If you've just begun planning your Bahamanian wedding, you may still be debating when it comes to the perfect venue. Although the multiple hotels throughout this chain of islands can provide you with romantic scenery while providing accommodations for your traveling friends and relatives, you may feel it wasteful to fly all the way to the Caribbean without taking advantage of the expansive white beaches or clear open waters for your actual ceremony. How can you choose where to hold your wedding, and what will you need to do to reserve your spot? Read on to learn more about your outdoor wedding options in the Bahamas and how to choose the right venue for your once-in-a-lifetime event.
What are your best outdoor wedding options in the Bahamas?
Many who choose a destination wedding in the Caribbean opt for an outdoor beach wedding. With the temperate climate and relatively low rainfall of these tropical locales, making plans for inclement weather is much less crucial than back in the States, and you can reserve a private spot on many beaches for a relatively low price. The number of small islands that make up the Bahamas can provide you with thousands of miles of white sand beaches from which to choose. If you choose a beach wedding and would prefer to say your vows as the sun sets, you'll want to look at both a tide map and the time the sun sets on your chosen date -- saying your vows on a darkening beach as the tide quickly comes in can leave your guests with wet shoes or worse.
Another option is to charter or rent a yacht for you, your betrothed, and all your invited guests. Chartering a yacht can be quite a bit pricier than renting a spot on the beach but can provide you with much greater privacy and will ensure that your wedding remains undisturbed by passersby or potential party crashers. Depending upon your wedding budget, the number of expected guests, and the size of the yachts available, you may even be able to charter a yacht that can house all of your wedding party and guests -- eliminating the need to reserve a block of hotel rooms or requiring guests to pay their own way upon arrival.
What will you need to do once you've made your venue choice?
If you've chosen a beach wedding and have a location in mind, you'll need to do some research to see whether your preferred location can be rented. Many hotels own the adjacent beaches to allow guests private access, while publicly-owned beaches may require you to go through the local government office to get a permit for a rental. You should be able to reserve a space on a hotel-owned or public beach simply by making a deposit (and sometimes signing a contract).
For those who would prefer a more marine-themed wedding, chartering a yacht is also a relatively simple process to set up in advance. There are many companies that work exclusively in yacht charters, providing an all-inclusive experience for a flat per-hour or per-day fee. In most cases, the charter or rental fee you'll pay will include the services of a captain -- otherwise, you'll need to hire a captain or bring along a friend who is licensed to operate large watercraft internationally and has enough liability insurance to satisfy the charter company that their expensive yacht is in safe hands.
You should be able to reserve a Bahamanian yacht well in advance of your wedding, providing you with peace of mind that the ceremony itself is handled and allowing you to concentrate on more pressing planning tasks.
Share