myself with the question I get asked most often.

Why have I made the Virgin Islands my home?

Prior to moving to the Virgin Islands, I had worked as a Customer Service Manger for 18 years in a major corporation, located in the states. Due to a merger my job was being eliminated. 

I moved to the Virgin Islands for a six month vacation. That was over 7 years ago. I’m still here and loving it.

I love the culture,  the many ethnic groups,  and the way of life.   Most of all I love the water, sun, sand and my job.

I started Planning Perfect Island Wedding Day with the idea to create a memorable and fun day, not only for the bride and groom, but their families and guests as well. I had been officiating wedding since 1972 in Minnesota.   In the Virgin Islands I wanted to create a company that could provide affordable wedding coordination services to people of all cultures and backgrounds.

I wanted to have a business built with quality and integrity.

Growing up in the family restaurant business, along with College and my career in the corporate world. I have developed management, business, and customer service skills along with the determination to work the details to achieve magnificent weddings from ordinary ones.

So with two dogs, a Parrot and my car. I made the drive from Minnesota to Florida.   My car went on the boat. The dogs, (Sarah and Rosy), parrot (Ludwig) and I got on the plane. It’s over 7 years later and and I can’t image moving back.

I knew what I wanted to do; I just needed to convince the rest.

Whew! What a concept. Transparent pricing and exceptional customer service.

It took a long time to gather just the right vendors and professionals together. It took just as long before they realized I was not doing some smoke and mirrors trick. Perfect Island Wedding Day was not only publishing their pricing on its web site but really, really not taking a kick-back or bonus for doing business with them.

I got puzzled and sometime hostile looks from competitors with questions of “But why, this is St. Thomas, people don’t expect it here, so why start it here?”   Guess I was setting higher standards than what they wanted to archive.   Needless to say they are not working for or with me.

What do I get out it?   My fee is an 18% charge to your balance.   My service is to consult with you for your perfect wedding agenda.   From the simple to the most elegant celebration, our expertise will allow you to fully experience the bliss, the joy and the excitement of your wedding day.

In other words we make sure all of the coordination is done and your wedding goes off without a hitch (pardon the pun).

So welcome again to my web site.   I look forward to any comments or questions you may have.

This blog  will contain island interest and folk lore, restaurant reviews, interesting people I have met in addition to weddings past and present.

Deb McDonald

Never hesitate to hold out your hand; never hesitate to accept the outstretched hand of another.

- Pope John XXlll

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