May 10, 2007

US & Canada | US | Santa Fe, Florida Keys

Love Shack

By Nicole Cotroneo

How to let your honeymoon hotel do all the work.

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So you’ve always dreamed of eloping, yet a drive-thru wedding chapel and an Elvis impersonator don’t quite fit your fantasy. How about a ceremony in a candle-lit courtyard that culminates with a flight of butterflies symbolizing joy and hope? It all comes with the “elopement package” tailored by the Inn of the Five Graces at Santa Fe (pictured) — the latest hotel touting on-the-spot wedding services rooted in luxury rather than kitsch. With burning incense, Persian rugs and sumptuous canopy beds, the 22-suite love lodge is a sensual setting for both weddings and honeymoons — so much so, that couples who stay for three or more days get the wedding ceremony on the house.

But if barefoot on the beach is more to your sense of romance, then Casa Morada welcomes you to wed at the water’s edge on Islamorada in the Florida Keys. The serene 16-suite boutique hotel offers elopement packages for up to 20 guests including a sunset ceremony, a champagne toast shared with your entourage, and a twilight dinner for the bride and groom. Afterwards you two can steal off to the limestone grotto or to the property’s private island for a spot of one-on-one in the waterside pool and secluded cabana.