Questions often asked by brides… To get you started in your planning, we have answered many of the questions often asked by brides planning weddings at Bolongo. Please do not hesitate to contact me at sales@bolongobay.com if you have questions that are not addressed here. How do I start planning my wedding in paradise?
2. Reserve your wedding date and event space. Once you have chosen a wedding date, contact me to make sure that the date is available. As we perform just one hotel guest wedding per day, I encourage you to do this as soon as possible to ensure availability. Our deposit policy is as follows: a. We require a $1000.00 non-refundable deposit to reserve your wedding date. b. At that time, we will also reserve event space for any celebrations you may host during your stay. We require a $500 non-refundable deposit to hold each event space.
5.
Sign wedding and
event contract and fax with deposit –
once we have contract. A deposit of 25% of the estimated total is required with your signed contract. This contract will be based on an estimated guest count – this can be changed up to 72 hours in advance of your function.
7. The balance on all events is due 7 days prior to your first event. 8. We require a guarantee guest count 72 hours prior to your event. This is the minimum number we will charge for, even if fewer guests attend your event.
Do I need witnesses? You must have two witnesses of legal age to sign your marriage license. We provide this service as part of all of our packages, in case you need them. We do not discount the package price if you have witnesses with you. What does the wedding coordinator do? Your wedding coordinator will handle all aspects of your event from the first day you contact us through the day of the event, to make sure that you have everything you need and to ensure that all services that you have requested are fulfilled. What kind of minister do you offer? We typically work with a non-denominational minister who creates a ceremony to suit your wishes – whether you want a religious ceremony or not, want to write your own vows or not, have readings or not, etc. Although he does not have a pre-written script to send you, you can certainly contact him in advance to discuss the details of your ceremony. If you prefer a minister of a certain denomination, please let us know in advance. There may be an additional charge for this service. Can I have a Catholic ceremony on the beach? No – Catholic ceremonies must take place in the Catholic Church. You will need to contact the church directly to make these arrangements, and you will need to work with an outside coordinator if you choose to go this route. Can I have a Jewish ceremony on the beach? Yes, but you must first contact Rabbi Starr at the Hebrew Congregation to request his services and schedule your date. Our wedding package rates will not apply in this case, but we will provide a customized proposal for your event. Can choose the location for my ceremony? Most of our ceremonies are held in the center of our beautiful 1000ft beach, looking out to Buck Island in the distance. We do also have a pool deck terrace overlooking the Caribbean ocean available as well. In addition, we have access to a private villa overlooking Charlotte Amalie harbor. This venue is about 15 minutes from Bolongo Bay Beach Club and use of the site is an additional fee. Our packages apply only to these venues. If you prefer another beach or location, you must work with an outside coordinator. However, our beach venue is as beautiful as any on St. Thomas and more private than most. Do we pick out our own flowers that are included in the packages? Our standard bouquet is a hand-tied bouquet of white oriental lilies, white roses and pale green cymbidium orchids. Our standard boutonnière includes white dendrobidium orchids. If you have a photo of a bouquet you would prefer, you can email it to me and I will look into pricing for you. Where can I rent a tux? Contact Private Collection at (340) 775-1178. Where can I get my dress steamed or pressed? Contact Private Collection at (340) 775-1178. Where can I get my hair, nail and spa services? We highly recommend the Reef Spa at the Marriott just 10 minutes down the road. You can reach them by phone at (340) 715-6130 or visit their website at www.reefspa.com. We do have a massage therapist here on premise, and you can make an appointment with her through our activities desk. What are my options for photography and videography? We work with several photographers and videographers. Our standard vendor is Dow Portrait Studio – most of the photos you see on our website are done by them. We also work with Eric Johnson at Paradise Pictures, who provides all digital photography. His services are an upgrade from our standard pricing. You can view his work at www.paradisepictures.com – just type “Bolongo” into the password box to see weddings he has done here. We offer two standard videography packages, one with editing and one without. Upgrades are available for videography as well. Do you have pictures of the wedding cakes? Do you have different flavors? Do we bring our own cake top? We do not currently have photos of our wedding cakes, but we are happy to work with you if you have a photo of something that you like. As we live in a warm and humid environment, I discourage any elaborate sugar work or fondant. Butter cream frosting and fresh flowers work great down here. Our standard flavors include vanilla, chocolate and rum, but we can do specialties flavors on request. Our standard cake is very simply and elegantly iced with butter cream and decorated with simple piping work. You may bring your own cake topper or order flowers to decorate the cake through us. What is the process for obtaining a license in the US Virgin Islands? Getting married in the USVI is very simple and you can download the license paperwork from our website. We do not have a minimum stay requirement here and do not require blood tests. In your application packet, you must include: · Fully completed license application and marriage certificate forms (download from our website) · Certified check or money order for $100 made out to the “Clerk of the Superior Court” · Certified copies of divorce decrees if either of you have been married before. These must have an official raised seal (they cannot be a photocopy).
·
Letter to the court
outlining the dates that you plant to stay here in the VI, your wedding date,
and your contact information. These documents must be sent by EXPRESS MAIL to the court NO FEWER THAN 30 DAYS PRIOR TO YOUR WEDDING DATE. When you arrive on island, you must present yourself at the court house between 8:30am and 4:30pm on a business day or between 9:30am and 10:30am on a Saturday morning. The court house is closed for holidays – please check to make sure that they are open before your wedding date. Please wear conservative attire and close-toed shoes when visiting the court house and make sure to say “Good morning” or “Good afternoon” to the clerks assisting you. After your wedding ceremony, you must call the court house at (340) 774-6680 to request certified copies of your license. These copies are $5 each. Do you offer assistance with the license paperwork? We now offer a court house concierge service for an additional $299.00 fee. If you elect to use this service, you will express mail your paperwork directly to me at Bolongo Bay Beach Resort, and I will have our concierge file it in person at the court. The concierge will pick you up at the resort and take you to the court house and walk you through the pick up process. They will also obtain two certified copies of your license after the conclusion of your ceremony and express mail them to the address listed on your application. This service is not necessary, but certainly alleviates some of the stress. If we choose a beach wedding and/or reception, what is your policy for rainy weather? When it rains here on St. Thomas, it typically passes through quickly and then stops. We always have a back-up plan for every outdoor event, and will communicate with you when we feel it is necessary to resort to that option. Both of our restaurants are open-air, however, so even if we need to move you indoors you will still be able to enjoy the outdoor ambience. Do you offer group rates? We do offer a group discount of 10% when you book a minimum of 10 rooms for 5 nights or more. Rooms must be booked directly with the hotel to receive this discount. When your rates are quoted, you will be given a date on which they will expire. You must encourage your guests to book as early as possible – after the expiration date these rates will no longer apply. With your special group rates, we will provide a customized letter that you can distribute to your guests with details on the hotel, your rates, the reservations process and important dates for your event. Can I block rooms for my guests? If you would like to block rooms, we will take a 1 night deposit to reserve each room. At that point, your guests will have until 6 months prior to your wedding date to make their reservations. After that date, the rooms will be released from the block and the 1 night deposit will be applied to your events. Do we need passports to come to St. Thomas from the United States? While passports are not currently required, they certainly make everything easier. At the very least, you should travel with an original copy of your birth certificate and a valid driver’s license. Do you have shuttles to and from the airport? While we do not offer airport shuttle service, there are plenty of taxis waiting for arriving guests so you will have no trouble with transportation. If you have a large group of guests arriving at the same time, we may be able to arrange transfers for an additional fee. What is the drinking age? 18
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