A St. Kitts and Nevis destination wedding starts with beauty and ends with luxury. The two islands of this Caribbean nation differ in many ways: St. Kitts is more developed, is home to the magnificent Brimstone Hill Fortress (a UNESCO World Heritage Site), and is where you’ll find the most nightlife and big events like the annual St. Kitts Music Festival. Nevis is smaller, more laid back, and has a great collection of upscale resorts, including the only Four Seasons Resort in the Caribbean.

Both islands, however, boast great natural beauty: a quarter of St. Kitts is protected parkland, while its little sister island earns the “Nevis Naturally” nickname with rainforests inhabited with green monkeys, long stretches of quiet beaches dotted with sea turtles nests, and historic hot springs that you can still plunge into for their therapeutic properties.

Nevis’ history is reflected at two of the island’s finest resorts: the Nisbet Plantation Beach Club and Montpelier Plantation & Beach. Nisbet's most popular wedding locale is the Avenue of the Palms, a broad lawn that connects the resort’s Great House to the beach; with just 36 cottage-style rooms, this resort is a great choice for a smaller affair where you and your guests will truly be the center of attention throughout your wedding weekend. In a sweet touch, the resort plants a baby palm tree for every couple that weds at Nisbet—and of course you’re encouraged to come back and visit this symbol of your new life together year after year.

If anything, Montpelier Plantation is even more intimate, with just 19 luxury rooms and the acclaimed Restaurant 750, where you and your guests can enjoy a rehearsal dinner or al fresco reception custom designed by Executive Chef Cristian Bassi. Ceremonies can be held in the resort’s historic, 18th-century sugar mill or under the same ancient ficus tree where Lord Admiral Nelson tied the knot in 1787.

As for the Four Seasons Resort Nevis, this is simply one of the most beautiful and luxurious resorts in the Caribbean, and an ideal setting for a beach wedding. Privacy is assured thanks to the resort’s collection of more than 40 villas, which have one to eight bedrooms and can be the site of an intimate wedding ceremony or an extended honeymoon stay. Big guest list? The Four Seasons Resort Nevis can easily accommodate up to 400 guests in a tented affair on Pinney’s Beach.

>Written by Bob Curley

Photography: Montpelier Plantation & Beach, Nevis, Caribbean