Compliments
“Had I been left to my own devices – there is no way that I could have pulled off a 160+ person wedding in St. Thomas in just over five months! Hiring Michelle and the team at Paradise Planning was the best decision I made, other than marrying my husband, of course ;). This woman is an organizational dynamo. Shortly after our first meeting, I emailed her a list of suggested vendors and a bunch of Pinterest pictures and said “This is what I would like! Can you get this done in 5 months?” Michelle nailed every single detail utilizing a wide network of fantastic and professional vendors who all made sure that our wedding weekend was perfect. I don’t know who else could have managed to get 100 off-island guests from 7 different hotels and resorts to 4 different venues over the course of the weekend. Her attention to detail ensured that the wedding venue looked exactly as I had imagined it. But it’s not just Michelle’s flawless execution that earns her my highest recommendation – it was also her intuitive nature – knowing when I needed a nudge in the right direction when making decisions, knowing how to bring my stress levels down and making sure that I enjoyed every single minute of every event. Everyone in attendance raved about our wedding – and that is due in large part to all of the work Michelle and the Paradise Planning team put into it. I am so grateful that I was able to work with her and benefit from her expertise. “–Erika, married 4/23/22
“Michelle was fantastic – we couldn’t ask for a better wedding planner. She was great at providing many options and then helping us to pick the best option for our wedding. Everything went off without a hitch – we truly couldn’t be more appreciative of Michelle and couldn’t have imagined a better wedding if we tried. Thank you!!! :)”–Tim, married 3/17/22
“Paradise Planning (& Michelle Cawthron specifically) helped my husband and I host our dream wedding weekend in St. John, USVI in March of 2022. First and foremost, when it came to planning a destination wedding, I knew it would be crucial to hire a wedding planner that knew the island of St. John and the vendors we would most likely be working with – after meeting with a few potential planners, my husband and I decided to move forward working with Michelle because of her kindness, confidence, and knowledge in the planning process.
Michelle listened to our wedding wants and needs and spent time understanding our vision and goals for the wedding weekend. Planning a destination wedding during the peak of COVID was not an easy task, but Michelle guided us through the entire process and made us feel informed on all of our options and potential roadblocks we could face down the road due to changing government regulations. Her communication process is wonderful – she is extremely responsive with emails, communicates her availability and working hours to all brides and grooms, and was always prepared for our planning calls which made each one extremely productive!
Michelle’s knowledge of vendors (which I believe are the best of the best) in the USVI was also an amazing benefit of having her as our wedding planner. She was always in communication with vendors on our behalf to secure dates, planned & communicated with vendors wedding changes and updates, and also ensured my husband & I were introduced and connected to vendors prior to our wedding weekend. There are only so many vendors on St. John that are able to accommodate larger destination weddings, and Michelle was able to ensure we had the best booked for our wedding.
Paradise Planning & Michelle’s talent as a wedding planner truly shone on our wedding weekend. My husband and I felt extremely informed and calm leading up to wedding weekend, all thanks to Michelle’s amazing communication and how organized and prepared she was for all of our events. Most importantly, me and my husband did not have to worry about a single thing on our wedding day, besides enjoying all of the love and moments with friends and family. Michelle facilitated the wedding day from start to finish, and everything went flawlessly thanks to her hard work. She expertly handled all vendors, ensured set-up was executed exactly to our vision, managed all transportation needs, kept the entire day moving timely, and truly took care of everything which allowed my husband and I to just enjoy our newlywed bliss.
It is hard to put into words how valuable Paradise Planning was to our wedding weekend, but it truly was the best weekend of our lives. For any bride or groom looking for the best St. John/St. Thomas/USVI wedding planner, I sincerely recommend Paradise Planning. Working with Michelle was such a wonderful experience, and our wedding weekend is truly a testament to how much she cares about her clients and the effort she puts forth to ensure everything is as perfect as can be.”–Madeline, married 3/12/22
“If you’re planning a wedding on St. John, don’t even think about doing it without Michelle’s help! Consider this your sign from the universe to go ahead and hire Paradise Planning. You’ll be thankful you did.
My husband and I had an intimate wedding on St. John in January of 2022. The entire day, evening, and week leading up to the event went flawlessly thanks to Michelle and her team. It was the greatest gift to be able to sit back and just enjoy our special day together without having to worry about a thing.
As someone who’s lived and worked in the Virgin Islands seasonally for the past 2 years, I considered planning it myself and I am SO happy I hired Michelle instead. She was with us every step of the way for many months leading up to the wedding. She’s on top of communication, extremely well organized, understanding, professional and dependable. She delivered a perfect wedding experience in every aspect and went above and beyond in many ways. She even helped my in-laws plan our rehearsal dinner at a local restaurant, which was key in planning from afar. Her team of vendors were fabulous, from the caterer and the florist, to the shuttle drivers and decor providers.
10/10 recommend Paradise Planning for your St. John wedding. Michelle, thank you again for making our day better than we dreamt it could be. We’ll cherish the memories forever.”–Brittany, married 1/7/22
“Michelle and Paradise Planning were amazing. We could not imagine planning a wedding in St John without Michelle and her team. Planning the wedding was stress free, and we were able to have the wedding we had always dreamed of, even during Covid. Michelle executed our vision flawlessly, and throughout the weekend had everything perfectly planned out, allowing us to enjoy our wedding weekend without worrying about any small details.”–Andrew, married 6/12/21
“Michelle from Paradise Planning was an amazing wedding planner who helped make the wedding of our dreams come to life! She was extremely organized and responsive and knew every available vendor on the island of St. John. I could not have imagined putting together our special day without the help of Michelle!”–Lizzie, married 6/11/21
“Michelle and her team not only helped me plan our wedding once, but twice due to COVID. Michelle was responsive and kept us up to date on all COVID restrictions as rules were ever changing. Although some of the details changed from the first time around, Michelle created our dream wedding! Her and her team really shined on the day of. I was able to spend quality time with my mom and MOH without a stress in the world. Everything was absolutely perfect! Thank you Michelle!!”–Ali, married 5/2/21
“Planning a wedding outside of your local area, let alone on an island comes with its own challenges. We planned our wedding at a villa in St. John and Michelle came highly recommended as our on-island guide. She was absolutely tremendous from the moment we first spoke, all the way to the day after our wedding. She helped us pick the best vendors for our wedding and then was there to make sure all the individual elements came together flawlessly the day of our wedding. Not only that, she is a total gem of a person to work with.”–Matt, married 4/13/21
“Hands Down BEST Wedding Planner EVER! To be quite honest I am not even sure where to start or that words could ever explain just how much we appreciate and love Michelle & her team. Not only is planning a destination wedding hard, but throw a pandemic rocking your world two months before your wedding day, and WOW it gets a million times harder. Deciding to postpone our wedding day was a hard choice, but Michelle’s positivity and uplifting spirit made it so much easier. As the days and months passed our original wedding date and neared the time for our new date, things were VERY uncertain on if our new date would happen. Michelle not only flawlessly planned the original wedding date, but then the 2nd….. and 3rd… and 4th…. options we had to change our reception to within DAYS leading up to our wedding day & even replanning our Welcome Drinks Party the night before. As a bride, you would have thought I would have lost my mind, but because we had Michelle on our side we knew everything would work out perfectly no matter how to the day happened. Michelle was always ahead of the game with guidelines changing and had several ideas to throw at us. We are so beyond thankful to have hired Michelle and to know her. She is a breath of fresh air, always. She is truly a rockstar in this business and not only someone who was our wedding planner, but has turned into a life long friend. If you are considering having a wedding in the Virgin Islands, do NOT hesitate in putting your trust in Michelle & the Paradise planning team…. they will exceed your expectations a million times over.”–Summer, married 1/12/21
“I loved working with Michelle so much! There are not enough good things to say! Michelle and the rest of Paradise Planning made planning our wedding as easy and stress free as possible. She was so responsive, helpful, and prepared. The wedding was even better than I dreamed of- thank you so much!”–Anna, married 11/22/20
“As an easy-going couple with very little wedding planning experience, let alone on St. John, we knew we would need some help securing vendors and fine-tuning details. From reviews alone, we knew Michelle would be a perfect fit, and talking with her for the first time only confirmed our initial thoughts. Over the next few calls, we outlined the ceremony and event details and things moved along…it would be a textbook small wedding – something Michelle could most likely pull together in her sleep. And then 2020 happened. Our small island wedding was now a small island wedding in the midst of a pandemic. Should we cancel, postpone, move forward? Flights were canceled, venues were shut down, our officiant found himself unable to attend. Masks were a given as would be temperature checks and social distancing requirements would need to be established and followed. Throughout all the uncertainty, Michelle was always there to remind us of what was truly important – we were getting married – it could be this year or it could be next, but it would happen and it would be special.
Long story short, we were able to hold our small ceremony on island August 1, 2020. When it was time to finally walk down the aisle, I remember looking (almost in shock) at Michelle and stating, “This is really happening?!” And it did happen, and it was nothing short of perfect. It was the day I envisioned pre-2020 and the day I honestly believed might never happen. We have so much gratitude for Michelle and her team. Thank you! Drinks on us next time we are on island!”–Leeanne, married 8/1/20
“Michelle and her team are top-notch. Michelle and her team helped coordinate three events for us, a Welcome Party, the Wedding and a casual beach BBQ. She was super supportive with all our requests and dug deeper when we asked outlandish questions. The day-of coordination was stellar. We had some major rain literally 10 minutes before shuttles were to arrive at guests houses and she coordinated with all parties to ensure all guests arrived on time and were in the shuttles. Not to mention, Michelle had twins during our planning process and still assisted us in every way. Look no further – Paradise Planning is the way to go!”–Emily, married 2/15/20
“Michelle and her team gave us our dream destination wedding! She coordinated our first look on Hawksnest Beach and ceremony & reception at Sirenusa (now The Hills). Throughout the entire planning process, Michelle was professional, organized, and extremely responsive. She knows everyone on St. John, which made planning a wedding remotely a LOT easier. When the forecast showed rain, Michelle was able to get us a tent a couple of days before the wedding (luckily, no rain!). Our wedding day was PERFECT and my vision of our “tropical glam” décor came to life. We cannot thank Michelle and her wonderful team enough!!”–Ariel, married 6/1/19
“We went through the process of finding the perfect wedding location I knew I wanted to get married in St. John. I talked with a few planners and wasn’t feeling the vibe at all. I happened to stumble upon Michelle and knew it was a great fit! She gave our guest perfect locations for their stay and always responded in a timely manner. Everyone was so pleased!
But like every wedding, we had a few bumps in the road. Our original reception plan completely changed. Michelle was already on the ball sending out emails for other options to have our reception. And as always it was more perfect than anyone could have thought! Michelle was cool calm and collected throughout the process which I of course was freaking out. She assured me my day would still be perfect and it was! Her team the day of made sure we were well taken care of the entire night.
We cannot express how amazing Michelle and her team was I cannot recommend her enough. So many of my guests said it was the best wedding they have been too and it is all because of Michelle and her team for making it all happen!! We couldn’t have done it without her!”–Christine, married 5/4/19
“We are from Louisiana and have been traveling to St. John for many years. We knew we needed someone who lived on island to help us plan our daughters dream wedding. After meeting Michelle in St. John one year before the wedding date, my daughter and I knew she would be the perfect wedding coordinator to make her dream wedding a reality.
Throughout the year of planning, Michelle, my daughter and I worked together to create a truly memorable wedding. Michelle was always available via email and phone calls to answer every question and concern. She was always professional and responsive. In fact she always seemed to answer our questions before we even asked. She kept us focused and on task all year long!
We had 107 attendees and hosted three events during the wedding weekend. The weekend included very detailed decor, florals, food, drink, and amazing entertainment. Michelle coordinated each and every event flawlessly! Her attention to detail was exceptional.
Every detail of our wedding weekend in St John far exceeded our expectations thanks to Michelle, her team and her recommend vendors.We can’t thank Michelle enough! She made our daughter and son-in-laws wedding dreams come true and with such professionalism and thoughtfulness. She surpassed our expectations and created a celebration for us that we and our family and friends will never forget.
Thank you, Michelle, from the bottom of our hearts!”–Cydne, Mother of Bride Camille, married on 4/27/19
“Michelle was a pleasure to work with throughout the entire planning process. While we are very familiar with St. John, she suggested venues and ideas that we never would have thought of. Without having a hotel as an option, Michelle was somehow able to find all 82 of our guests somewhere to stay, and they all raved about their accommodations.
Four weeks before our wedding day, we unexpectedly had to change reception venues – which led us to changing our ceremony location as well. Michelle remained calm and had other options ready before breaking the news that the venues needed to change. She was able to arrange transportation, catering, lighting, and everything else we needed to make our day perfect. Our ‘backup plan’ ended up being even more magical than our original plan, and I can’t imagine our wedding day having gone any other way. Veronica and Jovanna were amazing day-of, making sure our drinks were always full and stalking dark clouds that could have been rain. Michelle’s husband even stepped in at a moment’s notice to assist with an electrical issue!
We cannot recommend Michelle and her team enough. I’ve always heard that your wedding day should be the best day of your life, and ours truly was thanks to Paradise Planning!”–Lindsey, married 1/19/19
“Michelle is the absolute BEST! She’s so easy to work with and took the time to get to know us as a couple from the start.
We live in New York City and planning a destination wedding from afar seemed like a daunting task, but Michelle made it easy and seamless every step of the way. She made our dream wedding on St. John a reality just 8 months after the island & community suffered catastrophically from consecutive category 5 Hurricanes Irma and Hurricane Maria. The hurricanes certainly threw a curve ball in the entire planning process. However, we were committed to having our wedding on St. John and supporting an island that we fell in love with on our 1st trip. Michelle was great at keeping our expectations realistic and exploring all options with us…even in the midst of her community’s disaster relief and preparing for her own wedding Stateside.
We were originally supposed to get married at Caneel Bay and were disappointed at first when we found out they wouldn’t re-open anytime soon. However, we ended up doing our ceremony at Gallows Point and reception at Sirenusa and it was absolutely perfect!! We highly recommend both of those venues for a larger group (we had a total of 63 guests).
Michelle has a large network of vendors on St. John that she works with regularly and great working relationships with all of them, which was evident by how smoothly everything went on the day of the wedding and during the entire planning process. Our wedding day was truly a dream come true, and we have Michelle and her team to thank!” –Monique, married 5/4/18
“Michelle helped us pull off the wedding of our dreams. When we first started planning, I hopped on the phone with a few different planners, and when I had my first phone call with Michelle, we immediately connected. She asked me all about how my husband and I met, what we envisioned for our wedding, and really just made me feel super comfortable right off the bat. After planning our wedding for over a year, back to back hurricanes hit the islands as most people know.
Despite dealing with the devastation of the island and her own losses AND getting married herself, Michelle was back in action helping us replan everything as soon as she had answers. The result was just pure magic.
Michelle has such great connections and knowledge of the island, and we loved all of the vendors that we worked with as a result. We really could not have done it without her.” –Meagan, married 4/27/18
“Michelle was the absolute best planner! We had never been to St John prior to our wedding, so we put a lot of trust in Michelle and her suggestions. That being said, SHE KNOCKED IT OUT OF THE PARK WITH OUR WEDDING. Everything was absolutely perfect for our big day. If you are thinking of getting married in St John, I highly suggest using Michelle.”–Cait, married 4/21/18
“This past July 2017, my husband and I traveled from Philadelphia to St. John for our wedding with our 4 children and parents at Casa La Famiglia. Needless to say it is quite scary traveling that far for your wedding when you know you will not see your setting, taste test your food, meet your officiant, or personally see your flowers and cake before the wedding day. But I have to say, I truly believe Michele did a better job planning and preparing our day than I could have! haha! She is BEYOND AMAZING!!!! Every step of the way Michele was there for my every question, concern, and thought. She treated us like we were family, and made us feel like our wedding was the most important she ever was part of. In addition to the average worries, I have a ton of food allergies, including gluten. This was a major concern with getting married out of the country. She did not just find us a chef that was able to make a few items I could eat, she hired a chef that cooked us an ENTIRE gluten free meal that everyone loved, so I would not miss a thing. She also hired a gluten free baker to make the cake. Which I have to say was the best cake I have ever had! YUM! From the officiant, to the flowers, to helping with small touches like our music, Michele made our wedding everything we ever dreamed of and so much more! Everything was just beautiful! Not going to lie when I say we legitimately were sad to see her leave after the service, because I felt like we had not only worked together but become friends. She eased all of my worries and made me laugh throughout the entire process, even helping us if we had questions about St. John that did not pertain to the wedding. Her personality is one you will just adore, I know even in the short time we were there, our parents and kids loved her as well! Paradise Planning was truly the best decision we could have ever made, and I highly recommend Michele if you are planning your wedding.”–Stephanie, married 7/3/17
“It’s hard planning a wedding. It’s even harder when it’s overseas. But from the moment I spoke to Michelle, I knew we were in good hands. Michelle is extremely professional, flexible, organized, and is so willing to help create your vision of your wedding. If we ever encountered snags due to decor availability or budget concerns, she always came up with an alternative that would still fit our vision. She was always accommodating and listened to every concern we had (we had many!). And what’s even more fantastic is that she is simply a lovely person – great energy, easy to work with, considerate, and funny! We had a 36 person wedding with people coming in from all over the world. Michelle was so helpful in communicating with and helping them all find their way to St. John. Our celebration started with a day sail on the Kekoa, a welcome pig roast dinner at Oppenheimer, a ceremony at Trunk Bay, and a reception at Asolare. It was a magical 2 days and Michelle has my eternal thanks. She made us feel so special. As you search for wedding planners, do yourself a favor and call Michelle. Like me, after that first conversation with her, you probably won’t want to call anyone else.”-Sejal
“Thank you does not do justice to how much my husband and I appreciate all of the hard work that Paradise Planning did for us to make our wedding day more than we could have ever imagined! Michelle is not only professional but down to earth and makes it easy to be comfortable with her and know you are in excellent hands. As a event planner myself, I knew how much work goes into planning a wedding and being from Boston, I knew I needed help. One call with Michelle and I knew she was the perfect fit! With an amazing knowledge of the local vendors and venues every recommendation she made turned out better than I could have ever imagined. The amazing way she makes you feel like her only bride is a true testament to her skills and level of expertise. Anyone from the northeast thinking about getting married in St. John should pickup the phone immediately and call Michelle who will truly make all your wedding dreams come true!”-Danielle
“Michelle was so easy to work with and extremely reassuring in helping us plan from afar. We told her our vision and requested a few details, and she really made it happen. It’s not often that nothing goes wrong, however big or small, at an event, but truly the day went so perfectly! We loved her vendor recommendations and all of our guests had a fabulous time too! We wholeheartedly recommend Michelle for any event planning in the VI! Thank you Michelle for our perfect day!!”-Megan
“When I was researching all the reviews, I was looking for the specific “something” that told me this was the right choice. I want to tell you that “something.” Michelle and all of her vendors are the right choice! Michelle has an amazing network of vendors that you should trust unconditionally. Even if you think Michelle does not understand, she does! She does this each week for many very satisfied couples. I was the bride who researched every vendor. If you choose Michelle, there is no need to waste your time. Her vendors were amazing. The food, the band, our cake, our flowers, our photographer, all of it was absolutely more perfect than we dreamed. If you are a future bride or groom contemplating hosting your wedding on St. John, you would be remiss if you do not choose Michelle. I was extremely nervous about planning such a momentous occasion so far away. From our very first communication with Michelle, she helped ease the stress. I sent a million (and I do mean million) emails to Michelle regarding every detail of our day. Michelle responded to each detail (no matter how small) promptly and enthusiastically. Thank you so much Michelle for the best week of my life!” –Nicole
“I hired Michelle to be my day of/month out wedding planner for my Dec 11, 2013 wedding in St. John. From the get go, Michelle was friendly, prompt and super helpful! I thoroughly enjoyed working with her and all my friends and family thought she was very nice and helpful. Anytime I had a question or concern, Michelle was there to answer my questions and she was always patient and attentive. I don’t think my vacation in St. John and/or my wedding would be have so wonderful if it hadn’t been for Michelle’s wonderful service! Thanks Michelle!!”–Natalie
“Michelle was the perfect person to have in St John for our wedding. She helped us to source things we didn’t know how or where to find, connected us with amazing people, and was extremely organized and helpful the day of the event which made our day go so smooth and perfect!”–Jasmine
“We had our wedding in St. John, USVI, and Michelle was absolutely wonderful. From initial contact all the way through the wedding day, Michelle was professional, knowledgeable and went above and beyond for our special day. Michelle was very familiar with all the local vendors on St. John. Additionally, Michelle worked seamlessly with with our photographer (who she met for the first time) that we hired to come to St. John for our wedding. We could not have imagined what we would have done without Michelle–she took away the organizational and logistical stress for the wedding so that we could be stress-free. This allowed us to relax and enjoy the moment. Any questions that we did have, she either already had the answer (from thinking ahead) or worked to get us an answer in a quick timeframe. For example, our photographer almost didn’t make it due to weather, and Michelle reached out to local vendors and had us a back-up just in case he didn’t make it. We’d highly recommend Michelle and her services to anyone looking to have a destination wedding on St. John, USVI.” –Leona and Kelly
“I can’t even begin to thank Paradise Planning by Michelle! Michelle was seriously the most important person during the whole wedding planning process (besides us- the bride and groom- of course!). She kept us on track and always made us feel at ease during the very stressful and tedious ride! For never having been to St. John nor meeting Michelle prior to the wedding, we did ALL of our correspondences through email or by phonecall and it worked out GREAT! I, for one, was never the bridezilla type where I had to have everything the exact way that I wanted… Lord knows how many obstacles we ran into along the way but Michelle was always there to help us come up with other options or smooth out any challenges that we had. She has a knack for coming up with a certain style that you have in mind and makes sure that your special day goes as planned. She was also very helpful with helping our guests find their accommodations on the island. She is EXACTLY who you are looking for to plan your wedding! She was such a pleasure to work with and our families embraced her as one of our own and appreciated all the work she put into our day. Definitely one of the friendliest and most down to earth people I know!” –Charlene
“Paradise Planning by Michelle was absolutely the best decision I ever made. Michelle was always available to chat and answer emails even when her Auto Response “I am out of the office until…” came back. I would most definitely recommend Michelle to everyone and anyone heading to St. John for a wedding or other event. She was with us every step of the way and is so well connected and her knowledge and expertise came through 100%.” –Lauren
“Michelle was a dream to work with! Our wedding and reception would not have been so perfectly executed if it weren’t for her attention to detail and experience. I have known too many people that regret not hiring a coordinator and I can vouch for that as without Michelle I would have been a stressed out bride day of. Also the knowledge and experience with the island only adds to her value. Paradise Planning helped us take our wedding ideas and dreams to a reality. We had a perfect day from start to finish and I’ve also gained an amazing friend in the process!”–Sarah and Jason
The following reviews are of Michelle Fage’s work when she was an independent contractor before starting Paradise Planning.
“Michelle Fage was unbelievably kind but also professional and committed to making my dream wedding a reality. She didn’t try to sell me a “wedding package” but brought out the vision of my wedding I never knew I had. Professionally she is reliable, organized, and beyond proficient in everything she does. Personally she is compassionate, thoughtful and the voice of reason when my inner bride took over. Weddings are stressful but with Michelle you feel like everything is being taken care of. Overall the planning was stress-less, the décor breathtaking, the ceremony heartfelt, the reception flawless and the best day of my life. I give all the credit to Michelle Fage.”-Nicolette
“Michelle generously stepped into our wedding planning process late in the game, which proved to be one of the best decisions we made. We took a chance and switched over to work with Michelle Fage primarily because of her customer service focus, her can-do attitude, and her high level of professionalism. Just speaking with Michelle over the phone gave us the sense of reassurance and confidence that we needed to believe that this destination wedding was going to be a success.” -Karen (sister of bride, Kimberly)
“What sets Michelle apart from other planners is not merely limited to her professional capacities but her incorporation of sincerity and personal investment in the happiness of her clients. My wife was highly concerned about the complexities of planning a destination wedding in the Virgin Islands and would frequently contact Michelle in a discouraged state. However, both Michelle’s confidence and comfort put her at ease. On the day of the wedding, Victoria was not at all worried that the day would not go well as Michelle stuck by her side at each moment. Michelle even started the day on a relaxing note by bringing refreshments to the bridal party while they were in the salon. Later, after maintaining a strict and somewhat chaotic timeline through our ceremony and reception, Michelle even responded at a moments notice to any issues I had pertaining to our caterer, DJ, etc. until the end of the night. There was never a time at which either my wife or I felt that we were not her absolute priority. We have nothing but positive memories of our experience of that day and I cannot help but feel as though Michelle was a major reason for that.” -Matt
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