We are considering having our wedding in San Pedro in April 2006. We'd have 40-75 guests and the wedding would be in the Catholic Church and most guests would most likely stay at Ramon's.

Does anyone have any ideas as to where to have the reception? It'd have to have room for seated dining for up to 75 people, have good food and service, and room for a band and dance floor (you can always dance on sand!). Ideally it'd be beachfront and be more of an "open-air" or patio type restaurant rather than all enclosed. Ideally we'd be able to book it for only our party so there's not too many strangers there with us. It'd be nice if it was walking distance to Ramon's and the Catholic Church, but a boat ride to the North side could be possible too (can Lady Sharon do this?).

I've looked into Fido's, Blue Water Grill, Estelle's, Rico's @ Banyan, and Seagrill @ Tropica in the south and Mambo @ MataChica, LeBistro @ Portofino, Luna @ Journey's End, and Capricorn on the north side. Of these, I've only been to Fido's and walked past Blue Water.

Any comments on how/if any of these would work or other suggestions/ideas are welcome!

Not that the others are not good choices but why not at Ramon's itself, they have recently done major renovations to the restaurant and your guests wouldn't have to worry about transportation.

April '06, otherwise, you've missed it.

LOL Travelqueen, good point!!

I concur with SimonB, Ramon's is the place.

You're right...April 2006. I've just read that Ramon's food leaves much to be desired. Do they have a large open air restaurant/patio area with room for a band and dancefloor where a bunch of strangers couldn't come and join?

Benny,
Congrads!
You have named several wonderful spots. (I must say that Ramons is a beautiful location, but I don't think it would be that private, and yes, you heard right about the food, IMHO.)
Something else you might want to keep in mind, several of the properties you named will not allow wedding receptions, etc, unless all guests stay at their property. NOW, I do NOT know that for a fact, I just know how many weddings/receptions got sent in our direction due to that restriction, but I did have SEVERAL brides/grooms/families tell me that on several different occasions, about several different properties. So, just make sure you check that out.....
Good luck!

That's what i figured on the places that are restaurants in a hotel/resort. That's why i was thinking it might have to be a restaurant only kind of place....Fido's, Capricorn, Estelle's. Is BlueWater actually associated with Sun Breeze hotel is are they seperate entities? Can anyone tell me what Estelle's is like?

Ibanole...you said that receptions have been sent your way due to restrictions...what business are you referring to that you are associated with?

bb96, e-mail Kelly at the Blue Water Grill. Great food and location!

I WAS at Caribe Island.... no longer and never again.
(And, I'm sure that some will chime in and say "thank goodness, good riddance, etc etc.....". Go for it.
Cheerz,
Vicki
PS: Blue Water Grill is a GREAT place, if you can get an exclusive area. There are a few others. I will tell you that Fido's is a great location too, but unless the food has changed dramatically, I wouldn't put that on the list either. The best restaurant, plain and simple, Casa Picasso's...... not on the ocean, but certainly worth a look!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Blue water grill does larger private parties and would be a beautiful spot. Food there is great.

You said you were going to get married at the Catholic Church, I have heard this can be difficult. Just wanted to make sure you make whatever arrangements are necessary (with them) so you can get your wedding in the Church. The Priests will not do weddings outside the Chruch - I have heard.

It all sounds so lovely, best wishes Indygal

Anyone have a list of which ones could actually cover 75 people a band and a dance floor? That would certainly narrow things down a bit.

Fidos
Blue Water
Ramons
???

Good point on the church indygal.

Better start working on the church. It could very well be your biggest challenge. Took us five months and two trips to get the arrangements made for our daughter and they none the less changed the ceremony time by three hours four days before. Also, be prepared for a VERY LONG Mass, VERY LONG. All being said, it was the best time that we've ever had in SP in the last twelve years.

http://ambergriscaye.com/message/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=4;t=008973;p=1#000015

three words:

talk to Iraida

she can answer any question, and/or facilitate everything. no way i'd get married in san pedro without her help
:>


you can email her at travltour@btl.net or peek at http://BelizeWeddings.com

Marty is absolutely correct. The common wisdom in San Pedro is that if you are not local and want to get married in the SPRCC you will need to make those arrangements through Iraida. Even at that it can be a bit frustrating at times.

If you want to contact me through the board's mechanism feel free to do so. I can give you a lot of information that we need not plug up this forum with.

I've been in contact with Iraida with a few questions, but we're still feeling out the idea of a wedding in SP and haven't for sure committed yet so I haven't "hired" Iraida yet. Does anyone know how Iraida charges? Hourly or as a % of budget?

CHOOCHOO...I was looking at contacting you to find out more info, but couldn't find out how to contact you. It doesn't appear as if I can Private Message you from your profile page. Let me know how to contact you, or you can PM me from my profile page. thx

Good Morning folks, and congrats to the wedding party,
Simon is right, there are only a few places (restaurants) that could handle that size. But
here's a thought, since sometimes the hotels need a number of rooms, and I know when I got married, some of my guests wanted the Ritz-Carlton and some wanted the motel 6, what if you got a house at which to host the party and accomodate some of the group, then the rest of the party would be free to stay at a variety of hotels on the island. Then your options open wide: O'farrell in town, any of the fantastic private homes South and North, Casa Manana, or one of (Caye Management)Mary Hawthorne's palaces, Mary Hitchcock's M&M rentals has got some great options I bet...
Oh, and I might be a catering option, but I am unable to hold more than 54 people at the restaurant, thanks for the mention, Vicki!
With all due respect to everyone I forgot to plug,
Chris
Casa Picasso

Man, that Beachy is a SMART boy!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can't tell you about the catholic church thing, although we did have a couple come down from Texas with 70 guests who had their ceremony there.
There are a few places (private) where you could host a reception, and I would definantly recommend Chris and (especially ) Jenn to cater. You simply will not find more attention to details, better tempered, easier to work with people, AND the food is OUT OF THIS WORLD!
Chris, I'm not "giving you a mention", I'm just telling it straight. (That said....... would someone please bring me a doggy bag?????????)

bennyboy96,

Hmmmm, used to be you could forward an email through the administrator which would keep your email address off the board and allow a private connection if one so desired. I don't see that available. I turned on personal messaging (I think)

CHOOCHOO...just PM'd you.

Anyone have any idea how many people Capricorn could hold for something like this? I know they have the patio/beach area and i'd imagine they could set up tables out there. Does anyone know if Fido's could be reserved for something like this?

A house and catering is also an interesting idea we'll have to consider. Thanks everyone for the help!

Pretty much all of the places listed above have websites on AC.com and you can contact them directly to find out their capacity and interest.

Bennyboy96,

Greetings,

Please feel free to contact us directly if you wish (info@azulbelize.com / www.azulbelize.com) Our restaurant/resort location sounds very suited for what you desire (beautiful beachfront location, large palapa/seating for 60+) We have two groups in the weeks to come (one 50, one 70) coming up on the Lady Sharon for evenings much as you describe.

Best regards,

Jeff / Azul Resort & Rojo Lounge

Why not ask her?

Are you real sure, any of the private rental homes, would allow a wedding reception of their size??? What a huge security deposit!

I'd keep the reception close to town, no worries on transporting the guest to and fro.

Most wedding guest do not care as much about the quality of food, as they do the open BAR, IMHO.

I like food but I have not been invited YET.

benny, That sounds like a lot of people to travel to a wedding out of country, unless some of them live in Belize, of course.

Indygal, as for the numbers, we really don't know how many will attend. We plan to invite around 250 or so. Some do live in Belize and many are Belize ex-pats. Could be as few as 30-40 or as many as 80-90.

Contacting CayeMang. for private homes is a great idea. Casa Tortuga has hosted many weddings and there are a number of hotels and rental homes in the immediate vicinity, so most of your guests would be close together and in walking distance of Casa Tortuga. Once you secure a site the catering should not be a big problem. Iraida does a wonderful job and would make everything go very smoothly for you. Remember she has access to things you will drive yourself crazy trying to do. Enjoy your wedding , it's a day to enjoy!

Best wishes to you and your bride!!

This may seem like a stupid question, but does the SP Catholic church have an actual address on Barrier Reef Drive, or is it just:

San Pedro Roman Catholic Church
Barrier Reef Drive
San Pedro, Belize

Thanks!

Iraida planned our wedding on the beach at Captain Morgan's. We paid $600 USD. She got the priest, flowers, photographer, all the paperwork & sent it in for us. It was nothing special but we were happy with her services.

Good Luck.

BTW; CM's does weddings also

We're now looking at the possibility of renting out a private house for the reception. We'd like to do it on the beach in front of one of these houses. Ideally it'd be a big enough setting to have table and chairs for 80 people or so, and an area for a band and dancefloor on the sand.

We'd like to find a place to rent for just one night, but my fiancee and I could stay there for 2 nights if needed. The rest of the week prior we will be staying with our family closer to town (Casa Caracol and Mayan Princess).

I've found maybe 20 or so homes that could be possibilities. Some have minimum stays listed and others don't. Can anyone recommend a house that is secluded enough where some noise from a band playing until 11pm or so wouldn't be a problem and where a shorter minimum stay or afforable nightly rate is low enough so that the total rental cost would be less than $800-1000 US? Do any of you know of any places that might have a minimum stay requirement but possibly consider renting for 1-2 nights if we pay them for an extra night that we don't stay there (ex 4 night min stay, we actually stay 2 but pay for 3)??

I know I can email some of these homes, but like I said, there's over 20 and I'd like to narrow it down to a few if possible.

Thanks!