What You Need to Know About Planning a Jamaica Villa Wedding
A Must Read if You are Considering a Jamaica Villa Wedding
Most people have never heard of villas and even fewer would even think of looking for villas in Jamaica that allow weddings. If you are planning an intimate destination wedding like a micro wedding, or minimony, or elopement in Jamaica for say 10-20 people, this would be a huge oversight. A Jamaica villa wedding would be the talk of the town as well as a unique, personalized expression of your love for each other. Read on to learn to see if this option is right for you.
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What is a villa wedding?
In Jamaica, a villa wedding refers to a wedding and or reception that is held at a private villa, vacation rental, or AirBnB as opposed to a hotel, resort, banquet hall or some other location.
These weddings are usually associated with overnight accommodation, but not always. Some villas allow single day or day-of events which do not come with overnight stays. In that case, the villa is functioning as a wedding venue mainly.
9 Reasons You Should Have a Villa Wedding in Jamaica for your Small Destination Wedding or Elopement
- Even if you aren’t doing it to impress people, a multi-day destination wedding celebration in Jamaica just sounds impressive compared to a 4-5 hour event at a hotel. Jamaica villa weddings generally translate as being more exclusive and luxurious with the presence of the staff and the more customized approach. You determine how simple or extravagant you want your wedding to be, whether you have 10 or 100 guests. You can choose various vendors and rental options to create exactly what you want.
- You get an all in one solution …. a place for the wedding ceremony and reception and any other events that you will be having throughout your stay, lodging for you and your guests, and even your honeymoon if you like …. all in one neat package.
- It’s private. Unless you are going to do a buy-out of a hotel, you won’t have the same level of privacy that you do at a villa. Villas are typically rented to only one group at a time so you’ll have little to no worries about strangers in your photos or crashing your wedding. The only people on property would be you, your guests, staff, and any outside vendors that you hire. On the other hand, at a hotel, even if you rent a private banquet room, you will not be able to totally avoid the other hotel guests who have just as much right to be on the property as you do.
- It’s not enough being just the only wedding for the day or the week. There is just something special about being the only couple on the entire property. All attention is focused on you and your event. Villas are better suited for social distancing than hotels. Booking a villa allows you to socially distance with your own family and friends as opposed to risk mingling with strangers.
- Villas are better suited for social distancing than hotels. Booking a villa allows you to socially distance with your own family and friends as opposed to risk mingling with strangers.
- Small weddings are ideally suited to small venues. It is simply hard to get the intimacy you want at a hotel without spending big bucks to create that impression.
- If you book a villa, you get a whole house as opposed to just a room. You will have more opportunity for togetherness than a hotel. Since destination weddings are typically held over multiple days, you and your guests will have ample quality time to bond with each other and your new family members. You actually get to “be” with your guests.
- Renting a whole house and sharing the costs usually costs less per person than a hotel of similar standard. Plus what better way to get to know your new family and friends.
- Generally villas allow more flexibility than hotels. Not only can you pick the time for the event (since you’re the only wedding couple), you can usually pick your own vendors to create the event that you desire. Many hotels limit your options by charging exorbitant fees for bringing in outside vendors such as makeup artists, photographers, and videographers.
14 Things to Think About Before You Decide to Have Your Wedding at a Jamaica Villa
One of the biggest decisions to make while planning your destination wedding is where you will have the event.
The COVID pandemic has spurred a trend towards smaller, more intimate weddings, opening the way for even more options for couples, such as private villa weddings.
Villas are great for small weddings and elopements. You’ll get to hang out with your family and friends in a wonderful space and, unlike being at a hotel, you won’t have to worry about hotel guests wandering into your wedding photos.
As with anything else, you have to do your due diligence. Here are a few things to think about before you decide on having a villa wedding in Jamaica. With forethought and proper planning, these points will easily be non-issues if you pick the right villa.
- You will likely need some support from a local wedding planner or coordinator since villas usually don’t have wedding planners on staff. Think if it as an investment since you are most likely planning your wedding in Jamaica sight-unseen.
- Expect to pay a venue or location fee. Most places charge a fee of some sort because weddings and events require additional service and staffing and generate additional expense for the property beyond what is customary. Some places also require a damage deposit.
- The wedding couple might not have complete privacy after the wedding. This depends largely on the villa and the layout of the property. This is less of an issue with larger properties. If you don’t want to be hanging out with your guests after the event, you can always leave and go off property for your honeymoon.
- Most villas require that all rooms are booked for weddings. If you aren’t covering the expenses of the people staying at the villa and you don’t want to be responsible for rooms that don’t get booked, you will have to arrange to collect payments. This is no different from a resort requiring a certain number of rooms to be booked to host a wedding or to get certain “free” wedding upgrades.
- If you have more guests than the capacity of the villa, you will need additional accommodations for them. No worries, there are usually other villas and or hotels nearby for them to stay. There may be a fee for these guests to visit the villa. That is no different than hotels charging a day or evening pass for access .
- If you have guests staying off-site, consider using a shuttle bus to take them to the villa and any required events. That is easy to do and your guests will appreciate your thoughtfulness.
- If the villa you are renting doesn’t have enough space to move your wedding indoors in the event of rain, a backup tent is a smart idea. This isn’t a big deal. Even hotels sometimes require this precaution. Rental companies have various options for tents along with accessories available. Most wedding planners will watch the weather and decide a day before whether or not to pull the plug.
- Villa weddings are not necessarily cheaper than hotel weddings especially if they are highly customized events and involve hiring high end rental items. That said, there are many savings that are achieved by using a villa over a hotel.
- Most villas are not equipped for weddings so you will have to budget for rentals. That’s no problem. Caterers or rental companies are widely available to handle rentals for events of all sizes. Plus, don’t be mistaken, if you were to have your wedding at a hotel, the cost of those rentals is included somewhere in your wedding package or worse, you could be stuck with the ugly hotel banquet chairs without an option to rent ones that you like.
- Villas offer less flexibility with site visits. Hotels can schedule tours almost anytime. Villas schedule tours if there are no in-house guests. Since the availability at villas can change without notice, so could an opportunity to visit the property. Let technology be your friend. Virtual tours are a great option.
- As small businesses, villas tend to have less flexibility with cancellation policies. Understand the terms of the contract prior to booking.
- Villas usually have fewer live entertainment and amenity options than hotels. This creates the perfect opportunity to have entertainment that suits your taste as opposed to being subject to whatever the hotel’s social director has planned for the evening.
- If it’s just you and your love tying the knot, and unless you can snag a one bedroom villa, it might not be worth it to go to the expense of renting a villa plus the add in the costs of a wedding. For the most cost-effective scenario, consider a villa wedding if you have six or more people in your group.
- Most villas are not all-inclusive, meaning meals are not included. Don’t let this scare you. If your group has largely light eaters, this can actually be an opportunity for you to save some money. Most villas have this down to a science. They provide grocery shopping and delivery service for a fee. You get to custom design your meals based on your taste and budget. Some villas offer a meal plan for those who want to create their own “all-inclusive” experience. Read our blog post, “Budget Smart: What is your Jamaica villa vacation going to cost you?“
So as you can see, a Jamaica villa wedding might just be a very doable option for you. When you consider that villa weddings offer a custom, private, all-in-one solution, it’s really a no-brainer for those who want something a little more exclusive, inclusive, and unique. Pick the right villa and planning your Jamaica villa wedding will be a piece of cake!
If you are planning a microwedding or an elopement in Jamaica and intrigued by the idea of a villa wedding? Check out our blog post, “Best of the Wedding Villas in Jamaica”, to read about how Mais Oui Villa in Discovery Bay can take your wedding from good to great.
‘Til next time.
Think and dream Jamaica!
Sherry, Darrell, and Darrian
Considering a visit to Jamaica with a group? Contact us today for more information about, Mais Oui Tennis & Spa Villa, our boutique 8-BR ocean view Jamaica villa rental experience in beautiful Discovery Bay, Jamaica. Perfect for multi-generational families and groups, retreats, and intimate destination weddings and vow renewals.
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