Carriacou Weddings: Grenada's Sister Island for a Private Ceremony
A 90-minute ferry from St. George's lands you on an island where fewer than a dozen destination weddings happen each year. Carriacou is what Grenada looked like 30 years ago — wooden sloops on the horizon, deserted beaches, and a handful of small inns instead of resorts. Here's how to plan a wedding that uses all of it.
The short answer
Carriacou is Grenada's quieter sister island — 13 sq mi, about 8,000 residents, and a wedding scene measured in low double digits per year. Couples come here for total privacy on beaches like Paradise Beach and Sandy Island, knowing the trade-off is inter-island logistics: every guest reaches Carriacou by the Osprey ferry (about USD $30 each way, 90 minutes from St. George's) or SVG Air (USD $120 one-way, 20 minutes). Budget USD $5,500 for an elopement up to USD $18,000 for a 30-guest weekend with rentals, catering and accommodation booked across the island's small inns.
Sandy Island private day-charter
An uninhabited sandbar 10 minutes by boat from Hillsborough — book it for the day and you have the whole island for your ceremony.
Paradise Beach, L'Esterre
A mile-long public beach with reliably empty stretches — Off The Hook bar handles the catering side, your planner builds the ceremony around it.
Wooden-boat heritage backdrop
Windward village still builds traditional sloops on the beach — a working maritime tradition that doubles as photography no other Caribbean island offers.
What makes Carriacou unique for a wedding
Privacy on Carriacou is structural, not curated. There are no all-inclusive resorts, no cruise port, and the island averages roughly a dozen destination weddings a year — most months you can stand on Anse La Roche or Sandy Island and not see another person. That changes the planning brief: instead of competing with hotel events and excursion crowds, you're effectively renting whole stretches of coast for the price of a permit and a planner who can move catering and decor from one end of the island to the other.
The beaches do most of the work. Paradise Beach in L'Esterre is a mile of soft white sand opening onto turquoise shallows, with Off The Hook bar at one end for the reception spillover. Sandy Island sits 10 minutes by boat from Hillsborough — an uninhabited sandbar inside the Sandy Island Oyster Bed Marine Protected Area that locals charter exclusively for day events. Anse La Roche, on the north-west coast, takes a short hike to reach and rewards it with a deserted half-moon of sand framed by sea-grape trees. None of these need staging beyond a freestanding arch and a sound system.
Carriacou's third asset is its boat-building culture, still alive in Windward village on the north-east coast. Traditional sloops are built on the beach by hand using techniques brought from Glasgow in the 1800s, and the annual Carriacou Regatta in early August fills the bay with these boats under sail. For couples who want photography that isn't a stock-Caribbean blueprint — and for guests who appreciate a place that remains a working community rather than a stage — that working maritime tradition is the closer no other Grenadian wedding location can match.
Where to actually get married on Carriacou
Carriacou's venue economy is small and personal — a handful of inns plus public beaches that planners stage privately. These are the four most weddings build around.
Bayaleau Point Cottages, Windward
Five hand-built wooden cottages on a quiet point above the water in Windward, the boat-building village. Owners host occasional intimate weddings on the lawn or down at the private beach below. Best paired with a sunset ceremony and a long-table dinner under the breadfruit tree — capacity is naturally capped by the cottages themselves.
- Private cove access for the ceremony
- On-site kitchen handles small-group catering
- Walking distance to wooden-boat builders
Carriacou Grand View Hotel, Hillsborough
The largest property on the island and the only one with enough rooms to keep a mid-size wedding party under one roof. Hillside terrace overlooks Hillsborough Bay and the Grenadines beyond — works as both ceremony and reception space. Five minutes from the ferry dock, which is the practical reason most weekend weddings base here.
- 22 rooms — most of your guest list under one roof
- Terrace ceremony with Grenadines view
- Closest hotel to the Osprey ferry dock
Paradise Beach, L'Esterre
A mile of soft white sand on the west coast — wide enough that planners regularly set up ceremonies at the southern end with no impact on locals at the public end. Off The Hook bar and Hardwood Bar both cater receptions on the sand. Permit is filed through the Carriacou local authority via your planner.
- Off The Hook and Hardwood Bar handle catering
- Calm west-coast water for photography
- Easy beach setup — no terrain challenges
Sandy Island — day charter
A 200-metre sandbar 10 minutes by boat from Hillsborough, ringed by reef and inside a Marine Protected Area. Chartered for a half- or full-day, you have the whole island to yourselves — no facilities means everything (shade, water, sound, toilets) ships across on the same boat. Spectacular, but only feasible with a Carriacou-experienced planner running the logistics.
- Entirely private — no other visitors on charter days
- Marine Protected Area — pristine reef around you
- Best photography location in the tri-island state
Real cost of a Carriacou wedding (30 guests)
Costs below assume a 30-guest wedding across two days, with most guests on the Osprey ferry and the couple plus immediate family on SVG Air. Inter-island logistics are the line items that make Carriacou noticeably different from a Grand Anse wedding.
Wedding planner (Carriacou-experienced)
Partial planning typical; full planning rare on Carriacou — most planners are Grenada-based with sister-island specialism.
$1,200 – $3,500
Venue setup + permit (beach or Sandy Island)
Paradise Beach permits run ~$250; Sandy Island full-day charter $800–$1,200 with reef permit.
$400 – $1,800
Osprey ferry — group transfers (28 guests, return)
EC $80 (~USD $30) each way per adult; coordinate same-sailing group booking.
$1,700 – $2,000
SVG Air — couple + immediate family (6 pax)
USD $120 one-way per seat; return scheduling tight — book months out.
$720 – $1,500
Accommodation on Carriacou (2 nights, 15 rooms)
Bayaleau, Grand View, Green Roof Inn, Ade's Dream — spread the room blocks early; island has ~120 rooms total.
$2,800 – $5,500
Catering + bar (30 guests, plated dinner)
USD $80–160 per head; supplies ship from Grenada by ferry, so menus lock 10 days out.
$2,400 – $4,800
Marriage license + officiant
EC $300 (~USD $112) license fee, plus officiant fee — requires 3 working days residency in Grenada before the ceremony.
$280 – $650
Photography (full day + travel)
Most Grenadian photographers add a travel day and an overnight to the brief — factor that in.
$1,800 – $3,200
Florals, sound, arch + rentals (ferry freight)
Anything not available on Carriacou ships from Grenada by ferry, with EC $20–60 per palette freight.
$900 – $2,400
Contingency — weather + ferry disruption
Build a buffer. Ferry has been cancelled in heavy weather; SVG Air weight-restricts in strong wind.
$500 – $1,200
Estimated total
30-guest, 2-day wedding. Elopement (2–6 guests) lands at USD $5,500–$8,500; 50+ guests rarely makes sense without chartering accommodation entirely.
$12,700 – $26,500
How to get your guests to Carriacou
Carriacou has no direct international flights. Every guest lands in Grenada (Maurice Bishop International, GND) and continues by ferry or short hop. Treat the inter-island leg as part of the invitation, not an afterthought.
Book Osprey ferry seats for the main party
The Osprey Lines catamaran runs daily from the Carenage in St. George's to Hillsborough, Carriacou — 90 minutes, EC $80 (~USD $30) one-way per adult. Book the entire group on the same sailing (typically the 9:00 am departure) and pre-pay through Osprey's office at the Carenage about 4–6 weeks out. They will hold a group block on request.
Put VIPs on SVG Air or charter
SVG Air operates a small fixed-wing service GND ↔ Lauriston Airport (CRU) on Carriacou — 20 minutes, USD $120 one-way. Useful for the couple, parents, or anyone who can't manage 90 minutes on open water. The aircraft is small (8–18 seats depending on equipment), so book months in advance and confirm baggage limits early — wedding dresses count.
Lock in two nights minimum on Carriacou
Day-tripping a wedding from Grenada is not viable — the last Osprey returns mid-afternoon. Build the invitation around two minimum nights on Carriacou: arrival day, ceremony day, with most guests returning the morning after. Hold accommodation blocks across 3–4 properties (Carriacou Grand View, Bayaleau Point, Green Roof Inn, Ade's Dream) because no single hotel fits 30 guests.
Arrange an island shuttle
Carriacou taxis are informal and limited — there is no Uber and rideshare doesn't operate. Pre-book two minibus shuttles through your planner to cover ferry arrival → hotels → ceremony → reception → return. Expect USD $200–400 per shuttle day. Distances are short (Hillsborough to L'Esterre is 10 minutes) but coordinating 30 people without a shuttle plan turns into chaos.
Plan the departure carefully
Osprey's return sailing typically leaves Hillsborough around 3:30 pm. International outbound flights from Grenada are mostly afternoon/evening — meaning departure day usually means: morning checkout, midday ferry, afternoon arrival in St. George's, evening flight home. Build a half-hour buffer at both ends — ferry cancellations in heavy weather do happen, and an SVG Air seat in reserve for the couple is cheap insurance.
Carriacou-specific things planners wish you knew
Cash matters more than card here
Hillsborough has two ATMs and most small bars, the boat-charter operators and the produce sellers expect EC$ cash. Have your planner draw down a working float of EC $4,000–6,000 (about USD $1,500–2,200) in St. George's before the ferry — replenishing on Carriacou is slow and not always possible.
Provision lists go to Grenada 10 days out
Most catering supplies, alcohol, florals and rentals ship from Grenada by ferry. Once your menu is signed, it's effectively locked — a last-minute substitution means an extra ferry crossing or going without. Lean on your planner's existing supplier list rather than asking for bespoke imports.
August Regatta Festival blocks accommodation
The Carriacou Regatta in early August fills every bed on the island for a week. Don't schedule your wedding in late July or the first half of August unless you're willing to book accommodation 12 months out and accept higher rates. April–June and October–November are the strongest months.
Reception lights and sound need their own generator
Power on Carriacou is reliable for hotels but island-wide outages happen 2–3 times a year. For any beach or Sandy Island reception, your planner should quote a small generator (USD $200–400 for the night) so the music and lighting don't depend on the grid. Cheapest insurance in the entire budget.
Frequently asked questions
How often does the Osprey ferry run between Grenada and Carriacou?
Osprey Lines operates daily — typically a 9:00 am departure from the Carenage in St. George's arriving Hillsborough around 10:30 am, with a return sailing around 3:30 pm. There is also a Sunday/holiday schedule that runs once daily. Fare is EC $80 (~USD $30) one-way per adult; group bookings can be held through Osprey's Carenage office.
How many guests is realistic for a Carriacou wedding?
Up to 30 guests works smoothly using the island's existing accommodation and ferry capacity. From 30–50 you need to book 4+ properties simultaneously and coordinate two ferry sailings. Beyond 50 guests, Carriacou rarely makes financial sense — at that scale a Grand Anse or all-inclusive resort wedding back on Grenada is more practical.
Is there enough accommodation on Carriacou for a wedding party?
Carriacou has roughly 120 rooms across about a dozen properties — Carriacou Grand View (22 rooms), Bayaleau Point Cottages (5), Green Roof Inn, Ade's Dream, and a number of guesthouses and Airbnbs. A 30-guest wedding typically uses 3–4 properties simultaneously. Book room blocks 6–9 months out, and 12 months if your dates fall near the August Regatta.
Can I find wedding vendors on Carriacou or do they come from Grenada?
Most vendors travel from Grenada. There are local caterers (Off The Hook, Hardwood Bar, hotel kitchens) and local officiants, but photographers, florists, decor rental and most planners are based on the main island and add travel + overnight to their fee. A Carriacou-experienced planner already has these relationships set up.
How does catering work when supplies come from another island?
Catering on Carriacou is feasible but inflexible. Most caterers operate either with hotel kitchens or by shipping ingredients on the Osprey ferry from Grenada. Menus typically lock 10 days before the wedding so that the ferry shipment is sized correctly, and last-minute changes mean an extra crossing — build the menu around what's locally fresh and let your planner handle the rest.
What's not available on Carriacou that I should know about?
No large-scale tent or stage rental (anything big ships from Grenada), no specialty florists, no formal wedding-dress steaming services, no rideshare, limited late-night transport, and only basic medical facilities. Pharmacies stock essentials but not specialty items. Bring or pre-ship anything you can't substitute, and treat your planner as your import logistics partner.
What happens if a hurricane or storm threatens the wedding?
Grenada and its sister islands sit south of the main hurricane belt and major storms are rare, but late August to early October carry the highest residual risk. The Osprey ferry suspends service in heavy seas and SVG Air weight-restricts in strong wind, so any wedding in that window needs a 1–2 day flex buffer in the itinerary. Carriacou Grand View and Bayaleau Point are concrete-and-stone construction and have served as informal shelters in past storms — your planner should brief you on the official shelter at Hillsborough Secondary School as a worst-case fallback.
Build the rest of your Carriacou weekend
A Carriacou wedding is more weekend than ceremony. Layer in the boat charters, transport and stays your guests will need — all bookable through Grenadian and Carriacou providers on KonnectWI.
Carriacou wedding planners
Specialists who know inter-island logistics