June is wedding season
June is known as wedding season. The idea of a wedding in June at The Plaza (in New York) is the epitome of what we are told a wedding should be. We will get back to the "idea of a perfect wedding", but first, why June?
Spring time. New beginnings. Juno, the Goddess of marriage who shone lovingly on those married during her month in Greek Mythology. Fresh flowers, available to victorian era brides only in spring, were definitely necessary to mask body odors, making the Bride (and dare I say more importantly, the Groom) seem more attractive! Vikings held weddings in June to give the Bride a chance to have a river bath before her wedding, something she wouldn't have done for the entire winter. These days, the heat of the summer having not quite hit yet, and statistics showing that most businesses are willing to offer vacation time in June due to low revenue, productivity and spending (*note to self: never open a business in June)... means that June is still the month in highest demand. Sadly though, there are only 4 weekends in June and venues fill up FAST, which begs the question again: "Why June?"
In actual fact, there's no need for a prefered month to get married in Barbados. Owing to the facts that we actually have no seasons*, flowers are available year round, people generally shower every day and well... read this: Article on Destination Weddings.
Did you like that segue into Destination Weddings? So, lets get back to the "Idea of a Perfect Wedding": Church with a steeple and bells ringing, followed by an elegant and somewhat old-worldly reception hall (such as the aforementioned Plaza). Right? But then the "Idea of a Perfect Destination Wedding?" well... barefoot ceremony on the beach while the sun sets, followed by a steel pan playing, palm trees waving and guests jamming well into the night to the sounds of Bob Marley. Right? Ok well maybe not exactly that but: "insert your dream destination wedding here"
The realities of getting married on the beach are these:
1) The sun setting sounds fab, but everyone places the setting sun in the background of their wedding arch for photo reasons, so your guests are actually staring at your silhouettes as they are blinded by the sun. And those photos... guaranteed your photographer (providing they are a professional and not your cousin) takes you to a different part of the beach, and shoots most shots using the vegetation or some lovely pier or building as the back drop (i.e.: anything but the actual sunset)
2) It's hot on the coast, I mean HOT**. There is barely a breeze at all and, well, you've purposely positioned your wedding in the sun's path. Your guests will sweat, a lot, which means they will take off those stunning shirts and ties that have made your wedding seem respectable and elegant for 30 minutes.
3) The sand is, well, sandy and gets everywhere, your hair, your drinks, your bridal underwear (as hard as you may try not to). Said sand will stick to your sweaty guests, and before long they will have had a few rums and the ocean or pool will invite their sticky, sandy bodies like flies to ripe fruit. Now you have a pool party, which you could have organized with a whole lot less stress, so if thats what you're after I suggest you cancel the wedding and actually have a pool party.
4) Don't even get me started on the mosquitoes. Now you have hot, sweaty sand covered guests with mosquito borne diseases.
5) Did I mention that all this is happening at a venue that you've paid a premium for because of its stunning ocean view, which you can't see after dark at 6 pm anyway.
For a list of reasons you should get married at Sion Hill Plantation please see items 1 to 5 above.***
For a few extra reasons have a little look at the video link below. My sister and I, the plantation kids mentioned in the previous post, couldn't help but use the old-worldly, yet homely and elegant backdrop of our child hood plantation home as the venue for both of our weddings. The wedding world is a little too cookie cutter in a lot of ways, so a destination event NOT on the beach offers a mix between June at the Plaza and a destination wedding fused together. Maybe we are a little biased though, so have a look and decide if A Plantation Wedding is for you.
* Well not drastic seasons, unless you count dry season, wet season and my personal favorite Christmas Season (that's right I didn't say winter).
** We are talking about the west (and most popular) coast of Barbados here. Not every destination wedding venue in the world! Im sure some have onshore breezes and won't appreciate this article.
*** Also please note that we typically have no mosquitoes due to our lovely year round breeze and elevation above the coast.
