Bahamas is for Lovers: Destination Weddings
For couples looking for a destination wedding in the Bahamas, there are options to suit all tastes. Spectacular beaches can be found on pretty much every island, so the question comes down to this: how far from the mainstream do you want to stray?
From the air, the 700-odd islands of the Bahamas appear to be scattered randomly into the turquoise waters of the Atlantic, with total disregard for order. Spread over 100,000 miles, these isles and cays shelter some of the world’s most beautiful beaches, and preserve a way of life that’s long been lost to most of its American neighbors, some a mere 200 miles southeast of Florida.
Stay on Paradise Island and a bustling city is at your fingertips. One of the hottest resorts is the massive Atlantis, a palatial property with in excess of 2,500 rooms, with a large marine habitat, spa, casino, and waterslides that take sliders right through a shark pool. Atlantis stretches the imagination, offering a stimulating environment filled with music, lights, people and action around the clock.
With its international airport just across the bridge in Nassau, Paradise Island is the easiest stop in the Bahamas, an island geared through and through to tourists and offering wedding couples many choices in destination wedding resorts.
But if you want to get married away from the crowds, you have to board a smaller plane and head to one of the Out-Islands of the Bahamas. They’re called the Out-Islands for good reason: they are out of the way. This makes them less populated, less commercialized and a whole lot more pristine than the resort-ridden isles of Paradise and Grand Bahama Island.
Take Andros Island, for example. The island with a population of 10,000 is known as the bonefishing capital of the Bahamas, offering superb deep sea and reef fishing, and diving. Andros’ Barrier Reef is the world’s third largest, and the island offers shopping for crafts and fabric, carvings, baskets, jewelry and other items unique to its location.
South Andros is home to the Tiamo Resort, an all-inclusive property that offers light adventure and biologist guided nature tours in addition to its wedding-on-the-beach package. Time your visit with one of the many annual events and festivals and you’ll find yourself in the midst of a celebration of the Androsians cultural heritage.
An island with only a third of Andros’ population, Long Island is divided by the Tropic of Cancer and boasts two utterly different coasts. On one side of the island, you’ll find the Bahamas’ characteristic pearly soft sand, while the other consists of rocky headlands that face the frequent onslaught of crashing waves. In the middle, expect white flatlands and sloping hills, a magnificently varied backdrop for a destination wedding and some unforgettable wedding photographs. On Long Island, the cottage-style Stella Maris Resort is the property of choice for a sophisticated wedding.
Cat Island is the place for quiet seclusion, an isle with an abundance of beaches including an eight-mile stretch of pink sand. Couples come to Cat Island for its many nature trails, diving, snorkeling and fishing. Many of them stay at the Fernandez Bay Village’s selection of seaside cottages and spacious villas. The property offers couples customizable wedding packages with locally baked wedding cake and bouquets comprised of freshly picked tropical flowers.
What all the Out-Islands of the Bahamas have in common is the opportunity to experience true island life, untarnished by neon lights, massive resorts and the lure of commercialism. To explore them, you have to take the road less traveled, but with it comes many fantastic experiences. Like the chance to meet and speak with locals who are happy to give you the time of day. The joy of sunbathing with your loved one on an utterly deserted beach. The beauty of kayaking through channels lined with ancient mangrove trees and visiting settlements you would never otherwise get to see.
This makes the Bahamas a wedding destination par excellence, one unrivalled in its beauty, accessibility and array of offerings.
