Testimonials from Our Clients
Tj Tate and Scott Warner Wedding (June 2008)
Dear Sandy and Bill,
We DID IT!!!! And you guys made it all happen. Scott and I chose to elope in paradise and Vieques was just perfect. Sandy and Bill left us with no worries at all and perfect advice. They took care of everything from the perfect hotel, dinner reservations, fun in the sun plans and the perfect wedding day.
Sandy did not make us feel as if an elopement was any less of a big deal than a 200 person wedding. My flowers were beautiful, our in room massages, had us perfectly relaxed and Playa Grande was the BEST wedding spot in the world. Sandy came more than prepared with her "extra large" bag of wedding day preparedness kit.
I thought it would be difficult to plan a wedding from far away but it was completely effortless. Sandy and Bill know the ins and outs of the island, the people and how to make everything flow with ease. Trust me, whatever they suggest…listen. They know what they are talking about.
Everywhere we went on the island people said "Oh you guys are Sandy's wedding couple!!! Congrats and have a drink on the house!!!" We felt surrounded by love from the whole island.
Our last night in town, we had dinner with Sandy and Bill and it was the perfect end to a perfect elopement. Not only did we have the perfect wedding thanks to Sandy and Bill but we have made lasting friends.
If any of you future brides out there want a reference, ask Sandy for my information. I will talk you ear off about the perfect place that is Vieques and perfect planners that are Sandy and Bill.
All our Love and Best. We will be back to visit our new friends sooner than later.
Tj and Scott
June 14, 2008
Mary Bounds and Edward Gregory Wedding (May 2008)
Edward and I are high school sweethearts who have been dating for eighteen years. When planning our wedding, we knew that a destination wedding was best for us. We looked into several resorts. We even vacationed at an all-inclusive in Mexico to determine if it could be a potential wedding location. However, we were very disappointed in how impersonal the commercialized weddings are.
Then our best friends, Beth and John Reeves, moved to Vieques. They oversee this gorgeous estate in Esperanza. John is an accomplished chef as well as an ordained minister. Beth is pursuing photography, and she helps John with his catering. They offered to help us with our wedding. We vacationed there and knew immediately that this was our wedding destination. Vieques is one of the most unique places in the world with unspoiled beaches, gorgeous Caribbean-blue water, and horses that roam free. It is a true paradise.
Beth and John recommended Sandy to plan our wedding. I knew from the get-go that Sandy was going to do everything in her power to make sure that our wedding was perfect. She helped with all of the details including choosing sites for our ceremony and reception, planning our beach party, and booking our Biobay tour.
Sandy even put out a few unexpected fires along the way. She was able to recognize a bad situation when the Villa that my parents had reserved, which was the location of our welcome party, was burglarized a week before our wedding. She strongly suggested that we move my parents – and welcome party – elsewhere. She recommended Abreeze (a gorgeous Villa with the most amazing view and eternal breeze) for their accommodations and Coqui Fire Café for our welcome party. Both were absolutely perfect. My parents loved the guesthouse, and all of our guests had a blast sipping on margaritas and enjoying the fabulous Mexican food at Coqui Fire.
There were other unexpected hitches along the way. Sandy helped our friends, whose flight was delayed, find a hotel in San Juan until they could make it to Vieques. Then when the rental vehicles that Edward’s parents had rented had major problems, Sandy pulled some strings and got them a Jeep for the weekend (amazing when rentals are a thing of rare commodity in Vieques). That is not all. On our wedding day, a member of our wedding party went snorkeling and lost his car key in the Caribbean. Without delay, Sandy diffused the situation and had the rental company meet him at the beach with an extra key.
Our wedding day was absolutely fabulous! Our best friend John officiated our ceremony at Sun Bay Beach. Sandy helped to “fluff” my dress, and Bill was present the whole time to make sure that bystanders did not ruin our photos. Our reception at Tradewinds was amazing. Sandy did all of the decorations – from the bouquets we carried to the centerpieces on the tables. And her assistant, Janie, helped everything go as planned.
We later met Sandy and Bill at Al’s Mar Azul for the afterparty. Sandy had arranged for a taxi to transport all of our guests safely. It was great seeing them at the conclusion of our wedding. We had a great time singing, dancing, and celebrating our marriage.
I would definitely recommend Weddings in Vieques. Sandy and Bill are awesome. They did a great job with our wedding, and we have made awesome friends. We can’t wait until our anniversary to “relive” our amazing wedding with all of our friends in Vieques.
Mary Gregory
May 30, 2008
Karen James and Chris Hallam Wedding (May 2008)
We want to thank Sandy and Bill for everything. We couldn’t have had our beautiful beach wedding without them. Soon after arriving on Vieques we went to Sun Bay Beach, the beach Sandy recommended, and knew instantly it was the perfect beach for our ceremony. The restaurant (The Tradewinds) Sandy suggested for our small group after the ceremony was wonderful. They set us up on their large deck with the ocean right in front of us. Sandy and Bill do their best to make sure everything goes as smoothly as possible. Since Vieques is a small island, there are things that could not have been done without Sandy’s invaluable relationships on the island. There is only one person who has the authority to process marriage licenses on Vieques. It so happened, this person had a family emergency while we were there and if it weren’t for Sandy being on the island to follow up on our paperwork, we probably would not have been able to get married.
We wish Sandy and Bill all the best. We'll see you on our next visit to Vieques!
Karen and Chris Hallam
Erin Provost and Marc DeLucia Wedding (May 2008)
Dear Sandy and Bill,
I don’t know what words would be appropriate to describe the fabulous job you did at Erin and Marc's beautiful wedding. Everyone had such a great time and the bride was simply gorgeous. Not that I'm a little prejudiced since she is my daughter.
You helped to ease her stress, which I know is not an easy task. You were probably the most important person there -- and I want you to know how grateful I am for all you did. Everyone looked beautiful and the setting was out of this world. I know both Erin and Marc are thrilled with all you did for them. I know they have probably left for the honeymoon now and will finally be able to relax and just enjoy each other. They are so perfect together. Each one compliments the other. I am so happy for them. They are so special.
Thank you so much again for all your hard work, you and your husband are the best in what you do and are truly remarkable people. I know you recently had a birthday and I wish you much happiness and many more wonderful memories. May you have many more. Thank you so much again.
Sincerely,
Linda Provost (Mother of the bride)
Sarah McKeon and Gregory Lehrer Wedding (May 2008)
We had the wedding of our dreams on Vieques – and it was all thanks to Sandy Malone and her awesome husband, Bill. When we started talking about having a destination wedding, we didn’t know what island we wanted to go to but we had 3 criteria – it couldn’t be at a super resort, we had to be able to customize every aspect of the day to our liking, and we wanted to be married on a beach. So we hit the web and happened upon the Weddings in Vieques website. We liked what we saw and sent in a web inquiry on a Sunday afternoon. To our surprise, Sandy called us THAT NIGHT - honestly who works on Sunday??? Sandy does – and she makes her commitment to her job evident with all of the beautiful things she does for her brides.
We had a small budget to work with and a rather large guest list for a destination wedding, and Sandy kept everything realistic for us – she told us what was possible and what was absolutely out of the question. She still managed to give us options for everything – simply because she’s got connections on this tiny island and knows how to get deals for and from everyone. She’s very business savvy and managed to take our tiny budget and turn our event into the talk of the island. Even our friends and family, who have been wowed by New York/New Jersey weddings all their lives were blown away and we were told, more than once, that our wedding was the best they’d ever been to. Thanks Sandy!!!
Just like every other happily married bride, I could go on for a million years about how wonderful my wedding was. What I want to get across is that Sandy made my day and my planning so stress free that I made myself break out in hives because I was worried about all the stuff I DID NOT HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT!!!! Yes, I’m a control freak – but nothing about my wedding went wrong and my only concerns that day were waking up, getting to the hairdresser on time, and making myself pretty for the pictures.
Sandy and Bill truly go above and beyond the call of duty. The day after our wedding, they even helped out some of our guests who were having trouble getting off Vieques on time to catch flights in San Juan. The ferry was having mechanical problems, and Sandy managed to get a last minute chartered flight to San Juan for 16 of our guests. Bill even met our guests at the airport to make sure everything went smoothly. Sandy and Bill did all this without complaint even though they had another wedding group arriving that day. The two of them are an amazing team!
If we had to do this all over again, there is nothing we would have changed. Our guests all had an awesome vacation and a fabulous party and we have tons of great memories that will last a lifetime. If you’re looking for a unique wedding experience, look no further than Sandy Malone and Weddings in Vieques.
Sarah McKeon
May 17, 2008
Lauren Connor and Matt Durden Wedding (April 2008)
Matt's and my wedding was more beautiful, more personal, more fun, and more elegant than I ever imagined it could be! I've been vacationing on Vieques with my family for years now and knew it would be special simply because the island is so close to my heart, but the ceremony and all the events of the weekend far surpassed my expectations. We owe it all
to Sandy and Bill. Their creative ideas, attention to
detail, tireless devotion, and practical knowledge of
event planning made it all work seamlessly as well as
beautifully. I would recommend Weddings in Vieques to
anyone who is considering having a destination
wedding.
Lauren Durden
April 26, 2008
Meg Connor and Jason Humphries Wedding
(January 2008 - YouTube clip)
It has been a little over two weeks since my daughter’s wedding in Vieques. We are still in the “After Glow” of the wedding and all of the fun we had. Although we are back home, our hearts and thoughts are reliving every event, experience and time spent with family and friends on the island. It was a trip and wedding none of us will ever forget – (and in no small part) thanks to Sandy.
Sandy has been awesome to work with. She is very organized, calm, and cool with a fun sense of humor. She is also very smart and island savvy. Meg & I originally planned to pull the wedding off on our own. Since Meg & J knew folks on the island, we had some connections and so it seemed possible. It wasn’t until the person who was going to perform the ceremony and get all of the paperwork, legalities of the marriage, etc. taken care of backed out, in fact – disappeared – that we got a bit concerned about planning this from so far away. Meg is in California and I am in Minnesota. Then the cake lady backed out as she had family issues and had to head to the states. Even the florist was wavering. Then Sandy sent me an email introducing herself and offering to pull everything together for us. Our decision to hire Sandy was undeniably one of the best! We enjoyed a stress free wedding – yes, a stress free wedding, making it possible to enjoy our surroundings, our family and friends even that much more. She very subtly guided us through all of the legalities, procedures, logistics and events keeping things running smoothly and on time.
We hope to return to the island someday and spend a little time with Sandy and Bill. They are a great team and we love ‘um!
Best wishes to you as your wedding plans unfold.
Marsha Conner – Mother of the Bride, Megan, and now as of January 26, 2008, Mother of the Groom, Jason. Color me “Happy”!
The Tilly's Wedding (November 2007)
We were entertaining the thought of a small Texas Hill Country wedding when we were inspired at the last minute to go somewhere tropical and exotic. Since my sons, which did not have passports, were attending the ceremony we needed to limit down our destinations to US territories. We had checked out the main island of Puerto Rico but came across Vieques by chance. Next thing - we were booking a flight and making arrangements and were calling around for lodging, wedding planner, photography, etc.
We came across contact information for Sandy and called her desperately seeking her help due to the closeness of our arrival. She contacted our lodging and arranged for us to stay at a gorgeous guest house while coordinating for us our minister and photographer for the wedding. The next week we were there and everything went smooth. Her recommendations for the minister were awesome- very sweet person who also showed us around some of the beaches and helped us with the marriage license part before the ceremony. The photographer was very nice and very professional - who did a wonderful job considering our young boys running every which way all over the beach.
We had a wonderful experience and without Sandy 's help - it would have been very difficult to know where to go and who to contact from here. She helped make our stay very comfortable and hospitable through her recommendation for our guest house alone - the two owners couldn't have been more nice or helpful. Thank you again for all of your help!
Andrea Tilly
November 21, 2007
The Beisel's Wedding (July 2007)
I was set on getting married on July 7, 2007 and wanted to do a beach wedding with just my husband and myself. Sandy heard about this through the grapevine and gave me a call. We met up the same week and by that time she had someone already lined up to marry us that day. She was able to show me photos of locations, where to stay and suggestions on what to do and where to eat. We were so excited.
Getting married on an island isn't as easy as getting married where you live. So much has to be coordinated and paperwork to be done. Sandy walked us through everything - even when we arrived on the island. There were so many extra special touches that Sandy did for us. She truly took ownership of making our day and our entire vacation/honeymoon perfect.
The day of the wedding was perfect - Sandy coordinated everything making sure it went off without a hitch. We had a beautiful day, the minister was perfect and timely as well as the photographers. Sandy had our flowers waiting for us and previously dropped our wedding cake off at the restaurant we were going to afterwards. It was picture perfect - I even handed my camera to Sandy so we had photos to enjoy right away. Sandy was flexible, patient and very organized. She even managed to order us a rainbow after the ceremony - now that is skill!
Since we were leaving two days after the ceremony, Sandy picked up our marriage certificate and mailed it to us. Sandy did a terrific job and she really knows Vieques - better than some of the people that have lived there for years. We couldn't have had our wedding there without her.
Lynn Beisel
July 25, 2007
