Get Some Wows with Your Vows
TURKS AND CAICOS
PEACEFUL AND PRIVATE
Even celebs vie for reservations at Parrot Cay, a 1,000-acre private-island
resort in the Turks and Caicos that specializes in weddings for no more
than eight guests. Exchange rings at the end of a boardwalk leading to the
sea or in a tiki hut overlooking an empty white-sand beach.
WEDDING PLANNER: To marry in Turks and Caicos, you must submit an application,
birth certificates, passports, immigration slips, and affidavits proving
that neither groom nor bride has been married (or a copy of the divorce
decree).
This article, “Get Some Wows with Your Vows,” appeared in the spring/summer 2005 edition of Outside Traveler.
BAJA
ROMANTIC MEXICAN PARADISE
Whether you want to seal the deal on the beach, atop a white stallion, or
on a yacht as the sun sets over the Pacific, Las Ventanas al Paraíso
has you covered. This 61-suite Los Cabos resort specializes in all things
love, from the spa's bride treatment-a bath, honey wrap, massage, facial,
and manicure-to candlelit dinners on the beach.
POST-VOWS: Horseback-ride trails with sea views or take a surf lesson. Rejuvenate
with a massage in your suite, with its inlaid pebble headboards and paintings
by local artists.
WEDDING PLANNER: In addition to passports and birth certificates, you'll
need a blood test to ensure you aren't related.
This article, “Get Some Wows with Your Vows,” appeared in the spring/summer 2005 edition of Outside Traveler.
LAKE MICHIGAN
Great Lakes Grandeur
Say your "I do's" on Lighthouse Point's 13 waterfront acres as the setting
sun illuminates the St. Helena Lighthouse, on northern Michigan's Straits
of Mackinac. There's only one wedding each weekend-with room for up to 30
guests to stay at Lighthouse Point-so you'll have the inn's pines and cedars,
perennial gardens, and expansive lawns all to yourselves.
POST-VOWS: Explore the Sturgeon and Pine rivers by canoe, or bike nearby
on car-free Mackinac Island. You and your closest kin will have four cozy
cabins, with cedar interiors and rustic wood-and-leather furniture, to return
to.
WEDDING PLANNER: A three-day rental of the property costs $6,000. Lighthouse
Point can help you arrange catering, flowers, and music.
This article, “Get Some Wows with Your Vows,” appeared in the spring/summer 2005 edition of Outside Traveler.
MAINE
DOWN-HOME NEW ENGLAND
Everything about Blair Hill Inn, an eight-room 1891 mansion-turned-country-inn,
feels like home, from the innkeepers' snapdragons to the smoked-shrimp-and-Brie
omelette. Get hitched in the gardens in summer, then feast on grilled lobster
flown in from the coast in the turn-of-the-century carriage barn.
POST-VOWS: Your married adventure begins in a bountiful region: Kayak Moosehead
Lake or Prong Pond, raft the Penobscot or Kennebec rivers, or hike to the
summit of 5,268-foot Mount Katahdin, the state's highest point. At the end
of the day, you'll find respite in the Jacuzzi, a lake-view rocking chair,
or your suite, with a mahogany bed and wood-burning fireplace.
WEDDING PLANNER: Blair Hill Inn's wedding fees vary from $500 to $2,000,
for ten to 150 people, and receptions start at $40 per person.
This article, “Get Some Wows with Your Vows,” appeared in the spring/summer 2005 edition of Outside Traveler.
HAWAII
LAND OF LANAI
Blissfully undeveloped Lanai will sweep you and your betrothed away with
its unrefined beauty. In the central highlands of the rugged 141-square-mile
island is the Lodge at Koele, a secluded 102-room hotel. Tie the knot on
a lava cliff hundreds of feet above the surf or on a golden beach.
POST-VOWS: Rent a mountain bike on-site and ride seven miles to the Garden
of the Gods. Or hoof it on horseback along the Paniolo Trail, which runs
through old ranchland that is home to deer, quail, and wild turkeys, not
to mention panoramic views. When you return, the luxuries of Koele await
you: fresh-squeezed pineapple juice, feather pillows on four-poster beds,
and an orchid house to explore.
WEDDING PLANNER: The Lodge at Koele has its own planners, who can arrange
everything from the service to the cake.
This article, “Get Some Wows with Your Vows,” appeared in the spring/summer 2005 edition of Outside Traveler.