The Belize Collection Reviews

My husband and I wanted a destination wedding and we chose to get married at the Sleeping Giant Rainforest Lodge. From the first time I spoke with Daniela our coordinator, I knew it was going to be the perfect fit. We visited the property and met with her prior to my wedding. I fell in love with the gorgeous property and my nerves were instantly eased after speaking with her and realizing she was going to bring my wedding to life.
Daniela was extremely helpful, going above and beyond to not only help plan my wedding but also helping with group excursions, guest favors, etc. I couldn't have planned this wedding from afar without her.
Our wedding was a dream come true. From the property, to the staff, to the decor, to the music, to the food/drinks, and everything in between, it was perfect. The staff is so gracious and attentive. The decor, done by Confetti, was gorgeous. The music, our guitarist Cesar and DJ Clark, were exceptional. Our guests raved about the food and drinks.
We honeymooned at the Lodge at Jaguar Reef after our wedding and we were met with the same excellent service.
Thank you Daniela and the Belize Collection for your help in making my wedding a dream come true!

Our wedding in Hopkins, Belize at the Jaguar Reef could not have been more perfect. Our wedding coordinator, Edith Ferrier did an amazing job creating a beautiful event for our special day. From the preacher to the flowers- everything we requested exceeded our expectations. The staff at Jaguar Reef were wonderful and made our stay at their resort a trip of a lifetime for our family and friends. We can’t wait to visit again!

My husband and I chose to have our wedding at Sleeping Giant Rainforest Lodge in Belmopan, Belize on June 11, 2019. Our wedding coordinator, Edith Ferrier took care of EVERYTHING from beginning to end. We arrived at the resort the day of our wedding and did a walk through with the staff and coordinator prior to the ceremony. Edith took the ideas that we had from our email and phone conversations over the last 4 months and brought it to life. It was everything I could have wanted and more. Everytime we look at the pictures from that day, it takes us back to this magical place. If you're able to honeymoon here do it as well. The riverview suites have their own soaking pool on the balcony, outdoor daybed, and shower in your own personal garden. The staff is very attentive. It's like everyone there knew who we were and addressed us by name. Hands down the best resort I've ever stayed at.

Edith was incredible. If you want peace of mind, no worrying or stress about all the little details, and assurance that every aspect will be elegant and memorable then choose The Belize Collection. No regrets. No flaws. 100% beautiful.

Never could I have imagined such a beautiful and amazing wedding. Living in the United States and having a wedding in Belize is difficult but Edith made this process seamless. Everything turned out how me and my wife dreamed it. The beautiful sands of Hopkins mixed with the beautiful decor made for a magical event for us and our guests. Thanks again

It is hard to put into words even after 6 weeks how fantastic our wedding, arranged by Edith Ferrier of the Belize Collection, at the Lodge at Jaguar Reef was. My then fiance and I planned to elope as it was the second marriage for each of us. We had very few requirements since we would be coming alone and searched only for a quiet place in the Caribbean where we might find a local church for our ceremony.

We did our homework to find the best place for our destination elopement and picked the Hopkins area for its off the beaten track location, laid back character and local culture. It was TripAdvisor reviews that convinced us to book at the resort in addition to Edith's offer of a wedding package that fit our limited budget and met our simple requests. We asked only for the arrangement of the marriage license and officiant, transportation to and from the church, a bouquet and boutonniere, a wedding cake and bottle of champagne. What we received was much much more.

Over the weeks of making preparations, Edith answered my hundreds of questions, and made me feel like our wedding was the most important on her agenda. She referred photographers, helped us find our protestant church, made travel arrangements for an Anglican Canon to come from Dangriga and assured me my bouquet would be beautiful. Edith went above and beyond when it came to finding a protestant church in the area since initially we could only find a Catholic Church in Hopkins. Once I did my research, Edith contacted the Methodist Church to make the arrangements only to find the Methodist minister was leaving the country the day we arrived and would not be returning in time to perform our ceremony. She found the Canon who was willing to come to Hopkins to marry us. She also calmly handled the many issues during the wedding license application process. She made arrangements for a Belize Collection staff member to meet us at the Belmopan office on the weekend we arrived to collect our first application, then arranged for a second signed application to the registrar's office as well as shuttles to finally take us in person to and from Belmopan, a two hour drive from Hopkins, for the signing of a third application on the day before our wedding. In our case, the government officials refused to accept our signatures not once but twice yet Edith made sure that it happened.

From the moment we stepped onto the resort property, we were welcomed by some of the warmest, friendliest, thoughtful people I have ever met in my travels, who throughout the days leading up to our wedding seemed genuinely interested and excited about our upcoming nuptials. What a surprise to find we were moved to a beachfront cottage complete with chairs on the front porch and a hammock backing up to the lovely pool rather than the second floor room with the ocean view we expected.

And, it is these people that truly made what we thought would be a simple intimate afternoon ceremony, a family affair. Everyone greeted us with smiles and well wishes as I swam on our wedding morning, as I later headed to the Butterfly Spa to prepare and throughout the day. The staff willingly made up our room before I returned to slip on my wedding dress, and Edith met me at the Butterfly Spa to make certain my preparations were running smoothly insisting on having lunch delivered to keep me fed. She also made arrangements for my husband to have a separate room to prepare and wait until the first look. Edith not only buttoned up my dress, but stayed at our side as our photographer took photos around the property even taking hundreds herself on my iPhone so I might have plenty while I waited for the professional photos to be finished. The resort manager also arranged for a platform used earlier for photos to be set on the beach for our photo session and, Larry, a member of the resort staff, even climbed a palm tree to offer us fresh coconut water to sip in our beachfront photos.

Edith and Minor, another member of the Lodge staff, joined us at the Sittee River Methodist Church as our witnesses. And, upon return to the resort, Andre, the resort manager, was there to greet us and offer his best wishes. My husband arranged for our wedding dinner on the beach at dark at the resort's Paddle House Restaurant. Our table was moved out in the sand near the water for privacy. Jamie, a member of the restaurant staff, even took the time to write our names in the sand with petals as we sat back and soaked in a day that can only be described as magical!

I was moved to tears two mornings later when Patrick, the manager, personally came out to say goodbye to us as we left. My eyes flowed with tears of gratitude for making our simple elopement our Belizean dream!

And, as a final note, Edith has continued to follow up with the government as we wait for the marriage certificate to be completed. I am proud to not just refer to her as my witness, but my matron of honor.

My wife, myself and our 12 wedding guests stayed at Almond Beach Resort at Jaguar Reef in Hopkins, BZ. While we did not have our ceremony there, we knew the resort was the most important piece in our planning puzzle because that's where everyone was going to spend most of their time and it 100% sets the tone for the trip. We wanted our guests to have a first class experience while still maintaining an authentic Belizean vibe and that's exactly what we got!

Its also worth noting that during the planning process, the staff were willing to work with us and scale everyone's package appropriately. We also requested a small beach side fire with desserts after dinner and they went out of their way to make it happen (for a very reasonable price). As we were researching, we found that, as soon as you say the "W" word (wedding), charges seem to be on a whole new level with some resorts. But the reps from The Belize Collection didn't have that mentality, and didn't treat us any differently for not having our ceremony on the grounds, which I found was not the case with other resorts.

As for the experience, we really liked that there's enough going on at the resort, between the daily excursions they lead, the bars, pools, kayaks, bikes, etc. that we didn't have to do much to keep our guests entertained for 6 days. At the same time it didn't feel busy around the grounds and was easy to kick back for R&R wherever you want.

Everything is clean and well taken care of, the rooms, the pools, pathways, landscaping, beach, there's always staff out working on something, and it shows. The staff was also wonderful, attentive, a joy to be around and consistently checked in with my wife and I to make sure everyone had what they wanted and needed. Food and drinks were EXCELLENT, too.

The resort is walking distance to a few great restaurants/bars and a golf cart rental place if you want to peruse Hopkins or grab groceries. PS the golf cart rental place also has a donation box for the Hopkins Humane Society :) ).

Overall, our guests were SO happy with everything-as were we, we couldn't have scripted a better experience. If you're looking for a place that is luxurious and high quality with everything they do, while maintaining authenticity and lovely staff, this is your place!

My wedding experience was a good one!