A Private Fantasy Island at Peter Island Resort & Spa with David Beahm Destinations, by Christina Matteucci

We know summer has ended and the chilly air has already made us take out our sweaters and jeans... but if you're anything like us, part of you still wants to lay on a warm beach with the sound of the ocean in the background, right?  Well Merci New York's resident Destination and Design Expert, Christina Metteucci of david beahm destinations is here again to warm you up with a look at Peter Island's Resort and Spa in the British Virgin Islands.  

Here at david beahm destinations we’ve come down with a severe case of wanderlust.  The symptoms are unmistakable: too many consecutive months in NYC and David and I get the itch to escape.  When presented with the opportunity to travel someplace new, we literally jump at the chance.  However, while we love and appreciate every new and exotic place we venture, there are a few locations that haunt our dreams and capture our hearts, beckoning us to return time and time again.  Peter Island Resort and Spa in the British Virgin Islands is one of those very special locations.  I could muse for hours about what kind of glorious destination weddings we dream up on Peter Island – or all the practical functionalities and amenities that make it a wonderful place to host any special event.  But I’d like to approach this post from the perspective of a wide-eyed wanderer, an adventurer who found a home in the midst of a blue Caribbean.  For to embark upon a destination wedding at Peter Island, I believe the island must first resonate with your heart.

One can only arrive on the shores of Peter Island by boat, or if so inclined, by helicopter.  I was told I’d be travelling to my own private island.  My island?  Really?  This must be too good to be true.  Between my itinerary and this mysterious venue description, I surmised that, upon arrival, Ricardo Montalban and Tattoo would be there to greet us too, welcoming us to Fantasy Island.  Instead it was handsome Bastian greeting us with the most delicious rum punch known to man.  Once I settled into my beach front room, I discovered that Peter Island is a place where the only sights, sounds, and smells are the pelicans frolicking through waves crashing along a plumeria-lined shore.  This is the real Fantasy Island, friends.  It exists.

However, there are no illusions here – just genuine people with genuine hearts.  David has often said that the best amenity that a venue can have is the staff that makes the dream a reality.  The Peter Island dream team is more than a staff, they are a family that invites you home the minute you step ashore.  Private chefs, housekeepers, grounds-men, and steel drummers: sure, they’re all there.  But how many times do you travel to a location where each and every one of them knows and greets you by name with a warm smile and a lilting Caribbean accent?  Where your favorite CD’s are already in the stereo?  Where your desired champagne is chilling in the fridge waiting for you?  

Peter Island is a place for restoration of mind, body and spirit.  And that same staff is there to show you what makes their island so very special.  Are you an adventurer who yearns to feel the wind in your hair and the crash of the waves beneath you?  The Resort boasts an exquisite sailboat, the Silmaril, that will whisk you away for a few hours or a whole day excursion.  Care to be pampered?  I recommend the state-of-the-art spa where, like me, you can be scrubbed down with thousands of sesame seeds and island honey that leave you with a brand new, glowing complexion.  Or do you wish to while away the magic hour of sunset with a glass of wine in hand and a front row view.  Then a trip to “The Loop” is due: this Loop is a magical, unobstructed vista where the evening’s celestial show can be seen from one of the colorful Adirondack chairs poised perfectly for gazing. 

I would be doing a great disservice to not at least mention the romantic junior suites and ocean view rooms; to chat about the private villas that lie perched above the cloud line.  I too would be remiss to not say that the food is every bit as delectable as you could imagine (whether at a beach BBQ or dining formally in the Tradewind’s Restaurant).  It would simply be criminal for me not to say that the island boasts the best wine collection I have ever experienced in the Caribbean.  And to think that over half of the island’s power is generated by it’s own wind-turbine.  Luxury meets eco-conscious: a perfect combination. 

So what does all this have to do with destination weddings?  Everything.  Peter Island Resort & Spa is a place where anything is possible for its’ inhabitants.  That can mean “turning off” the outside world, or it can mean throwing the affair of a lifetime.  I think the later is an exceptional reason to visit.  Each of your guests (the property can accommodate up to 130) will be sure to find an adventure or an escape of their own and each can go back home saying, “I got to attend a wedding on my own private island!” That’s one heck of a wedding favor.  

So, did I capture any hearts here?  Anyone else dying to go back as much as us? I can assure you that you don't need Mr. Montalban and Tattoo - you've got David and Christina!  Though, I'd like to think I am slightly taller.

Want to learn more about Peter Island Resort and Spa {or book your destination wedding and honeymoon there, right this very moment}?  Be sure to visit david beahm destinations to hear more from Christina and company on this stunning piece of paradise.

All photos courtesy of Peter Island Resort and Spa.