It’s Wednesday so you know what that means? Yup- another {Where in the World: Wedding Wednesday} Vendor Feature! Today we have the lovely Alisha Fuller from Hummingbird Hall, an exquisite and intimate destination wedding venue located on the famous Rose Hall Estate in Saint James, Jamaica (just 15 minutes outside of Montego Bay).
I’m so excited to have Alisha here because she has given us so much great destination wedding planning advice no matter what venue, city, or country you choose!
Please tell us a little about you and your company and how long you have been in business?
I am the Creative Director of Hummingbird Hall – an award winning boutique destination wedding venue in Montego Bay, Jamaica.
Hummingbird Hall is a gorgeous mansion located on a 4,000 acre estate complete with waterfall, private beach, historic ruins, botanical gardens, and panoramic ocean and mountain views.
We are the only all inclusive boutique wedding venue in Jamaica and have specialized in gorgeous, one-of-a-kind weddings for around three years.
I lead the team of artists, decorators and designers that create the tear-inducing, oh-my-goodness-this-is-beyond-perfect weddings for which Hummingbird Hall is known.
What location or clientele do you primarily serve?
Though the majortiy of our clients are from the Europe and North America; our clients hail from all corners of the globe.
There is no one particular “type” of client – we host weddings, vow renewals and LGBT blessings – and are committed to celebrating the wonder of love in whatever form it may take.
What do you love most about your job?
Hummignbird Hall is a far cry from the impersonal, conveyor-belt type large resorts. This means I get the privilege of really building relationships with our couples.
Without doubt the best part of my job is the magic of translating the uniqueness of a couple’s love, their stories, joys, friends and family into a cohesive, meaningful and beautiful event. It is incredibly rewarding, and nothing beats the buzz of hearing the couple’s friends and family exclaim about their special day.
What advice would you give couples considering a destination wedding or planning a wedding in Jamaica?
I would remind couples that the large chain resorts that saturate the prime-time airways are not the only option when it comes to destination weddings in the Caribbean. Beautiful though their brochures may seem; there are smaller venues – that really do have it all – a breath-taking location, great experience, uniqueness and privacy. Research is a must!
What are some things a couple should consider or some key questions they should ask when selecting a destination wedding venue?
Do non resident guests have to pay extra? Humming Hall does not, but certain venues, particularly all inclusives variety, require a certain number of wedding guests to be resident at the resort or charge hefty surcharges for each non resident wedding guest.
Are there bad surprises? All too often, couples are seduced by gorgeous promotional photographs – chaivari chairs, tie backs and floral arrangements and all – before realizing that none of the elements shown are included in the standard wedding package (not so at Hummingbird Hall!).
Children?Are children permitted? Are children’s entertainment, bounce-abouts, babysitting and creche services available? Likewise if you do not want children at your wedding, it is important that you ensure that the venue is one in which a child free environment can be maintained. In both cases, the privacy afforded by exclusive venues such as Hummingbird Hall allow couples the opportunity to maintain the atmosphere that they want at their wedding.
Can you see pictures of past events? Are there couples so satisfied with their wedding that they have sent their pictures back to the venue, post wedding, to be shared? If the website only boasts airbrushed models, ask questions!
Will your venue obtain a Marriage Licence for you on your behalf?
Does your venue provide the option of beaming your wedding live and online to guests not attending the festivities? Hummingbird Hall is proud to offer Weddings via Webcam. This allows couples to beam their wedding– live and in real time – to a secure, password protected website for friends and family unable to attend the Big Day.
How many weddings do they have at that location per day? Hummingbird Hall has a strict one wedding per location policy.
What do you think makes your company unique compared to others in the same field?
We are a refreshing change from the cliched tourist “machine” of the chain resorts. All of our weddings are custom designed by my team of decorators, designers and artists. Think gorgeous, one-of-a-kind, detail-orientated weddings – without the need to hire a separate army of florists, venue dressers or wedding planners!
And of course we must know, what do you love most about your city/country?
Where to begin! I love the natural beauty of Jamaica – looking to the ocean and seeing a jumping manta-ray or dolphin, the stunning cloud formations, beautiful sunsets, the diversity of fauna and flowers, the birds that populate the Estate on which Hummingbird Hall sits (we regularly see parrots and owls), balmy starry Caribbean nights..
Jamaica also has an incredibly vibrant culture, delicious local cuisine and locals who embrace visitors.
I am a British expatriot, and fall in love with Jamaica more and more each day!
To see more of Hummingbird Hall and some other great Caribbean inspiration visit here and here! And a big THANK YOU shout out to Alicia for your great insight and for sharing this beautiful venue with us!
So after yesterday’s two part feature on a gorgeous destination wedding in Mexico, I thought it was perfect timing to introduce you to our next {Where in the World: Wedding Wednesday} Vendor Feature coming to us from none other than Tulum, Mexico! Gwen from Destination Wedding Tulum, a wedding and event planning service, was gracious enough to give us a sneek peek into her passion and love for Tulum and all they have to offer!
One of the most important contacts you can make at the beginning of your wedding planning is a local wedding planner in your destination city who is willing to help you select a venue and help with some additional direction when it comes to selecting your other local wedding vendors. Now you can certainly bring your own Wedding Planner from your origin city or country if you wish (I AM!) but someone on location is still crucial. That’s where Destination Wedding Tulum comes in for those considering a Tulum wedding! Their wedding services gives you selection from 12 locations ranging from beautiful private homes, design hotels, cabañas hotels or beach clubs. They can help you to create a perfectly dreamy wedding under the stars and along shores of Mexico’s coast.
Please tell us a little about you and your company and how long you have been in business?
We’re specialists in boutique weddings in Tulum. We work with exclusive beach hotels, we love quality and details. We’re two French girls who have lived in Tulum for 6 years, working in the wedding planning industry in Tulum for 3 years now.
What location or clientele do you primarily serve?
We love to work with different places in Tulum on the beautiful beach. We work along miles of extended white sand beaches with palm trees in the background. We are dedicated to creating intimate and unique Destination Weddings for people who want something bohemian and eco chic, exclusive!
What do you love most about your job?
Clients are our guests and we love they feel at home and they have the wedding of their dream come true. So we love work and them with all little details that make a difference to make their destination wedding easier and beautiful.
What advice would you give couples considering a destination wedding or planning a wedding in Tulum?
Check all the options with detailed prices and pictures…you could easily pay for something you don’t want!
What do you think makes your company unique compared to the others out there?
Details, truth, and price management, offering exactly what the bride and groom want.
And of course we must know, what do you love most about your city/country?
Caribbean Sea and the white sand.
Here is some of their amazing work taken by the great Del Sol Photography team:
And if you still need more reason to have a destination wedding in Tulum, Mexico or even consider it as a honeymoon location, check out their amazing talents recently featured on the ever-so-lovely, Style Me Pretty or you can always just visit their own blog!
Still not enough reason? Well this video might help…
Okay so clearly Vegas is smack dab in the middle of DESERT and would not really be the place for an oceanside bride, however there are plenty-o-gorgeous pools that one might consider using for a poolside wedding bash! Vegas is getting ready to host many 09/09/09 wedding this year. They’ve seen 07/07/07 and 08/08/08 come and go and have yet another date to prepare for. Hotels like the Venetian, Mandalay Bay, and Bellagio have set wedding package prices ranging from $1000-5000, most including music, flowers, ceremony officiant, a room for the bride & groom, and some even include photography! I’ve already come to my wedding planning point where I just want to run off to Vegas and get married NOW, but when I’ve joked with the mom’s a few times about it I get the mean face. Ha ha! That’s expected and no we won’t do that. It’s important we include all our friends and family in the celebration. But for those thinking about it, check out Destination Weddings & Honeymoons for more info!
Okay so I know that this may not be directly related to weddings, but it is if you’re a destination bride! I was soooo excited to see this new first-class pet-only airlines launch last week. I’ve been twisting my head around what we’ll do with our oh-so cute Boston Terrier (first name is Boston, middle name Garcia…we keep it simple around here, lol) when we travel for our wedding. He’s definitely part of the family and if we weren’t getting married in a church across the country- he would SO be in our wedding (and he’s already wearing his tux)! All his normal dog sitters here on the East Coast will be traveling with us to the wedding of course so our only option would be to board him. The thought of boarding him for almost 2 weeks kills me. NOW, we may not have to! Pet Airways is limiting their travel between 5 cities right now but I’m hoping by next year, they will add Atlanta or Orlando to their list. Boston would love first class service with unlimited treats, no waiting for the seat belt sign to turn off to use the restroom, and 49 other furry friends to keep him company! That would be so awesome!
Introducing Boston Garcia, aka “BG”, “B Gizzle”, & “Boss Man”
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