The island of St. John has been getting a lot of publicity recently as a destination wedding location, and the latest wave of positive press focuses on Ceremonies of St. John.
The wedding coordination company was recently featured in three pages of a seven-page article in Destination Weddings and Honeymoons magazine on getting married in the U.S. Virgin Islands, and was chosen as the 2006 Destination Wedding Planning Company for a Travel Channel series, The Wedding Survival Guide, set to air on Saturday, May 27, at 8:30 a.m.
Ceremonies of St. John was started in 1996 by Stacy Mulcare, a wedding planner since 1987.
When I got here, there were no private wedding planning companies, she said. There wasnt anybody who brought it all together, as far as getting the photographer, flowers, housing, etc. I thought, this is perfect.
About four years after starting the business, Mulcare had gathered what she calls her A-Team.
I have two photographers, one minister, one video company, one caterer and one pastry chef that I hire, she said. Once I found all these people and got this team together, it just flows.
Professional wedding planners are necessary for the bride who wants to be able to sit back and enjoy her wedding day, according to Mulcare.
A professional wedding planner oversees every detail leading up to your wedding day, and then is there at the wedding from start to finish, overseeing all the plans that have been discussed leading up to that day, she said. By hiring a professional, someone is there constantly as your eyes and ears.
The Travel Channel likely chose Ceremonies of St. John as its destination wedding planning company because of St. Johns beauty, in addition to Mulcares experience, the wedding coordinator acknowledged.
Tremendous Amount of Experience
I think, first of all, that St. John is absolutely beautiful as a wedding location, she said. Then, the fact that Ive been planning weddings since 1987 gives me a tremendous amount of experience that other people on the island may not have. We always have satisfied customers.
Mostly what I hear back from the brides are two things, Mulcare continued. They tell me that I was incredibly friendly to them, making them feel as though they had a friend on the island, and that I was professional. I make it so the bride doesnt do anything on her wedding day other than get dressed, get ready and go get married.
Mulcare, who found out in February that she was going to be featured on the Travel Channel, said she was very excited about all the recent publicity.
Followed by Camera Crew
A camera crew followed Mulcare on Saturday, March 25 a day on which she oversaw three different weddings.
The camera crew shadowed me, not only at the weddings, but behind the scenes, while I did things like set up reception sites and pick up flowers. Then, on March 26, they did a sit-down interview, one-on-one, with me, which was pretty exciting.
Mulcare considers herself lucky to have been featured in the Destination Weddings and Honeymoons article.
The magazine comes out twice yearly, and is more or less the bible for every bride thats going to do a destination wedding, she said.
They just did a huge feature story on getting married in the U.S. Virgin Islands, and they only talked to Ceremonies of St. John about St. John, said Mulcare. I was really lucky because its a seven-page article, with three pages just for me.
10-Year Anniversary
The recent publicity the wedding coordination company is receiving comes at a milestoneCeremonies 10th year in operation.
Weve been open here 10 years, and I was trying to think what I would do to celebrate, she said. Now, Im not sure that I have to do anything.
The Wedding Survival Guide series has a large viewership, said Mulcare.
They say this particular series has a viewership of 75 million people, she said. If I just imagine one percent of those people calling me to plan their weddingIm very happy.
St. Johns Barefoot Minister, Anne Marie Porter, has also received positive press during her 12 years as an wedding officiant.
Porter, who does not have a television, has only seen one of her many appearances on the Travel Channel.
The one that Ive seen was Top Ten Places to Get Married, and number four was St. John with Anne Marie, she said. Im also frequently mentioned in Caribbean Travel and Life magazine, and every year that St. John Tradewinds has run their Best of St. John, I have been voted as number one wedding coordinator.
Intention To Make St. John Destination Wedding Spot
Porter, who has lived on St. John for more than 20 years, made it her mission to make St. John known as a place for destination weddings.
It was my intention to make St. John a destination wedding spot, she said. It has been my full focus to make St. John a place where people come to get married.