British Virgin Islands wedding photographer
Dreamtime Images is comprised of award-winning wedding photographers serving the British Virgin Islands. Having spent considerable time on the islands, I know my way around fairly well and am happy to help out if you have questions on where to get married or shoot wedding photos.
The BVI is one of those special places in the world. It’s a lush, gorgeous collection of islands, both populated and unpopulated, that offer wedding couples and their guests romance, seclusion, and untouched natural beauty. It’s super easy to take a boat to an island that is uninhabited and spend the afternoon lounging in the sand and swimming in the surf. The yacht culture in the BVI means there are boats everywhere. You can use them as transport for many fun wedding photography adventures — like a trash the dress session on a yacht in the middle of bay on a deserted island. Nice!
Brides and grooms do need to spend time in the islands before they can legally have a wedding. You’re supposed to be in the islands for 3 days beforehand, but you can sitll apply for a license the day you arrive at the government buildings in Tortola. Once you’re there, you’ll need about $160 to pay for various fees. You will have to purchase a set amount of postage stamps (think of it almost as a tax). Last, you’ll need proof of marital status and a couple of witnesses. Overall, getting married here is pretty stress free.
If you need help planning your British Virgin Islands wedding, I am here to help as I have photographed multiple celebrations down there. Check this one out!
There’s a huge, huge variety of venues. The British Virgin Islands sits somewhere in the middle of the landscape scale, between the extremes of Bonaire (think dry and low) and Guadeloupe (mountainous and rainy). It has a tropical feel, but not super tropical. What I really here is the sheer number of islands, the diversity, and the countless cool things you can do while visiting. One of the best days of my life was a skin diving trip to the island of Annegada, where I got to exlore one of the coolest reefs in the world.
There are a number of experienced wedding planners in the British Virgin Islands, including Absolutely Beautiful Events, BVI Wedding Planners and Consultants, Celebrating Passions, and Contemporary Events. That’s just a small list. It may be best to contact your resort or destination for recommendations – but beware: many resorts work in conjunction with their own set vendors who may not offer the best service, but have cut financial deals with the resorts in order to obtain more work. Honestly, it’s a bit of a scam, so proceed with caution.
Wedding Locations in the British Virgin Islands
The great resorts of British Virgin Islands makes my job easy as a wedding photographer. First, consider the Rosewood at Little Dix Bay on Virgin Gorda. I photographed a British Virgin Island wedding there a few years ago and fell in love. It’s relatively easy to get from there over to the Baths, too. The bay is filled with small houses, which are the Rosewood’s hotel rooms, and they’re all hidden in the trees. Each building has a unit or two, so when you go there you feel like you are in a vacation rental instead of a hotel. There is a huge central outdoor dining area, a place to make diving reservations, a dock, and a great laid-back feel. Some of the fancier rooms have their own pool, while others are right on the beach. Pick your passion. When you’re at Little Dix, you feel very secluded. Here’s a funny story about one wedding we photographed at Little Dix: some very persistent wedding crashers took a boat in the cover of the night into the bay to crash the party! But they didn’t know that once in, they couldn’t really escape due to how secluded Little Dix is. When the bride discovered them, she offered them a choice: she’d either call security and have them hauled off, or she’d let them stay and drink and party IF they gave her a toast and danced with her. So the three guys gave an incredbile toast and partied the night away!
Another fantastic place is the Biras Creek Resort on North Sound, which has a gorgeous harbor that the sun sets behind! The food at Biras Creek is fantastic, so the place is great for a rehearsal dinner, too. If you are looking for the best of the best for weddings, Guana Island is among the most highly regarded venues in the Caribbean. Also check out the Peter Island Resort, the Mango Bay Resort, the Bitter End Yacht Club, the Katitche Point Greathouse, and AquaMare.
What to do on British Virgin Islands
You can do just about anything in the BVI, but it helps if you and your guests are ocean lovers. First, have an engagement or a wedding photography session at the Baths on Tortola. The jumbled boulders have formed all sorts of cool caves, and we can create some incredible wedding portraits in there. Then, as I mentioned before, I highly recommend a day at Annegada. You can sail out there on a sloop or even a catamaran (go for a 50 foot cat) and explore the reef. It is about 15 feet tall and has a canopy, like a rain forest. Evey so often you can snorkel down through a hole in the canopy and find yourself in a massive chamber inside the reef, with light filtering through the coral heads. It’s a totally surreal experience. A day on Annegada is one of those experiences that will stay with you for life. Also, the scuba and kayaking is fantastic. When I have photographed British Virgin Islands weddings, I have always loved shooting couples and their friends diving and going on boat trips.
Dreamtime Verdict: British Virgin Islands
As a British Virgin Islands wedding photographer, I give this place an A+, 10 out of 10 stars, and two big thumbs way up. The BVI has a special place in my heart, to be honest. I have shot a number of incredible weddings in the BVI and spent a summer when I was younger living on a sail boat and teaching scuba diving. As a results, I think these islands simply rock. Weddings in the British Virgin Islands are so much fun to participate in (and to photograph). There are a ton of great activities, great resorts, and awesome watersports like scuba diving and snorkeling. The boat culture makes traveling around the Islands a big adventure – it’s so much fun taking your entire wedding party on a speed boat in order to get to dinner, for example. You can have pretty much anything in the British Virgin Islands, from a small, intimate wedding at a vacation home to a big extravaganza at one of the country’s many top notch properties. If I were planning a Caribbean wedding, the BVI would be realy high on my list. For me, personally, I like the sense of independence I feel while I’m in the British Virgin Islands. There’s simply so much to explore there, and the tourism industry is set up to let you explore – either with someone helping you, or alone if you prefer.