Dreaming of a romantic destination wedding on a sun-soaked beach? We know how to make it a reality!

Our friends at the Antigua board of tourism asked us to help launch their Antigua and Barbuda Dream Wedding Contest. If selected, you and your fiancé could win the trip of a lifetime to the gorgeous Caribbean island for a spectacular destination wedding. The incredible Grand Prize package is valued at over $17,000 and includes the following:

• Round-trip airfare for the lucky couple
• 4 nights stay at an Antigua hotel
• Professional hair and makeup stylists for the bride
• Professional florist for wedding day
• Photographer and videographer for wedding day
• Wedding reception for a party of 30
• Celebrity guest to attend your big day (last year it was Vivica A. Fox!)

All you need to do to enter is fill out this application (pdf) with a one-page summary of how you met and got engaged. Be sure to include a photo of you two together. A winner will be chosen based on creativity, passion and romantic appeal. Completed application forms and questions can be emailed to sjeremy@antigua-barbuda.org. Download all the official rules.

Entries must be received by May 30th, 2010. Good luck!

“This is still probably the most amazing place we’ve ever stayed,” Jen says of the hotel where she and Eli spent time during the Santorini portion of their honeymoon. Built right into the cliffs Sunrocks, is a couples-only luxury hotel offering guests comfort in true style. You have to check out their website to the full taste of their beautiful, minimal, Mediterranean feel.

Jen says, “This hotel was a total splurge, but totally worth it.”

She says, “We were greeted with champagne and snacks in the room.” Sunrocks has two restaurants and a pool bar. All of the food Jen and Eli ordered here “was delicious”. She adds, “We especially liked the infinity pool that looked like it spilled over the edge of the cliff.”

Their gorgeous suite that looked like “the inside of a whitewashed cave.” Jen adds that they had, “an amazing balcony that looked onto the blue waters of the caldera.”

Though they never got a great beach day, Jen and Eli took full advantage of the sun and the pool to lay to lay about in their bathing suits. A little rain couldn’t dampen their spirits. If fact it brought with it an awesome thunderstorm one night with great lightning. Jen adds, “Eli was pretty blown away by the lightning show in Santorini – he still talks about it.”

Lato Boutique Hotel, Iraklio on Crete

Jen and Eli loved this very modern luxury hotel even though they spent only one night here. That’s because the staff “upgraded us to an executive suite when they found out we were honeymooners.” The threw in a complimentary bottle of wine too. Jen says, “we had a wrap-around balcony overlooking the harbor – amazing views!”

The couple traveled around Spain, primarily in Madrid, Seville, and Barcelona. Karen says, “I would recommend it to anyone that wants to be on the move and experience a different cuisine, an incredible culture, nice people, and plenty of great wine! “

Tom had visited Barcelona when he was studying abroad during college and wanted to go back ever since. Karen shared the desire to see Spain. She says, “After all the stress of the wedding planning and traveling to attend five other weddings the same year, we thought we would want to just relax somewhere in the sun. We were thinking of Micronesia for a beach destination, primarily for the scuba diving. As we talked about it, we realized the drive for both of us to get back to Europe won over the desire to go to an exotic beach. Once we decided on Europe, we talked about Italy and Spain. Spain won!” 

By far, their favorite accommodation was Hotel Atlantico in Madrid. Don’t let the Best Western name fool you… Located on Calle Gran Via 38, one of the main streets in Madrid, it has an amazing view of the downtown area. Their top floor room had a small balcony, above, to enjoy the sights and sounds. The near-by top floor bar was a convenient spot to enjoy a drink or some great tapas.

Karen and Tom were thrilled with their stay and say Hotel Atlantico was definitely worth the Euros. They also mentioned that we were honeymooners and got upgraded us to a nicer room.

In Barcelona, Karen recommends Hotel Dante for it’s location and room size. She says, “It is an older hotel that has been kept up nicely.”

For these two, an extravagant suite was beside the point… They spent very little time in any of their hotel rooms, option to be out sightseeing most of the time. Knowing you priorities on a honeymoon can help you decide when and where to splurge.

Pizza and pasta are huge in Buenos Aires because there are so many Italian restaurants, thanks to generations of immigrants from Italy. This is great if you’re a veggie like me. Also great if you just love pizza. We discovered our favorite was the Neopolitan with mozzarella cheese, tomato slices and green olives.

For a more upscale Italian, we had dinner at Bella Italia Restaurant also in Palermo. This place is full of rustic charm with exposed brick and wood beams. We started with a bottle of Malbec recommended by our waiter and a cheese plate full of local delicacies. I had amazing spinach ravoili — light, fluffy little pillows of deliciousness. Tim ordered squid ink risotto, which he thought was fantastic, despite it’s somewhat off-putting black color.

This place stand out in our mind for two reasons. First, we always talk about the “crazy bread sculpture” that came to our table with the cheese. It makes every other bread basket pale in comparison. Second, when the hostess came and asked how our meal was, I mentioned that we were honeymooning. She quickly disappeared and suddenly the restaurant owner was at our table, gushing about how happy they were to have us, how wonderful New York City was, and how proud she is of the restaurant she runs with her brother. She was warm and welcoming and offered us glasses of their homemade limoncello to celebrate our trip.

Another great meal was a lunch we had in Puerto Madero at Sushi Club, which we later learned is one of several locations. This spot overlooks the port and was full of well-dressed professionals on their lunch breaks. We sat outside on the covered patio with heaters taking away the chill in the air. I ordered a few vegetarian rolls, which were pretty standard. But Tim’s 15-piece order of salmon and whitefish was great, and super-fresh. Lunch on a honeymoon often calls for a bottle of wine, so we ordered up a bottle of Bodegas Lurton Pinot Gris, from Mendoza. Then we polished off the meal by ordering two delicious desserts — a warm chocolate cake with vanilla gelato and a cheesecake with fresh berries. Overall the food was great, but the location was even better.