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Sandals handles roughly 5,000 weddings a year across its 17 Caribbean resorts. That’s roughly a wedding a day, per resort, 365 days a year.
The Post sat down with Marsha-Ann Donaldson, director of weddings and romance at Sandals Resorts, to find out how they pull off this incredible feat.
Your job is to make each “I do” an intimate, heart-pounding, googly-eyed passion party. How!?
I’m a dream maker. How does our team make dreams come true? A big part of it is starting with an open canvas, because everyone dreams differently. We paint the canvas together. Someone could say, “When I think of the Caribbean, I imagine the amazing, lush greens and incredible vibrant flowers.” Someone else could say, “I picture the azure blue waters, powdery white sands and a crimson sunset.”
So that’s the foundation. Why were you dreaming of the Caribbean in the first place? What you are hearing? Is it the rhythm of a steelpan band? Is it the energy of a reggae? Is it the flow of Afro-Caribbean drums? Now, what are you tasting? I work with couples to find the essence of the Caribbean, to appeal to the five senses, fill in their canvas and create memorable milestones.
Where does the “romance” come from? How can you create it?
I get up super early in the morning, like crazy early. Think of the stillness of the morning, strolling along the beach where all you hear are the waves gently rippling in and the lapping at your feet. You hear the birds with their early morning symphony. Now think of the stillness of that moment with two folks holding hands along the beach, or watching the break of day from their bed with the doors open to the sea.
Romance is something that is felt and experienced, and it’s very individual. But in a world that is so very fast, in a world that feels so much like a big horrid race, that romance is slowing down to appreciate where you are.
I heard about a special lunch you arranged for a group at the iconic spot where Ursula Andress walked out of the sea and onto the beach in “Dr. No.” How do you create experiences like this for choosey, multi-generational wedding parties?
A destination wedding is by nature experiential. The other thing is that the statistics show that a destination wedding couple will have seen three to five friends get married within 18 to 24 months. When they attend those weddings, they become inspired by what their friend did but they don’t want to repeat.
They say, “My friend had a fire dancer. I want a fire dancer along with an aerialist and a steelpan band.” We ensure that they are having “multi-level” experiences that are indigenous to the respective islands, while enjoying the catamaran cruise, the pre-wedding celebration dinner, the golf outing, zip lining or the spa day. We help couples take an experience to the next level. It’s also about creating excursions that appeal to that group.
Ultimately, experiences should bring people together.
After working at the Biltmore in Miami, you came back to your home country of Jamaica to work for Sandals. It’s been 28 years. How have the weddings you host changed in that time?
When I started, there was a simplicity about weddings. We didn’t get into a lot of decor or design elements. A majority of them were elopements, so it was really only a party of two — we provided the witnesses — and they went right into their honeymoon. People had a simpler perception of what was possible. Fast forward, we moved to destination wedding hype, meaning parties of 200 that wanted to do everything.
Now, post-pandemic, folks are inviting those who matter and really spending time with them, so we are hosting micro weddings for 20 to 40 guests. People want to slow down, because they realize that in life, what really matters is human connection.
A destination resort wedding can easily blur into a honeymoon. That’s not always a good thing. How do you keep the wedding and the honeymoon distinct?
We offer a honeymoon hop. A couple will get married with their friends and families at one Sandals, and then hop to one of our neighboring resorts in the region — like Montego Bay, Ocho Rios or Saint Lucia. It just adds more flavor. It’s such a win-win.
