WEDDINGS AND SPAS 2007

Destination Matrimony

An island wedding is no longer just a sand between your toes type of affair.

There once was a time not so long ago when a ‘destination wedding’ was more often than not a spur of the moment affair featuring a couple of barefoot lovers sneaking away to tie the knot on some faraway island, mainly to avoid the cost and hassle of a traditional ceremony (or the disapproving in-laws). Those spontaneous romantics still exist, but these days a wedding in a place like the Turks & Caicos can be as elaborate and traditional an event as you’ll find at any mainland exchange of nuptials.

And considering that, according to Lisa Light of Destinationbride.com, roughly four of every ten American couples are opting for a destination wedding (defined roughly as a ceremony held more than three hours from either participant’s home), it’s no surprise that there are more and more options all the time to make an island wedding a memorable one.
“The Caribbean really defined the concept of the destination wedding,” says Light, who wrote the book - literally - on the topic (she is the author of Destination Bride: How to Plan Your Wedding Anywhere in the World, as well as being a renowned wedding planner herself). “People have a romantic vision of a beach wedding at sunset in an idyllic setting and the Caribbean’s a natural. Home is just not as romantic. But the most recent trend in these types of weddings is to be less casual and more traditional - brides are expecting the same amenities and little extras that they could get at home, and a lot more planning is going into destination weddings.”

Serena Meier, head wedding planner at Beaches Resort, agrees. “These are people who aren’t just running away to get married. It’s a major event and just about anything that can be done at a big city wedding can be done here, with the right amount of planning.”

But romance and tradition isn’t always tops on the list for choosing to get hitched along scenic Grace Bay Beach. Mainland and local wedding planners both point out that there are other factors which are inspiring couples to look to the tropics as the venue for their big day, including:
    • being able to spend more quality time with their guests
    • a more efficient overall planning process
    • combining the event into a family vacation
    • having a smaller, more intimate guest list
    • saving some money compared to a traditional
    ceremony and reception

With a destination wedding, the couple usually gets more time to socialize with the guests compared to the 30-second drive-by guest experience at large traditional receptions. Guests will typically spend at least three days at a destination like the Turks & Caicos, giving the couple abundant opportunity to reminisce and enjoy the occasion with their best friends and closest family members. That quality time is further enhanced by the fact that the couple will probably avoid having to invite “B List” guests of office workers and long forgotten relatives to a destination wedding.

“Weddings of 15-30 people are fairly common although we have had weddings of up to 170 guests,” said Beaches’ Meier. “The larger events take some advance planning in terms of travel and accommodations and such, but anything is possible really.” Meier should know - Beaches has emerged as something of the Las Vegas of the Caribbean, averaging around 70 weddings per week (yes, per week) and even more during the high season of May, June and July.

Resorts along Grace Bay from popular venues such as The Palms, The Sands, Point Grace and Grace Bay Club support that trend as well.

“We typically do smaller sized weddings because we are a small resort, but it’s definitely become a significant part of our business,” says Lucas Chanter, resident manager at Point Grace, an upscale 24 room property. “This is an ideal destination for people who want the classic beach wedding. And we can offer just about any service or feature they can get anywhere.”

Tendra Musgrove, who plans weddings at The Sands, agrees. “We’re targeting the wedding market much more than in the past and we’re seeing a big increase in the number we are doing.  People like our property because we can offer a very family-friendly wedding, even with kids.”

Indeed, the destination wedding concept in the Turks & Caicos is particularly popular with those going around for the second or third time, or even a place to renew the couple’s original vows. Usually these types of events might involve children, not to mention a couple that has already been through the big ceremony ordeal before. It turns into a nice way to spend a vacation and get the new family off on the right foot.

Shaune Burgess, head of sales and marketing at the award-winning Grace Bay Club, which will host 40 weddings this year, points to another trend - the groom becoming more involved in destination wedding planning. “Maybe it has to do with who plans the travel but we are seeing more involvement by both members of the wedding couple.” Can you say Groom-zilla?

So can it really be cheaper to hold your wedding in the Turks & Caicos than your hometown? If you factor in a typically smaller guest list, some pretty attractive wedding packages offered by properties, and the fact that the wedding is now combined with the honeymoon (the “Weddingmoon” is the current popular term used to describe this level of efficiency), it can end up being relatively competitive from a price standpoint.

Venues such as Amanyara (site of the star-studded wedding for TCI’s own Premier Michael Misick and his actress wife LisaRaye McCoy) and Parrot Cay (where celebrity couple Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner said “I Do”), which cater to an elite jet set crowd, may be out of reach for all but a few rich and famous. But the resorts and restaurants that line Grace Bay Beach can be surprisingly within a lot of beach dreamers’ budgets, particularly in the slower late summer and fall months.

“There are a wide range of options for hotel-style venues. We do a lot of events at The Royal West Indies, Ocean Club and Sibonne that offer really nice, affordable options to the very high end resorts we have here, and they are all right along the beach,” said Elizabeth Lightbourne of island wedding planner NILA Destinations. NILA averages about a dozen weddings per month and offers a wide variety of services and options for prospective wedding couples.

Trust NILA to make your wedding dreams come true, creating an unforgettable event, from legal paperwork to accommodations, from wedding cakes to decorations, from flowers to rehearsal dinners, from photographers and videographers to limousines, from wedding receptions to even the honeymoon.

A time capsule of your wedding day can be provided by local photographers, Tropical Imaging. An enduring and everlasting collection of memories designed explicitly for you. They will spoil you with location choices, while they introduce you to their phenomenal photographic genius. Imagine your wedding preserved in the timeless story presented through photographs capturing candid and spontaneous moments and every profound memory.

Like any wedding, the cost of a ceremony and reception in the Turks and Caicos depends largely on the size of your guest list, and the particular venue. In the Turks and Caicos the options available for that once in a lifetime event cater to every style and budget. Most of the major properties here have in-house wedding planners or food and beverage managers to familiarize yourself with the property, and there are several independent wedding planners available here, too.

The best way to get started is to select a date, contact an island wedding planner, and decide on location and a reception venue. The wedding planner will then work with the couple in contracting a photographer and videographer, choosing a colour scheme, hiring cake designers, and choosing entertainment. These skilled professionals can help find the ideal venue, plan the ceremony and reception that’s right for you and your guests, and tend to the tiniest, but most nerve-racking, of details, from finding you the perfect hairstylist or make-up expert, to tracking down the exact floral arrangement you want. The wedding planners will help you tend to the legal details, too (see: “Making it Legal in TCI”) and in most cases brides-to-be can plan the whole affair from home via the telephone and internet.

Even wedding guests will find that the destination wedding can be a more efficient style of event, with new and creative ways to share the experience and give the wedding couple gifts that will make their tropical wedding a more memorable one. Consider gifts that they’d use at their destination event - spa treatments, room upgrades, scuba lessons and the like. Beats lugging a toaster down to the islands!

Several properties and wedding planners in the Turks and Caicos offer packages that combine a number of amenities and expenses into a single wedding offering. Standard packages typically include 3-4 room nights for the wedding couple, the ceremony costs (venue, minister, licensing, decorations, etc.), and a reception of some sort with entertainment, cake and champagne. From there, you can start designing a deluxe wedding of your dreams. It all depends on how much luxury you want and can afford.

At Point Grace, for example, packages can be tailored to include such things as penthouse accommodations, limo transfers, spa treatments and personal butlers. Beaches offers custom WeddingMoon packages featuring the works of celebrity wedding planner Preston Bailey. And the elegant and picturesque courtyard setting at The Palms was featured in a recent issue of Modern Bride magazine.

Wedding couples shouldn’t limit themselves to just the local hotels as venues, either. Events can be held at many of the elegant private villas around the islands, with full catering services available from local caterers such as Caicos Catering.

Or consider sealing your fate on the sea with the likes of Sail Provo (see cover photo) or Kenard Cruises. Charter a craft for a three-hour cruise to nowhere, or to one of Turks & Caicos pristine beaches. What could be more romantic than saying “I Do” on one our islands’ deserted stretches of beach at sunset, surrounded by your closest friends and family? Local organizers can even plan a secluded beach BBQ or elegant torch-lit reception under the stars for you on the beach, complete with beach bonfire. Then your private charter will whisk you away, a nautical version of the traditional limo ride.

Everyone involved with planning destination weddings agrees on one thing: the more advance planning you can put into the event, the more likely you’ll get the wedding of your dreams, right down to the last detail. Accommodations and flights are the obvious places to start for any size group, particularly if you are looking at the peak periods of the year. But even the little things require just a tad more planning, remembering that in a place like Turks & Caicos everything needs to be imported - such as flowers, specialty foods, decorations, etc. And, most importantly, relax - you’re on island time!

So build in a little extra time as an investment in the day that marks the beginning of your life together.

Story by Mike Sottak, Wired Island

Destination SPAS

If your idea of a vacation is to relax and rejuvenate then you’ve come to the right place.

Turks & Caicos is home to not only one of the world’s best beaches, but also a range of world class spas that offer something for everyone. Turks and Caicos is a premier vacation destination rapidly on the rise, Turks & Caicos is attracting attention and development, with its multi-hued turquoise waters, sugar-fine sand, growing economy and close proximity to the US. Elite resorts and spas are flocking to the tiny strip of islands to pick up where Mother Nature left off and create an ideal environment for unwinding, healing and renewing.

Spas are sprouting up like wildflowers around the world - the spa business is a $40-billion-a-year industry globally. “There’s a spa explosion happening because its medical and health benefits are finally taking center stage,” said Meryl Cooper, partner in Spa Tropique, a long-established, multifaceted spa operation in Providenciales that has three resort locations, one day spa and a thriving mobile business. “No longer are people just seeing spa treatments as relaxing and rejuvenating. The healthful results they provide are becoming a driving factor. Doctors are recommending massages as medicine. Finally – something that’s good for you is enjoyable too.”

Some say what is driving the growing popularity with spas is a spiritual revolution. The theory is that we need inner peace before external peace. And to achieve that it starts with the body. As a tool, the body can be treated more easily than the mind. Once the body is cohesive, the mind will follow.

The days of spa visits being the rarified domain of the rich and extravagant are gone. The word “Spa” has morphed from a noun into a verb. Spas are not only about how we detox and decompress, the word defines a lifestyle, guiding how we drink, dine, decorate and dress. Nowhere is this more dramatically illustrated than in how we vacation.  Destination spas are part of a spa industry that has grown dramatically over the past two decades. The International Spa Association (ISPA) defines a destination spa as a facility with the primary purpose of guiding individual spa-goers to healthy lifestyles.

Recognizing the importance of a serene and natural milieu is another destination spa right here in Providenciales. The Spa at the Palms views the spa experience as a cultural journey. Great measures have been taken to ensure that every aspect of the visit promotes peace and relaxation. From the calming, soft music emanating from the perfectly manicured lawn to the hand-cut stone from Barbados used in the buildings to the welcoming courtyard with its mini-reflecting pool and floating water lilies, the surroundings are so serene that just stepping into the space causes people to pay homage.

“Everyone who comes into the spa almost immediately lowers their voice. It’s a surreal effect, but I see it every day,” says Sara Thatcher, spa director at The Spa at the Palms. “We’re always looking to provide exclusive offerings, and to us the setting is part of the package. Your treatment starts as soon as you walk through the front door, so we focus on making the whole process extraordinary.”

With 17 treatment rooms, 23 therapists and 75 different treatments, the Spa at the Palms is one of the biggest and busiest on the island. Juggling all of this in the calm environment they’ve established is no small task. On its busiest day so far, 128 treatments were performed.

“Today, people want spas in their resorts – whether travelling for vacation or business,” said Sonia Heastie, spa supervisor of Anani Spa, a full-service resort and day spa at the Grace Bay Club. “Turks & Caicos is still a very laid-back destination without a lot of entertainment or night life, so people look to the spa as a centerpiece of their vacation. People want to get away and the spa is where they come.”

Getting away from it all is also a reason why many people come to Turks & Caicos. The island is off the beaten track for most tourists, which is precisely, ironically part of its allure.

“The Spa/beach vacation is popular now because people want to get away from it all,” says Meryl from Spa Tropique. “Coming to Turks & Caicos is an ideal option because we are still remote. Most people don’t know where it is on the map, cell phone service can be sporadic and our biggest attractions are the beaches and the ocean.”

If a physical setting can play such a big role in the spa experience, imagine what the local scenery can add. Nature has always been an integral part of the spa experience. Recognizing that visitors want to have authentic vacation experiences, the spas have crafted signature treatments that you can only get here.

The Thalasso Spa at Point Grace is one of the most innovative spas for incorporating indigenous ingredients and helping guests reap the full benefits from the natural surroundings. The nutrient-rich Atlantic Ocean is the nucleus of this spa. Its two treatment rooms are cooled by sea breezes and the ebb and flow of the water is the soundtrack.

“We like to keep things as natural and fresh as possible,” said Julian Wolf, spa supervisor at the Thalasso Spa. “By letting nature be, you almost don’t need a therapist. Just laying on the massage table in the open-air treatment rooms and taking in the holistic healing qualities of the air and the sea is therapy itself.”

The spa’s sea salt scrub uses salt harvested from just outside the treatment room. Ocean water is collected, evaporated and the remaining salt is combined with milk, honey and aromatic oil to create a natural concoction that exfoliates the skin and boosts circulation and hydration. The ingredients for the aloe and neem wraps come right from the spa’s garden. Neem trees – originally from India - dot the resort and spa, creating attractive and effective landscaping. The trees have natural bug repellant qualities and its leaves are used on the body to extract toxins.

“Today’s vacationers are seeking more than just sand, sun and sea. They’ve come to the islands to de-stress, unwind and find a more balanced pace of life. A visit to the spa is the perfect antidote,” said Elaine Russell manager of Beaches Red Lane Spa in Turks & Caicos.

Starting with its signature scent, the tranquil spa environment at The Red Lane Spas is set with the enveloping aura of lemongrass. Reputed to relax the nervous system, the essential oil of this tropical plant has been used by islanders as a traditional home remedy. Other tropical ingredients such as coconut, raw cane sugar and Blue Mountain coffee are incorporated into exotic treatments to ensure a uniquely Caribbean experience that can be enjoyed in the setting of your choice: at the spa, by the beach, on a pier, in a garden or in your room.

On the menu at the Spa at the Palms is Zareeba, an indigenous island herbal steam cleansing and detoxification ritual. This treatment was designed by a woman from Jamaica who hand-carries the special blend of therapeutic herbs with her to Turks & Caicos for this treatment that is only available here. The word Zareeba translates to “protected enclosure.” The purification process starts with you sitting quietly in your private enclosure inhaling the aromatic steam of the infused herbs. You then stir the herbs to the rhythm of your choice to intensify or sedate the effects of the steam. After this, a cooling wrap is applied followed by a toxin-release body massage.

These indigenous treatments need not only be enjoyed here. You can take a little bit of your Turks & Caicos spa experience home and extend the benefits beyond your vacation. Spa Tropique has a special line of body and foot scrubs called Body Tropique that use local sea salt and includes shells from the Grace Bay Beach on the packaging.

Visiting a spa during your vacation will leave you relaxed and refreshed. Fortunately, Turks & Caicos has a surfeit of spa options that offer something for everyone, from the spa veteran to the neophyte. If you’ve never experienced a spa before, vacation is the perfect time to start. (See Insiders Guide to TCI Spas and Salons)

“Vacations should be about trying new things and experiencing the place you’re visiting,” advises Meryl of Spa Tropique. “With a spa, you don’t have to do anything except relax. You’ve got nothing to lose, except maybe a little stress.”

Sonia from the Grace Bay Club provides additional advice for first-timers. She strongly recommends booking a combination treatment and for at least 75 minutes. “You may think that you should book a shorter time to start with but don’t. Give yourself the opportunity to absorb the full benefits of treatment, which generally requires at least an hour.”

Combination treatments – those that combine a scrub, a wrap and a massage – are a good value. They are usually priced attractively and are more effective than stand-alone treatments. The scrub exfoliates your skin and removes toxins from the body, the wrap starts to break down the muscles so when you finally get to the massage, it has a greater, longer-lasting effect.

Spas are nourishing to the soul, they can expand your mind, lift your spirit and recharge your battery. They can provide significant health benefits as well, such as improved circulation, more energy, better posture, enhanced digestion and sharper mental acumen. With more than 20 establishments offering spa services on the island of Providenciales alone, the Turks & Caicos provides almost limitless opportunities to unwind, renew, invigorate and discover.  So, what are you waiting for? Start spaaahing.

Story by Toni Sottak, Wired Island

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