If you love the sea, Antigua may be the best location in the Caribbean for a nautical themed destination wedding. The twin-island nation of Antigua and Barbuda has a passion for sailing and boating like few other places on earth, dating back to Admiral Nelson choosing English Harbour as the site of the Royal Navy’s largest base in the Caribbean in 1784. Indeed, Sailing Week remains the most important holiday on the Antigua calendar—and this spring fete really is quite the week-long party.

Back in port, Anguilla has 365 beaches (one for every day of the year, as they like to say), so choosing the perfect location for a beach wedding really is no problem at all. Pre-wedding festivities can include a day-trip to Barbuda’s Frigate Bird Sanctuary, a sunset yacht cruise, or frolicking with the fish at Antigua’s famous Stingray City.

The jetty at the Carlisle Bay resort is one of the more spectacular settings for an Antigua wedding ceremony; others include the circa 1830 estate house and sugar mill at Jumby Bay; an elegant beach affair at the resort’s Point area, complete with bonfires and chandeliers; or the lush tropical gardens of the Hermitage Bay resort. When you’re ready to set sail on life together as husband and wife, Antigua will see you and your guests off in the grandest possible style.

> Written by Bob Curley