Yes! If you know Justen and I well, you know we love a great daytime beach party and early bedtimes. Plus you know formal dress is not our preferred attire. So what better way to marry the love of your life. Favorite Bathing suits, no shoes, cover ups, linen shirts. It's a good excuse to buy the bathing suit you always wanted!
For the welcome party, we recommend slacks, loafers, sundresses etc. No need for ties or blazers, we want everyone to be comfortable all week!
The rest of the events will be beach casual.
If you are planning to golf and the location ends up being Anguilla then golf attire is required. If we golf in St. Maarten any attire goes!
In general St. Maarten is a very casual island so shorts, sandals etc will be fine for almost all restaurants, bars, etc
Given we will be moving between destinations for the next 8 months all wedding details will only be electronic! Invitations will be emailed in July!
Unfortunately we will be keeping this event to adults only except for the Friday beach day!
If you need babysitting recommendations, let us know and we can share trusted contacts here on island!
Weather should range between 77-86°F
At night the temperatures don't drop much so leave your sweatshirts at home!
Early November the ocean will still be warm.
Yes! St. Maarten is an international destination that requires a passport. If you do not have a passport and planning to attend you should start the process sooner than later as there are delays due to Covid!
Sint Maarten, part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, is a country on the southern part of a Caribbean island shared with Saint Martin, a French overseas collectivity.
It appears the SXM government will drop testing/vaccination requirements by November 1st BUT all entering the country are required to complete this link and get approval before they board their flight. You can complete this link starting 72 hours before your flight. We recommend making sure this is completed at least 24 hours before to give you time to receive approval. You will need the QR code that is returned through email to board your flight. You can show it on your phone!
https://stmaartenehas.com/application-form/
If you are planning on coming I recommend using Google Flights to setup "Track Prices" as I do believe prices will drop in the upcoming months. Keep in mind it is a long weekend in most destinations due to Veterans Day holiday (and Election Day is November 8th so some schools are closed). Right now due to Covid almost all airlines allow you to change flights without a penalty (just a fare difference if applicable).
Tuesdays are usually the cheapest days to fly with Sat/Sun being the most expensive.
If you have your preferred dates you can always go to Google Flights and select the flights or dates you would like and turn on Track Prices on that specific flight. Then you can watch the prices over the next few weeks or months while you decide!
There are three major currencies used on island but if you bring USD you should have no problems and no need to exchange to EURO's when you visit the French side. Some restaurants offer a 1 to 1 currency exchange between USD and EUROs if you pay in cash!
Are there ATM's easy accessible on island?
Yes there are plenty of ATMS but warning fees are high and they don't always have USD cash available. Cash is still king for tipping, taxis and even some bars so I do recommend bringing along some cash for the trip. It's much easier to take out cash home than here in SXM.
On the Dutch side 15% is recommended similar to home. Please look at your bills as most touristy restaurants on the Dutch side will include a 15% service charge. If that is the case we usually only leave a few more dollars if service is good. The waiter might mention that that charge is split between everyone but unfortunately that's just how restaurants have chosen to manage the service charge for their employees.
On the French side salaries are higher so 10% is closer to the norm. You will notice on the French side there will never be a tip line on Credit cards as cash is recommended. Tipping is not a common practice in Europe as it is in the US.
For those attending our wedding, your presence is our present!
For those still looking for ideas please see our registry below: