Turks and Caicos Destination Wedding Guide
Imagine getting married in the Turks and Caicos Islands on a beautiful white-sand beach with sparkling turquoise water in the background. For many, it’s truly a dream wedding setting.
The popularity of the Turks and Caicos as a destination wedding choice has expanded greatly in recent years, boosted by a few high-profile celebrity weddings.
This guide offers information and tips on how to host the perfect Caribbean destination wedding. For tips on planning a proposal, see Proposals and Engagements.
Planning Your Turks and Caicos Wedding
The first step in planning a Turks and Caicos wedding is to decide which of the islands you want to get married on. Each island and cay is unique, with its own beaches, atmosphere, and level of development. The island of Providenciales is home to world-famous Grace Bay Beach and most of the country's tourism. The less-populated boutique islands offer a much more secluded experience that's perfect for more intimate weddings.
The next consideration is the venue for the ceremony and dinners. One of the stunning white-sand beaches is an obvious choice of a setting, yet many of the resorts also feature event halls, some larger villas have beautiful gardens and courtyards, and there’s a wide selection of churches on Providenciales and Grand Turk.
Many of the luxury hotels on Providenciales offer tailor-made wedding packages for couples and their guests, although you may opt for a more secluded ceremony at one of the private beachfront Turks and Caicos villas.
The all-inclusive Beaches Turks & Caicos resort (part of the Sandals group) offers their trademark WeddingMoons package, which includes planning services, dinners, photography, and spa visits.
Wedding Planners
It’s highly recommended that you work with a local wedding planner to help manage all aspects of the event.
There’s a great number of arrangements and bookings that have to be made for an island event, and a wedding planner will know who is reliable and where to find everything. They can hire vendors on your behalf, plan pre-wedding parties for your guests, and even organize unique romantic experiences for you and your fiancé to enjoy.
In addition, if you’ll be importing any food or items, a wedding planner can take care of local customs duty processing and shipping.
Catering and Wedding Cakes
The dinners and wedding cake are essentials, and require thought and ample time for reservations.
You have the option of reserving with and dining at a restaurant (see Best Restaurants in Turks and Caicos for ideas) or using the services of a caterer and hosting at a location of your choice. There are several long-standing and experienced catering companies.
The local caterers will be able to offer insights into cuisine and flavor selection. As a tropical archipelago, the authentic dishes of course center around fresh seafood, yet almost any food or ingredient can be imported by air.
Romantic dinners can be set up right on the beach at several beachfront restaurants, or one of the island’s private chefs can cater to your villa. Local businesses maintain an arsenal of tents, tables, chairs, lamps, and place settings for outdoor dining.
Wedding Photographers
Capturing and preserving the important moments of tying the knot is especially important.
Providenciales supports most of the photographers in the Turks and Caicos, however many of these professionals will be willing to travel if you’d like to host a wedding on one of the family islands.
We highly recommend that you browse the galleries of the local studios to find a photographer who fits your desired style.
The selection of local businesses offering boutique video services is a bit more limited. A few of the studios have full-time and skilled videographers.
Flowers and Décor
It’s important that choices and bookings for flowers, decor, place settings, and ambiance are made well in advance of your important date as flowers and other items will likely have to be imported, and the choice of local décor and settings is limited, and may be reserved by other events and weddings.
Local Flowers
If you’re looking to avoid importing flowers, there are a few options.
The Turks and Caicos is home to several stunning native flowers, yet due to the limited numbers of these plants the common choice are features made from the bougainvillea, a landscaping plant that features vibrant blooms that may be purple, red, pink, peach, or white.
The Wedding Ceremony
The ceremony has to be performed by a local Justice of the Peace, a minister, or a registrar. It can happen anytime and anywhere. See Wedding License and Legal Requirements for a detailed list of the documents you’ll need.
DJs and Entertainment
Providenciales offers the best selection of DJs, musicians, and bands. In terms of live music, the options range from local genres to pop and rock.
Accommodations
There’s an excellent array of hotels and villas to choose from in Turks and Caicos, spanning luxury resorts, quiet hotels, and rental villas of every size.
If several room bookings are to be made, you’ll want to contact the resort or hotel directly as you’ll likely be able to get a rate that’s better than what’s posted online.
Depending on your party size, one of the larger vacation villas may be perfect for the entire wedding party, as some of the more expansive mansions offer more than ten rooms.
It’s important to be aware of the tourist seasons in the Turks and Caicos. The winter “high season” has greater arrival numbers than the late summer and fall months, and due to this the rates are higher and rooms may be limited during the high season. If you’re planning your wedding for this time, you’ll want to book well in advance. For more information, see Best Times to Visit.
Honeymoons
Turks and Caicos is a wonderful honeymoon destination, as it offers typically uncrowded beaches, excellent dining, and a vast array of things to do. Many of the best honeymoon resorts are located on Providenciales and directly on Grace Bay Beach.
If you’re looking for privacy, consider the boutique island retreats of Parrot Cay and Pine Cay. Both of these sites feature all-inclusive resorts with a great array of amenities.
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