What a glorious arrival into Montego Bay! As you land you are greeted by gorgeous, turquoise waters and beautiful beaches.
The Sandals airport lounge makes the arrival process so easy. They are ready to help with your bags, take you to your transfer vehicle and you’re on your way. Sandals Montego Bay is just a few minutes away and soon you are at the newest and hottest resort in Jamaica. This resort is the very first of the Sandals Collection and offers a vast shoreline of exclusive private white-sand beach. At the Club Sandals Lounge, you are served a cold beverage of your choice and they have a super speedy check-in powered by tablet. Now its time to sit back and relax!
The inclusion of a private butler elevates your experience to a whole new level. To my surprise, I entered the most beautiful beachfront suite I have ever seen; the Beachfront Millionaire One Bedroom Butler Suite, which has an outdoor soaking tub. Truly, I was overwhelmed by this gorgeous, spacious suite especially its ocean view. Everything about this room made me happy.
“The huge bathroom with soaking tub and rain shower, the fully stocked bar, the living area and the walk out balcony was amazing, and oh, the view from the bedroom topped it all off. Champagne and a fruit plate were ready upon arrival. I really loved the butler phone too, where I could request anything from a special dinner reservation at Butch’s Steakhouse to a bath drawn in the outdoor soaking tub. This is definitely the room you would want to book for your stay at this resort!”
Our evening began with a wedding experience, which featured an outdoor cocktail reception at the ocean-side Almond Terrace, where we met the rest of our party. We enjoyed a meet & greet with the wedding planner Shari-Jo, friends and Sandals employees. At the cocktail hour, we enjoyed a special ‘drink of the evening’, which was a beachy rum punch drink, as well as hors d’oeuvres, while the saxophone player played live music, all very romantic!
We then were taken to one of the wedding venues, for a welcome dinner. The resort is almost as gorgeous in the evenings as it is during the day. The theme was English Royalty Inspiration, although your wedding can be completely personalized, unique and special to you. There are endless options to customize your special day, and Sandals Montego Bay has its own chapel located in the gardens!
All in all, there are sixteen Sandals resorts on six of the most gorgeous islands in the Caribbean to choose from to set the stage for your wedding. With wedding chapels, gazebos, gardens, over-the-water chapel or beachfront, the most beautiful natural backdrops make the celebration uniquely yours.
Endless options for wedding themes are available, with inspiration in the shape of: The Royals, Romance, The Islands, Gardens, Tropics, Sand & Sea or Nature. Elevate your special day with some of the finer details. Every Sandals wedding includes your choice ceremony location and reception setting, a personal wedding planning team, the preparation of marriage documents, a manicure for the bride, a foot massage for the groom, musical accompaniment, bride & groom signature cocktail, romantic turn-down service, special honeymoon touches, complimentary wedding photo, honeymoon dinner and a luxury destination wedding garment bag as a gift to you.
Beyond the decorations and theme, the islands feature the most beautiful and natural backdrops for your destination wedding. The Sand & Sea inspiration is my personal favorite! Your ceremony at the beautiful over-the-water chapel and the seaside beauty as your backdrop for the reception is unbeatable.
Sandals really showed me why a destination wedding is so desirable. Discussing how easy the wedding process is – and how customizable – makes me want to have a wedding here. It really is a unique experience, and I can imagine how unforgettable a wedding would be.
A few days before the big day, you will arrive at the resort in time to make any last-minute changes and have some down time just for the two of you before your guests start to arrive. The next day you can throw a welcome reception for your guests to give them a glimpse of what they can expect for the rest of their trip! Then have a day where the groomsmen do their thing and the bridesmaids do theirs, such as golfing for the guys and a spa day for the girls!
At Sandals, your wedding day is pre-planned in detail with your own wedding team of professionals. The wedding concierge schedules your first planning session. Your wedding planner assists in guiding you through the process with as many sessions as you require. They introduce you to the wedding events team a few weeks prior so that you can review and finalize the ceremony and reception, ensuring the wedding of your dreams! This allows you to step back and let the professionals take over, making the wedding planning process easier and less stressful.
Now the moment you’ve been waiting for has arrived. Your team of experts has everything in place for a beautiful ceremony and reception, exactly how you wanted it. Now it’s time to enjoy your big day and celebrate with the ones you love. The next day, there is, typically, a farewell event to send your guests off in style, maybe a private breakfast, beach party or bonfire on the beach.
All of this explains why more couples are choosing a destination wedding over a hometown wedding: a more intimate affair; a multi-day celebration with their guests; keeping costs down. A destination wedding is a unique, seamless event where you are free to choose your own personal style, with the ease of planning, authenticity of the destination, and all the luxury and extras are included to give your guests an amazing experience with lots of activities and memories.
Story by Kelly Klett