Frugal brides and grooms still walk Caribbean aisles

— -- The dour economy is not stopping brides and grooms from the USA from saying "I do" on Caribbean sand.

Many hoteliers expect to handle about the same number of destination weddings this year as 2008, despite a drop in overall bookings. A 2006 survey estimated that 16% of U.S. unions took place in a destination setting, which also saves money by combining the ceremony with the honeymoon.

"This is a recession-proof market," says Donald Foste, group sales director for Occidental, a hotel chain with properties in Aruba and the Dominican Republic. "Brides are going to get married regardless of what's happening in the economy."

At SuperClubs, the Jamaica-based operator of about a dozen all-inclusive resorts under the Grand Lido, Breezes and Hedonism names in the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Curaçao and the Bahamas, executives hope weddings will help offset the dip in overall bookings, says marketing director Zein Nakash.

Many people will look at all-inclusives such as SuperClubs because "you know exactly what your wedding is going to cost you," she says.

The Caribbean's destination wedding industry hopes to thrive on budget-minded lovebirds such as Tilly Lashel Gant and Terrance Flaggs of St. Louis.

For $3,600 at Riu Ochos Rios, Jamaica, the couple is receiving airfare and lodging for two, an upgraded honeymoon suite, food and drinks, and the wedding ceremony. Picking the offseason date of April 29 helped them lower their rate. "You can't beat that," says Gant, 31. "It is so much cheaper than having a traditional wedding at home, where the cost can skyrocket."

The destination wedding market is so promising that some Caribbean hotels are trying to boost their share. SuperClubs is taking out TV ads. It's also attending more bridal shows.

And at the Wyndham hotel and casino on Nassau's Cable Beach in the Bahamas, manager Jeffry Humes had the hotel renovated specifically to please brides, with a new boardwalk and gazebo with ocean views for wedding photos.. The hotel has 200 weddings planned this year, double last year's count.