Founders of Island Bride Jamaica, Shikima Hinds (left) and Carmel Legros. - Contributed

Every woman dreams of having a perfect wedding day. However, many brides will tell you how stressful it is to get everything just right. Enter Shikima Hinds and Carmel Legros with their one-stop bride shop, islandbridejamaica.com.

Introduced by mutual friends about four years ago, the pair's website developed through a casual conversation they had last November. "We started talking about weddings and began throwing ideas back and forth and, before we knew it, we were taking notes," said Hinds.

That special day

Islandbridejamaica.com provides all the services for a wedding in Jamaica, promoting the island as a premiere wedding destination.

The website will provide brides with the resources of cake decorators, photographers, caterers, wedding planners, locations and a concierge service. Once a prospective bride completes the online form, giving information on the kind of wedding she would like, she is contacted within 24 hours and referred to professionals in the business who are the best at what they do.

"We are like the personal assistants to brides and their guests," notes Hinds.

"We even offer tips, such as the best way to transport a wedding dress to Jamaica, sunblock, etc. They (brides) sometimes don't know where to start."

Referrals and more

There are also tips available on obtaining a marriage licence in Jamaica and helping to plan other activities before the big day. Hinds explains that the company not only deals with referrals for the wedding, but also with activities that may be planned before the big day.

"The newest trend with destination weddings is to allow family and friends to take advantage of the trip. So it becomes a family vacation."

Their concierge service will assist in making arrangements for transportation from the airport.

With a flair for entertaining and a background in hospitality, Hinds,who got married three years ago, knows exactly what brides go through.

"I wish I could get married every year. A wedding is such a special occasion. As children. we have a dream of what we would like our wedding to be like. We want to make that dream come true; it's a once-in-a-lifetime event."

Best destination in the world

Legros, who's American, is based in Miami and deals with the international relations side of the business. She is the initial contact for brides (overseas). With a background in sales and marketing, she feels that Jamaica is the perfect location for a destination wedding.

"Jamaica's picturesque views and rich culture make it the perfect destination for an island wedding. Jamaica's beautiful beaches, fabulous resorts, exotic foods and rich culture make the island the perfect place to host a memorable destination wedding," notes Legros.

Whether brides want a beach, cliff or old plantation as the backdrop for their wedding, Jamaica's diversity offers all these options. Currently, a beach wedding is the most popular request the company receives for weddings as early as May and as far ahead as 2010.

But islandbridejamaica.com is not exclusively for foreigners. They note that if you are in Kingston and want to get married on the North Coast, they have the services to make that possible; whether it's coming up in a month or three months. The one-stop shop for everything wedding will also have a booth at the annual bridal show to be held at the Jamaica Pegasus on the weekend of March 14.

A wedding in paradise, complete with this piece designed by Tai Floral Services.

This magical moment was captured by the professionals at Saab Wedding, one of the photography companies with which Island Bride Jamaica works. - Contributed photos