Free Weddings! Free Honeymoons!

Who doesn’t love the word “free”? I know I do. And for all you frazzled brides out there trying to stretch that budget, we’re here to help. Just pop over to our contest page for a chance to win the wedding or honeymoon of your dreams (or maybe even both!).


Be Married On Us! Sweepstakes: Bimini Bay Resort, located in the Out Islands of the Bahamas, is giving away a free wedding package to one lucky couple. Included in the prize is a four-hour open bar with beer and wine, plus a sit-down dinner for up to 20 guests. Contest ends November 15, 2009.




Galley Bay Sweepstakes: If lounging on one of Antigua’s 365 beaches sounds appealing, then getting married on one should sound even better. Enter to win a free wedding package from Galley Bay Resort, including a wedding cake and champagne, plus a six-night stay for two. Contest ends September 15, 2009.



Cancun Honeymoon Sweepstakes: Couples-only resort? Check. Pristine sand? Check. Crystal-blue Caribbean waters? Check. Sounds like a perfect honeymoon setting to me. Win a six-night, all-inclusive stay, courtesy of Sun Palace in Cancun, Mexico. Contest ends June 9, 2009.




Radisson Aruba Resort Sweepstakes: Aruba has long been a newlywed favorite, and the Radisson Aruba Resort, Casino & Spa is giving you the chance to experience the island on them. Included in the prize are a five-night stay, daily breakfast and champagne on arrival. Bon bini! Contest ends May 31, 2009.


Be sure to visit our contest page for even more amazing trips and fun product giveaways.

VIP at TCI

Last week DWH was invited to Turks & Caicos for the grand opening celebration of the Italian Village at Beaches Turks & Caicos Resort & Spa. Upon arrival, I was greeted with some bubbly (they know the way to my heart) and a personal escort to my room overlooking the Italian Village pool. Designed with Tuscan romance in mind, the suite featured a mahogany four-poster bed, flat-screen TV, a fully-stocked bar, a separate room complete with bunk-beds and xBox, a whirlpool tub, and, my personal favorite, a spa-like rain shower.



Set on 12 miles of Grace Bay’s white sand, the all-inclusive resort features a variety of activities, and seems ideal for a destination wedding event. The property boasts 16 themed restaurants, each representing different areas of the world, including the French Village, Caribbean Village, a sushi bar, and an English pub. For some downtime, we especially loved that the sand was just steps away, plus the eight pools were equipped with swim up bars brimming with margaritas. As a diver, I loved that watersports were included; Grace Bay holds some of the Caribbean’s best dive sites and the blacktip sharks we spotted on nearly every dive were obvious-enough proof. The resort is definitely family-friendly (perfect since I brought my mom as my guest) and kids would love the Pirates Island Waterpark featuring two huge waterslides. (We even ran into Gordon from Sesame Street.)

Not only did we have every amenity we could wish for, we received the star-treatment: literally. Everywhere we turned there was a famous face — Debi Mazer with her family in tow, Jennie Garth sporting a cast and crutches, The Bachelor’s Jason Mensick with Molly and Ty. Lou Ferrigno floating on a raft, Maria Menudos interviewing Joey Fatone and even Bethany from Real Housewives of New York with her new boyfriend.

And the VIP-treatment doesn’t stop there. Beaches offers four wedding packages featuring everything from preparing the paperwork to organizing a beachside reception. And the fact that the packages were created by Preston Bailey, one of the world’s top wedding planners, doesn’t hurt either.

Destination: Captiva

Recently I had the opportunity to attend a destination wedding in Captiva, Florida, about a five-hour drive from the couple’s hometown of Daytona Beach, Florida. My husband and I drove over from Orlando on Saturday morning and checked in at the South Seas Island Resort. We had plenty of time that evening to relax in our cozy room overlooking the bay and to enjoy an offbeat but delicious dinner at The Bubble Room.

The next day, the wedding didn’t start until 6 p.m., so we spent the day at the resort lying out on the beach, taking a dip in the surf and popping over to The Ships Store periodically for snacks and tasty drinks.

That evening, we headed to the main event, taking place on the beach across from the Captured beach house, where the couple and their families had spent the week. It was clear and sunny, and the sand was all but deserted. The groom had constructed a lovely canopy out of bamboo for the ceremony, and the couple had provided plenty of chilled bottles of water so we could beat the heat as we awaited the bride in our white garden chairs.

The vows were sweet and simple, with the couple performing a sand ceremony and the bride’s brothers singing a song a cappella. But the highlight of the service was definitely the dolphins that kept making appearances out in the Gulf!

Afterward, we headed back to the beach house for a reception around the pool, decorated with floating arrangements by Floral Artistry of Sanibel. Blue Windows Catering served a feast of fish and chicken, and for dessert, the couple served fruit flan in lieu of cake.

All in all, it was a great weekend, and I loved the intimacy and tropical beauty of a real wedding away!

America's Best Beach

Looking for the perfect sandy setting for your wedding? Dr. Beach has made his 2009 pick for the #1 best beach in America and the winner is … Kauai’s Hanalei Bay. I have to agree, it’s gorgeous — a two-mile curve tucked into the island’s north end. And there’s no resort better placed to enjoy it than the St. Regis Princeville, situated on a bluff overlooking the bay. I stayed here a few years ago during its previous incarnation as Princeville Resort and remember especially loving the outdoor pool deck, where I could laze in my chaise and watch surfers ride the waves. Thanks to a major renovation and rebranding as St. Regis, the hotel should be better than ever when it reopens this fall. (They’re currently accepting reservations for October 1, 2009 and beyond.) Expected upgrades include overhauled guest rooms and a new restaurant from Jean-Georges Vongerichten. For weddings, the hotel can arrange a beachside ceremony on the sand, of course, or a more formal celebration on a pristine terrace overlooking the ocean. Sounds like it’s time to plan a return trip …

Wedding Gifts with a Purpose

Help make the world a little brighter with your wedding. Changingthepresent.org is a unique service that works with non-profit organizations to offer charitable contributions as gifts. Their wedding registry service is fully customizable and you can fill it with meaningful items to request from your guests. Instead of registering for cookware or bedding, you can ask your guests to help feed a family for a year, teach a child to read or plant a tree. There are gifts in many different categories to choose from and each ranges in price from $5 to over $100. If you’re looking for one-of-a-kind wedding favors, they also offer charitable donations for as low as $1 each to give your guests in lieu of a physical souvenir.

Take the Cake

While we can’t stop talking about our recent DWH Celebrate Romance Media Event in New York City, another thing on everyone’s lips are the SAS cupcakes given away at the greatresortweddings.com booth. Packaged like a present in a Tiffany-blue box and topped with an abundance of buttercream frosting, each cupcake tasted just as lovely as it looked.

And as if they aren’t tempting enough, the cupcakes come in more than 30 flavors. Each box of 12 is packaged to fit any couple’s tastes, and shipping is available nationwide, making them the perfect edible favor for stateside weddings away.

Some favorites include:
• Death by Chocolate, including chocolate cupcakes, chocolate chocolate-chip cupcakes, rich chocolate cupcakes topped with white-chocolate buttercream, and triple-chocolate cupcakes filled with a dark-truffle center and topped with dark-chocolate ganache. Seriously!
• Pretty in Pink, topped with edible pink flowers and flavor pennants and packaged in a pink argyle gift box.
• Red Velvet Dozen, created with a light cocoa touch.
• Wedding Assortment, boasting multiple variations of vanilla and chocolate, plus triple chocolate and red velvet topped with cream-cheese frosting.
• Best Sellers Collection, featuring the top 12 flavors, including vanilla, chocolate, triple chocolate, red velvet, chocolate with Oreo, s’mores chocolate with a marshmallow center and topped with a graham-cracker buttercream, and vanilla and chocolate topped with raspberry buttercream.

Each sugary confection is made with no trans fats or artificial ingredients, accented with customizable mini pennants and delivered in signature gift boxes. From $44.95 for a dozen.

Frugalista Alert

For the past few weeks, I’ve been knee-deep in runway images of the latest couture wedding gowns unveiled during spring’s fashion week. The reason? We’re featuring our favorite dresses for the annual gown gallery — the highlight of our fall print issue.

I’ve quickly fallen in love with a handful of gorgeous gowns — and just as quickly been floored by the price tags. So what’s a girl with a fashion fetish and slim budget to do?

Check out whitexchange.com, a website launched just last week by entrepreneurs and bridal experts Ursula Guyer and Stacy Senechalle. Since 2006, their brick-and-mortar consignment boutique, white CHICAGO, has been offering samples, over-cuts, runway gowns and “once wed” dresses from top designers like Badgley Mischka, Carolina Herrera and Vera Wang at significantly reduced prices. And now, you don’t have to travel all the way to the Windy City to sift through their inventory — it’s all online.

So, say you’re looking for a Monique Lhuillier classic with a slim silhouette perfect for a destination do. The Tatiana gown (pictured) retails for $3,960 new, but the selling price on whitexchange.com is $2,574 — a savings of $1,386! There aren’t any mysteries either; each gown listing provides the exact color, fabric, cut, train length, label size, street size, origin and condition — and if the gown is once-wed, even the original bride’s height and heel height are provided.

So go ahead — have your cake and eat it too!

Mexico Warning Lifted

Good news — the U.S. State Department has just announced that their Travel Heath Warning for Mexico in response to the swine flu outbreak is no longer in effect, and it is no longer recommending that Americans avoid traveling there. And other countries are following suit, including Canada and the United Kingdom. Additionally, Royal Caribbean and Carnival cruise lines have announced that at the end of the month they will resume port calls in the country. This is great news for Mexico, and for all of the wedding couples and honeymooners who considered changing their plans in the early days of the outbreak. If that includes you, rest easy and enjoy your trip — and have a margarita for us while you’re down there!

Real Wedding: Emily and David, Costa Rica

Our featured wedding this week has a lot of fun ideas on how to incorporate local culture into an event. Our couple, Emily Sawyer and David Kegerreis, now call Jacksonville, Florida home, but Emily developed a deep love for Costa Rica while she lived there during high school. They decided to get married there and give their guests a taste of all the country has to offer. Attendees were greeted with welcome bags made of palm leaves, including an itinerary printed on banana paper, snacks and locally-gown coffee. They held their rehearsal dinner in the rainforest, complete with traditional fare and an aerial tram ride for a bird’s eye view. The morning of the wedding, guests were able to take a shuttle to participate in a canopy tour. That evening, the sunset ceremony was held at Villa Caletas which gave a stunning view of the Pacific Ocean, and even with an overcast sky, the backdrop was simply breathtaking. To add even more Costa Rican flair to the event, the couple hired salsa dancers to get the party going after dinner. How fun!

Photos courtesy of Carlos Borbon

See more details and read planning tips from Emily here.

Bubbly Chic

While we were in New York City this week, Susan and I had the chance to check out The Bubble Lounge, a hip NYC champagne bar serving more than 300 types of champagne and sparkling wine. As we sipped our flutes of sparkling Domaine Carneros Brut Rosé (the same brand we gave out in our gift bags for the media event), I couldn’t help but appreciate our surroundings: rich wood furnishings coupled with velvety couches and pillow-filled chaise lounges, and doors that opened onto the streets of Soho. The Moulin Rouge vibe said VIP, but the welcoming, un-stuffy staff gave a laid-back twist to the posh atmosphere. They have a sister Bubble Lounge in San Francisco, both of which can be reserved for unforgettable private parties or bubbly-filled weddings.

Speaking of weddings, sadly, county laws in Napa, California, don’t allow official wedding ceremonies at Domaine Carneros’ gorgeous, chateau-inspired tasting room. But you can arrange an amazing private wine-and-food pairing or wine class as part of your surrounding events for a Napa or Sonoma destination wedding. Domaine Carneros is the California branch of renowned French champagne house Taittinger, so you know the wines will live up to the elegant setting.

More Event Coverage

We couldn’t be happier with how well our Celebrate Romance! media event turned out. We’d like to thank everyone who attended, as well as all the sponsors who helped make it happen.

We’re pretty excited because the event was featured on Reuters.com, and was also picked up by MSNBC.com.

We even have a video from the day – check it out below!

City Girl

I just got back from our Celebrate Romance! media event in New York City, and I’m still buzzing from the whole experience. I had never been to the Big Apple before and was delighted to discover that it’s as enchanting as everyone told me it would be. From the moment I stepped out of my cab and my foot hit the pavement, I could feel the city’s palpable energy.

The event took place at the legendary Plaza hotel, and after seeing the property’s ornate ballroom for myself, the movie Bride Wars suddenly made even more sense. A reception under the elaborate, gilded ceiling of this NYC landmark would be something worth fighting for.


And our featured vendors made it even easier to picture a fairy-tale wedding away in Manhattan. Floratech provided the chic centerpieces — coral-colored roses wrapped in banana leaves — while Ron Ben-Israel created a cake masterpiece that tasted every bit as good as it looked.


I had a blast meeting our sponsors from the travel and tourism industry, and I even had time on either end of the event to do some city exploring. Central Park — with its rambling pathways, sunlit lawns, stately trees and peaceful lakes — was by far my favorite attraction, and I had another star-struck moment when I came upon The Central Park Boathouse. Featured in another popular wedding movie, 27 Dresses, this lakefront venue can seat up to 300.

(Photo by Tim McGuire/Corbis)

I stayed only two nights, so I feel like I only scratched the surface of what the Capital of the World has to offer. Needless to say, I’m already planning my return trip!

Real Wedding: DeLenn and Taylor, Paget, Bermuda

DeLenn Maples and Taylor Faulkner were keeping their guests in mind when deciding where to hold their destination wedding. With many different age groups to appeal to, they needed a place with a variety of activities to keep everyone happy. After tons of research they decided the British-flavored island of Bermuda would be the perfect spot for their nuptials. They married on the veranda of the Elbow Beach Resort, overlooking the pink-sand beach and glorious Caribbean Sea. Their guest list was small and intimate, with a grand total of 30 attendees. The reception followed on the same veranda, where guests could eat, drink and dance while enjoying the breathtaking view.

This wedding seemed like so much fun! I love how happy everyone looks in all the photos. DeLenn contributes this to the help of her wedding planner, Summer Hutchens-Colgin from Summer for Your Memories. She said without her, she knows the day wouldn’t have turned out as well and she would have been stressed. If you can afford it, planners are absolutely worth the money on your big day!

Photos courtesy of Tomas Ramos Photography

See more details and read planning tips from DeLenn here.

Trip Report: Laucala Island in Fiji

It’s been a week since I returned from the paradisiacal Laucala Island and while physically I’m at my desk at work, mentally I’m still sitting in my villa’s plunge pool and gazing at the ocean. We’ll be featuring this private-island resort (which is a honeymoon dream come true) in our upcoming Fall issue, so I was hard at work to get the scoop. And by hard I work, I mean scuba diving, snorkeling, jet skiing, golfing, dining and pampering myself in the spa. (It’s a tough job, but somebody’s gotta do it, right?)

Even Ernest Hemingway wouldn’t be able to find words to describe the beauty of this breathtaking retreat, so I'll just take the photo essay route.

This was my villa, named Vivilli. I had a separate living room and bedroom, bathroom, outdoor dining area and massage area. My private pool overlooked the beach and ocean (opposite view above).

My lovely bedroom, where I awoke each morning to a glorious view of the beach and ocean.

And the ultimate in honeymoon showers - al fresco, yet private!

This is where I would set up my laptop in the mornings to get some actual work done. I was surprisingly productive in paradise.


Relaxing at the spa. Before my massage, I had a coconut bath and a glass of champagne while soaking in this view. Not bad, eh?

This is Jenny (left) and I (right) enjoying our coconut drinks in the traditional village area of the island. For Lost fans, I half expected to see John Locke jump out of the trees at any moment.


Laucala has one overwater bungalow-style luxurious villa with two bedrooms...
...And if jumping right into the ocean from your room doesn't appeal to you, why not unwind in the plunge pool carved into the cliffside that comes with the residence?


This is a view of the island from our sunset sail (again, Lost fans, where are the Others?!?).

As I mentioned in a previous post, Laucala is extremely accommodating and will grant your every wish. They even let me drive the boat!

See what I mean about being the ultimately perfect honeymoon spot? Ah, Laucala, I will miss you! To use the few Fijian words I learned while on my trip, a huge vinaka (thank you) for your hospitality. Now I must say moce (goodbye, pronounced moh-thay) and hope to return again someday!