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| ?All things being equal, if everyone has to travel to the wedding, why not pick a wonderful location?? ? CRYS STEWART editor in chief, Wedding Bells magazine |
CALLED ?DESTINATION WEDDINGS? in the bridal industry, these far-flung affairs refer to any wedding that lasts more than a day or takes place in a location other than where the couple grew up or lives. This catchall phrase runs the gamut from spontaneous elopements to elaborate weekend affairs. (MSNBC is a Microsoft-NBC joint venture.) Few ceremonies really take place on top of volcanoes or underwater, but it seems you can arrange a wedding almost anywhere these days. This past July, David Leibowitz and Kimberly Miller won a contest that led to them exchanging to vows on a small submarine at the remains of the Titantic?s bow. (Read the full story here Couple set to get married on Titantic) Worldwide weddings Whether it?s an industry-driven concept or a cultural trend, 10 percent of all couples now opt for destination weddings. Crys Stewart, editor in chief of Wedding Bells magazine, attributes the trend to changing lifestyles and geographic mobility. ?In the past, everyone lived in the same town. Traditionally, the wedding was held in that town. End of story.? Now, she continues, ?it?s not uncommon to have grandparents in Italy, a cousin in Belize, the groom is going to law school in Washington, D.C., and the bride is from Seattle. All things being equal, if everyone has to travel to the wedding, why not pick a wonderful location?? Jill Simons, a native of California, and Rick Lambertus, born and reared in Arizona, saw their nuptial as just that ? an excuse to bring family and friends together for an extended weekend. ?Only the people we love were invited to our wedding. We wanted all those people to feel that love all weekend long and feel like family,? says Simons about the 200-people, four-day affair over Labor Day weekend at the Silverado Country Club in Napa Valley. A party at a local bowling alley launched the weekend on Friday night, followed by a golf tournament on Saturday in honor of the bride and groom, and a rehearsal dinner that evening for all guests at a Mexican bar and grill. The ceremony took place Sunday night, and Monday morning a brunch concluded the festivities. Other couples opt for weddings in far-off places to avoid all the pomp and circumstance. Robyn O?Rourke and Todd Pollman ditched their plans for a formal, 400-person wedding in favor of a weekend away with 30 close friends and family. ?We were losing ourselves in what other people wanted our ?big day? to be,? says O?Rourke-Pollman. The final straw came when a family member complained that she thought the couple?s choice of cream-and-gold napkins would clash with the catering hall?s white table cloths, she explains. ?Who cares what people think! They?re just napkins!? The Oklahoma couple married in the courtyard of New Orleans? Le Richelieu Hotel. Total expenses at the hotel: $365, which included two nights in the honeymoon suite. Total return: priceless. ?It was like a huge group vacation. ... And there was no longer the pressure of the wedding having to be perfect.? Let?s go shopping There are several one-stop, destination wedding shops on the Net to help you shift through your options. Honolulu-based World Bridal coordinates about 2,000 nuptials a year in 70 countries, and for $700 to $6,000 can arrange a wedding almost anywhere from Disneyland to Stonehedge in England. Starting at $700, A Wedding for You will plan a ceremony on board a cruise ship or at seaside. This past June, the company organized an event for 60 guests in Bermuda for $100,000. Popular locations include New York, Bermuda, Florida, Bahamas, Puerto Rico, St. Thomas, St. Croix, St. John, Barbados, Jamaica, Grand Cayman, New Orleans, Vancouver and Alaska. Another useful site is Wholly Matrimony!, which started as a content site and recently added a small bridal shop and a novelty T-shirt store. The site still has the most comprehensive FAQ for destination weddings. The ?Delphi Forum,? as it is called, mostly contains links to other cyber sources presented in a question-and-answer format. For an occasion as intimate as a wedding, couples may want to seek out smaller, niche shops to plan the special day. Here?s a mere sampling of what the Web has to offer. ON THE WILD SIDE |
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| Consider a ceremony surrounded in a 40-acre big cat sanctuary in Tampa, Fla., which is home to more than 200 rescued exotic cats. |
The standard package at Teton Mountain Weddings in Wyoming costs as little as $300. For that price, Karen Brody, the company?s founder and an Interfaith-minister, will officiate at the service; arrange for witnesses, a photographer and flowers; make dinner reservations; and obtain a special-use permit, which is required for ceremonies in parklands. Favorite nuptial spots include Jackson Hole (beneath the elk-antler arches) or along the Snake River, the magnificent waterway that winds through the mountains. Brody plans about 100-120 weddings a year. But the Internet has opened up the whole world to Wyoming?s wilderness. The Net has drawn couples from Japan, the Netherlands, England and France, says Brody. If the Wyoming wilderness is not wild enough, consider a ceremony in a 40-acre big cat sanctuary in Tampa, Fla., which is home to more than 200 rescued exotic cats, including bobcats, cougars, leopards and lynxes. Don and Carole Lewis started the sanctuary in 1992 when they bought their first big cat at an exotic animal auction. Now couples can sign up online at Wild Weddings for a simple service that costs $200 plus $10 per person for admission to the refuge or the honeymoon package for $1,500, which includes an overnight stay, a photographer and a special tour. All fees are used to fund the sanctuary.   NBC?s ?Today? throws a weddingIN THE WINE COUNTRY Scenic territory and a big budget bring couples to Napa Valley, California?s wine country north of San Francisco. Sasha Souza of Sasha Souza Events has been planning events in Napa Valley since 1996. ?Because every event is different, one-size-fits-all estimates are tough to do,? says Souza. But she says $300 per person is a good ?starting point? if you?re inviting 100 guests or more. ?Again, this is simply a starting point,? she says. The $300 covers the site rental fee, furniture rentals, catering, cake, lighting, floral, officiate, photographer, musicians and transportation. (In high-end weddings, the hosts usually provide transportation for overnight guests to and from their lodging.) In addition, Souza charges a flat fee of $4,500 to $7,000 to make all the arrangements. This past March, Souza coordinated a sit-down dinner in a 4-million-year-old cave for about 70 guests. (Souza won?t reveal the exact location for competitive reasons.) Tall candelabras and pillar candles brightened the cavernous space. Tables were covered with classic pinstripe satin tablecloths. The bride carried taupe roses and stephanotis with platinum pins and crystals to match her gun-metal gown. The bridesmaids wore royal purple gowns, made of Thai silk. Guests journeyed to the cave from Texas, Chicago and the East Coast. TAKE THE PLUNGE The Hawaiian Islands are a great place to take the plunge. Linda Pasadava, a native of St. Paul, Minn., and founder of Vow Exchange, coordinates weddings on the islands of Kauai, Oahu, Hawaii and Maui. Standard packages range from simple vow renewals for ?$350 plus tax? to a ?Fairy Tale? wedding, priced at $3,150, which features a release of monarch butterflies. Central to all ceremonies are the natural surroundings and an exchange of fresh flower leis. WEDDINGS WITH A VIEW Romance draws couples to Italy. Yet very few couples who travel to Italy to marry have Italian ancestry, says Barbara Bertini-Platt, founder of Weddings International. Bertini-Platt, a native of Ponte A Egola ? a small town about 15 miles west of Florence ? can arrange a wedding in Florence, along the Amalfi coast or in the center of Rome. Other popular wedding locations include Venice and the Tuscan countryside. Teri Goldberg is MSNBC.com?s shopping writer. Write to her at personalshopper@msnbc.com |
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Fall fashion: new hits and revivals
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