The point in front of The Cove Eleuthera is one of the Bahamas’ many stunning Out Island destination wedding venues
The Bahamas’ main tourism hub, Nassau and Paradise Island, is home to some terrific destination wedding spots (click here for our recent roundup of the best). But if you want to marry on a truly unspoiled piece of paradise, look to the 700 or so heavenly patches of white sand and coral known as the Out Islands. All are nearly as easy to reach from Miami as Nassau and Paradise Island, but just another step distant enough so that the conch fritters and rum punches taste all that more exotic. Here are our five favorites, any of which would make an unforgettable launch pad for a marriage.
[blankline]
Lobby of Pink Sands Resort, Harbour Island
Pink Sands Resort
Harbour Island
Elegant and expensive, but easy-going, Pink Sands Resort is where celebs come to chill, and where you can relax, knowing that your on-site wedding consultant will not let anything go amiss. Its 25 cottages are spread among tropical greenery and it sits on a three mile beach that’s of the kind you’d be justified in naming a resort after. Receptions and rehearsal dinners for up to 80 people can be held at either the Garden Terrace, among tropic foliage just off the lobby, or the Blue Bar, which is on the beach. Don’t plan a noisy blowout here; that’s not the Pink Sands style. But if you want your guests to remember the color of the sky on the day you got married, and how the chef taught them to make perfect fritters, this could be your place.
[blankline]
The Cove Eleuthera
The Cove Eleuthera
Eleuthera
Rescued from neglect in 2011 by a New Orleans developer, The Cove Eleuthera is now an ideal destination wedding setting, with two crescent-shaped beaches separated by a grassy point seemingly made for exchanging vows. Eleuthera is not the liveliest island in the Bahamas, but with The Cove Eleuthera’s 120 rooms you should be able to bring in a crowd easily big enough to ramp things up. Impatient for everyone to arrive? The Cove can arrange flights from Ft. Lauderdale that will have them on the ground at North Eleuthera Airport in 45 minutes.
Sandals Emerald Bay
Sandals Emerald Bay
Great Exuma
If any Sandals can be called out of the way, Sandals Emerald Bay, on Great Exuma Island, would be one of them. But it’s not like any of your wedding guests will have the opportunity to become bored. There’s the 29,000 square foot spa, an 18-hole golf course, a mile-long beach, and a half-acre pool with a fire pit in the middle. And you can hear all about everyone’s adventures when you gather in the evening at the Drunken Duck Pub. As at every Sandals, there’s a dedicated wedding team to help you with every detail.
Kamalame Cay
Kamalame Cay
North Andros
Another luxe Bahamian hideaway finely tuned to weddings, the 19-room Kamalame Cay, on a private island just off Andros, can help you arrange every detail from beach arrival by seaplane to a fireworks sendoff at departure. Most of the bungalow-style rooms and suites are just steps from the beach and there’s a Great House where the gang can gather for drinks, meals and evening-long sessions of charades. You’ll never feel far from the ocean at Kamalame, and you’ll never feel closer than at the spa, which sits on a dock, with treatment rooms overlooking the water. Romance for all? Get the entire wedding party onto the sand with a torchlit dinner at water’s edge.
Grand Lucayan Resort
Grand Lucayan Resort
Grand Bahama Island
With 542 rooms and lying just 55 miles off the Florida coast, the Grand Lucayan Resort is ideal when you want a wedding that’s a little exotic but have a large crowd coming from everywhere. With an operation this size, they naturally have a dedicated wedding planner team, and can arrange all the details, from reserving the ceremony site to booking a band. And if you stay for a five-night honeymoon in a ocean-view room or higher, and book it before May 31, 2014, the wedding is free.
[blankline] [blankline]
[blankline]
Want to know more about planning destination wedding travel to the Bahamas? Our travel partners at Coastline Travel Advisors, a Virtuoso agency, are ready to help.
[blankline][blankline]
