It took one travel agent and three e-mails for Shirley Harasym to plan her dream wedding.
“I’m all for marriage — I think it’s a great thing,” she said. “(But) I’m not a wedding person.”
That’s why the private affair between Harasym and her husband Rob Osborne took place on a quiet beach in Barbados at 10:30 a.m., with no one else around.
Harasym and Osborne booked a cruise through Sell-Off Vacations in Sudbury, and decided to make one stop in a port of call extra special.
Teresa Filice, a travel consultant with the company, put them in touch with a wedding co-ordinator in Barbados, who took care of the rest.
“There was not one thing that went wrong at any time,” Harasym said.
The bride-to-be had her hair and makeup done on the boat while her fiancée got ready. When the cruise ship docked in Barbados, a representative from Weddings... Beyond Your Imagination collected the anxious couple.
A shiny grey BMW drove Harasym and Osborne to a private wedding beach, where they kicked off their shoes and said “I do.”
Harasym said “it was like running away and getting married,” except her family and friends at home all knew about it.
In e-mail correspondence with Weddings... Beyond Your Imagination, Harasym was able to request all the details that made her wedding day so special.
She had a steel drum player making music, and bright, rich-coloured flowers in her bouquet, just as she asked for. The couple also hired a photographer to capture their ceremony. By the time their cruise ship sailed away from Barbados at 6 p.m. that same day, the couple had their wedding album in their hands.
When they returned to their stateroom on the ship, congratulatory balloons and champagne awaited them.
Harasym said she was thrilled her wedding day went so smoothly and stress-free.
Shannon and Chad Ostrowalker headed to Jamaica with their family and friends to say their vows. Supplied photo
“It was so much fun,” she said. “It exceeded all of our expectations.”
Although family and friends were not invited to the ceremony, the couple hosted a reception when they returned. They repeated their vows, and guests had a chance to see a photo slide show of their actual wedding day.
Filice said more and more couples are going the route Harasym and Osborne took to get married.
She said it is not uncommon to book 20 to 30 destination weddings per year. “(Destination weddings) are really in full bloom.”
Filice said couples like the idea of having a hassle-free wedding for less than the cost of traditional weddings at home.
As a travel consultant, Filice helps customers pick out the most suitable location and destination for their wedding, takes care of the paperwork and legalities, and puts the bride in touch with a wedding co-ordinator at the site.
“The reason they are going away is so they don’t have all that added pressure,” she said. “We help them out in easing that pressure.”
When Shannon and Chad Ostrowalker recalled their Jamaican wedding booked by Filice, the first thing they mentioned is how much they both enjoyed their day.
“It was totally stress-free,” Chad said. “They co-ordinated everything.”
The Sudbury couple tied the knot at Breezes Runaway Bay resort on April 26.
“It was awesome,” Shannon said.
Shannon and Chad spent “an hour, tops,” with the wedding co-ordinator at the resort when they first arrived to sort out the details of their big day. During that time, they selected their cake, meals and music. They also chose the exact spot they would get married along the beach.
Travelling with 27 others, the couple was careful to pick a location that would allow everyone to have a good time.
The particular resort they stayed at offered all-inclusive snorkeling, glass-bottom boat rides and evening activities for all the guests.
Leejay McFarlane, a sales manager from SuperClubs, the company that runs Breezes Runaway Bay resort, said booking a destination wedding is “a great experience.”
She said different SuperClubs properties are geared toward different crowds. Some resorts offer family-friendly fun, while others have age restrictions.
