Congrats Anthony & Molly!

This couple was so much fun! They don't have their pro pictures back yet but Molly sent me some photos given to her by her friends and family...and what a good job they did!

Just as the group arrives at Sapphire Beach Resort for their ceremony on Pretty Klip Point, their hotel called me and said that the transportation had left the mother-of-the-groom behind. Ut oh...I knew the bride was about to be picked up so I called her driver who stated he wasn't sure how it was possible that they left the mother behind, as the groom was the one that did the headcount and said everyone was all there. We got transport for his mom and she was soon on her way but first, I went up to the groom and very casually said....so, um...is your mom here? And he's like of course, and starts looking around to see where she is...I say, um, no you left her at the hotel! His groomsmen got a good laugh!

Mom made it in plenty of time to witness a very beautiful ceremony...

Excited to walk down the aisle!

I think the look on her face says, "hey look, there's your mom!"

We did it!

Congrats Molly & Anthony - you two were a pleasure to work with! Please let me know if you ever surprised your guests with that flying shark!

A late thank you is always the best!

Matt & Katie were married last year but I just got this note from her:

Matt and I had the most FABULOUS wedding and we couldn't have been any happier with the way everything turned out. The transformation of the Sand dollar from beach house to wedding/reception site was great. We were worried that staying in the house for a week before our wedding was going to make it not feel like a wedding come our big day, but there was no reason to worry. The ceremony and dinner table turned out great and the flowers were just absolutely beautiful. We really wanted to keep things simple because the beauty of Magen's Bay was the true decor. We really could not have pulled our day off without all your help and advice. I'm sure it must get difficult organizing multiple weddings at once, but you always made me feel that you were giving your undivided attention to our wedding details in all the emails leading up.

Matt admitted after the fact, that he was so nervous to see how the day was going to turn out without having met you, Stu, or any of the vendors prior. Everything really went off without a hitch and we'd like you all to know how grateful we are. Getting married was such an important part of our lives and such an intimate affair and the wedding day really brought all our family and friends together. Please tell Stu that we loved our ceremony! Although it was the hottest 20 minutes of our entire vacation, we really felt that Stew captured the essence of who Matt and I are as people. It was so touching that I was fighting back the tears! So kuddos to Stu!

We just wanted to send a very late THANK YOU to Island Bliss Weddings for delivering our idea of the perfect wedding day!! All our family and friends still talk about how amazing our wedding was and tell everyone they know that destination weddings is where its at!  I've attached a few photos so you can see how our day turned out.

Thank you so much Katie! I love getting emails - even if almost 10 months later...that means you still think we're great! And thank you to Quiana Adams of Q Studio for these images - they are so lovely!

Congrats Tasha & Walter!

Another gorgeous Lindquist Beach wedding shot by the talented Kelly O!

Congrats Chantal & Brian!

Chantal & Brian enjoyed their destination wedding May 1st on Lindquist Beach, St. Thomas! The photos below were taken by Brian's best man.

 

It was a beautiful sunset wedding! Although Lindquist Beach faces east (therefore away from the sunset), it's still one of my favorite sunset beaches. The soft lighting is perfect for photos. I'll be sure to share the professional pictures as soon as I have them!

St. John USVI Weddings: A must for you and your guests!

Are you planning a destination wedding on St. John? Then this is a MUST for your trip! If it's just the two of you eloping, definitely make plans to stop by Mongoose Junction in Cruz Bay to check out The Tap Room. If you're bringing friends and family down to celebration with you? Consider The Tap Room as a fun spot for a welcome party or event.

The Tap Room is an adorable little tree house type pub that offers locally brewed island beers, including a delicious Tropical Mango - but to be honest, the Liquid Sunshine Ale is my choice (how can you beat the name?!). They have great food for a welcome party or day after get together and fun little souvenirs that you can give to guests or add to their welcome bags (I picked pink for myself!). Their online store has some really great finds...does your groom have a his own man cave with a tap? An awesome wedding gift would be their custom beer taps!

Definitely check out their website and to learn more about their awesome story, check this out (believe me, it's worth watching if you've ever dreamt about moving to the islands!).



If you're interested in having an event at The Tap Room, let me know and I'll be happy to set it up for you!

Congrats Kim & Tyler!

Kim and Tyler were married on May 8th on St. Thomas. They stayed at the Sugar Bay Resort and had their ceremony on Lindquist Beach. Kim hired Simple Island Photos for her photography and had an hour of photos at the hotel before going to the courthouse and then on to the ceremony, where the photographer met them for the 2nd hour.

The CD you receive from Simple Island Photos allows you to make your own edits (it includes light editing) so that you can manipulate the photos as you like. Kim did just that! I love what she did to them!

I could just see this one blown up on a panoramic canvas print!

Photo taken at Sugar Bay Resort.

and at Lindquist Beach:

 I love the look of this photo!

Congrats you two! You looked gorgeous!!

Taming the Beasts

I stole that title from an article on WeddingBee - if you have children, you know it's appropriate! I've been meaning to blog this for awhile, I took this picture of one of my April brides name cards:

This adorable little giraffe was attached to the baby's name card! Any new mother would appreciate such a thoughtful touch. Keeping kids happy is hard. Especially when they are not the center of attention - they will pick up on that. To have a shiny new toy to entertain them with is key and when you're at a destination wedding, the shiny new toys you purchased to keep them happy on the plane may have lost their appeal by the time the ceremony & reception rolls around. For a bride to think of the little ones that have traveled so far for the wedding and have a little gift for them is not only the nicest thing to do, but very smart! Keep the kids happy and you'll minimize any disruptions or meltdowns.

Our wedding last weekend gave the children a sticker sheet - one with a bride and one with a groom - and sticker outfits to decorate them with. When I was in Indiana, I found this little sticker kit for $1 at JoAnne Fabric. The cake turns into a 3D piece of cake and it comes with yummy smelling stickers that look like icing that you can decorate the cake with. I wouldn't be surprised if they made a wedding cake version of this - this would be a great craft to keep even older kids entertained.

Or put the kids to work and place ribbon wands at their tables. It'll add a little extra decor and ribbons flying in the air will be very pretty & safe (it won't knock over any drinks or wait staff!).

There are a ton of products out there to help keep kids busy at weddings. Purchase one of these or make your own. My best advice is to keep away from adding too many sugary treats. This is one thing most parents will not appreciate! Last thing they want to deal with at a wedding reception is a child with a belly ache!

There are a ton of articles online to give you ideas. Check them out here, and here and here or do a Google Search on "keeping kids happy at a wedding".

Happy New Year!!

It's no lie, I like a theme. They are so not necessary but oh so fun. Took some time today and looked up "New Year's Wedding" on Pinterest...some of my favorites:

Emerging from my holiday cocoon...

The last few days have been so quiet and low key. We had a wedding yesterday, very simple, just the two of them...but how hard it was to leave the house! I've felt like living in my pajamas 24/7. It was a busy (BUSY) November and December and the last week of December has been such a nice little break.

I meant to post these pictures on Christmas Day but never found the time (oh ok...more so the motivation!) to get online and write up the post. Just like my Halloween post, it has nothing to do with destination weddings, but I love themes and it's a nice break away from the sand & sea. I had fun on Etsy looking for "Christmas" or "Holiday" weddings. But with the blizzard hitting some parts of the US, I figured a snowflake theme was more appropriate. Some of my favorite finds:

A snowflake bouquet:

The popular "Here Comes the Bride" sign with snowflakes:

Snowflake necklaces for your bridal party:

Some decor for the reception that can later be used around your home for the holidays:

And of course, a necessity for any tree:

Happy Holidays!

Maho Bay Wedding

I love this photo I snapped of the bride & groom exiting the aisle after their wedding on Maho Bay. The bride has a big grin on her face and the officiate has turned around looking at a boat that just blew a conch shell as soon as the bride & groom were pronounced husband and wife!

I really had to share more photos of her bouquet though. This is honestly one of my favorite bouquets of the year.

Just love everything about it. Soft, romantic... We also had a sand ceremony. As you know from my previous posts, St. John is becoming more and more strict on what we can and can't do on the beaches in terms of weddings. They don't really want us to set up tables on the beach for sand ceremonies or cakes and glass is a definite NO NO. With a little creativity, we can still make the sand ceremony a beautiful moment. Here we use shells instead of glass and we had the parents hold the shell for the bride & groom to pour sand in to - they act as the "foundation" of their lives together.

The bride loved the shells so much, she purchased them from us to take them home and put on her fireplace mantel!