We got married at Coral Cove in November 2007, and we could not recommend it enough. If you are looking for an intimate, beautiful and no-stress experience, this is everything you could dream of. We got a weeklong package, then reserved most of the place for our family and friends (22 in all) for the weekend. We then hauled in an additional 30 people from a variety of resorts in Negril for the actual wedding day – with van transportation arranged by Coral Cove. We had rehearsal and wedding dinners, massages and manicures, a band and a bonfire on the night of the wedding, and more. It all sounds rather complicated now, but the whole thing went off in an easy, relaxed manner, with the gorgeous ocean right before us, unbelievable sunsets each night, and delicious food and drink galore.

We worked in advance with Steve, Kim & Dawn. They were able to soothe us when we got worried about making everything work and give us quickly updated plans as we progressed in making arrangements. They stayed on top of every detail and were more than willing to make the entire trip everything that we wanted it to be.

When traveling to Jamaica in November, be aware that you could easily run into air travel difficulties. Many of our guests, ourselves included, had some trouble. Most greeted adversity with a laugh (and a drink), and Coral Cove was patient, flexible and able to do the necessary quick-thinking for back-up plans.

As for us, Richie picked us up at the airport and took us on the gorgeous back roads from Montego Bay to Little Bay. We stopped at a jerk chicken hut where kids were hanging out on their way home from school. When we arrived we were the only guests and after a few hours of relaxing were served a romantic dinner out on the point of the rock, concrete & coral paths and huts running up into the sea. At the time we thought it was nothing short of awe-inspiring and amazing, but every day seemed to shatter any illusions that we’d yet had the best experiences possible in Jamaica.

Before anyone arrived the next day, we met with Dawn, the amazing wedding planner. She really took care of us. Not only did she anticipate all the essentials and get all of the little details we wanted to come off without a hitch, but she filled in the gaps of the things we didn’t think of. Terrie coordinated things from onsite as well and had an integral hand in making everything work so well.

We stayed in the Doctorbird, but saw every room and spent time in several. The Doctorbird is a smaller room than many of the others, but the 365 degree view, full ocean breeze, private patio and access to an additional shared patio with a stocked (and restocked) bar more than made it the best room there! Even without AC it had to be the coolest.

Cool things about other rooms – the shower in the Marlin is huge and its multiple open air vents make for a really refreshing experience. Several rooms had that kind of shower – it would be worth requesting. The Momma Beach is the biggest suite, with a separate room for a four poster bed – the front room definitely became a hangout space for smaller groups of our large party of wedding guests. The Starbright and the Starlight are also particularly large and gorgeous and have enormous verandas we should have spent more time on.

The food more than bears mentioning. Suffice it to say that many dishes were simply the best any of us had ever had of their kind (including the fried chicken), and others were the kinds of meals that you tell stories about. It is like having a home cooked meal made by professionals at every sitting.

Every effort was made to make the wedding day the most special of our lives including the staff building a frame for the chuppah the groom’s mother made. Donald also enlisted her help weaving plants together for the decorations. Side note here to tell you Donald also took people out snorkeling, on local tours, and refused to allow you to walk about without a drink in your hand – he was wonderful!

The wedding itself was far beyond any semblance of expectation we had. Dawn was perfect, we would have been clueless without her. We were also lucky enough to have the sunset after the ceremony be the most amazing we’ve ever seen. A bonfire on the beach, a reggae band playing and all of our closest friends and family surrounding us. It was the wedding we never dreamed we would have.

Negril feels quite close, twenty to forty minutes, and it was easy for us to find someone to take us in. Still, we wish we’d had more time to hang out in Little Bay, particularly at Uncle Sam’s, and maybe to request a tour of the local school where Donald’s wife teaches. But we plan to go back, so no problem.

Staying at Coral Cove and having our wedding there was the best decision we could have made. We give it the highest of recommendations and plan on returning as often as possible.