About a month ago I received a phone call from Cindy, the excited and concerned mother of the bride - her daughter's wedding was approaching fast and she needed an experienced Turks and Caicos photographer to capture every precious moment. In no time, Diane, from Island Harmony, helped her finalising all the details and plan a gorgeous event at Villa Shambala / Grace Bay Club.
Kristen and Matt are genuine nice people - easy going and in love with life, they have two amazing reasons to celebrate: marriage and a baby. Congratulations!
Beaches is the most popular all-inclusive resort in the Turks and Caicos Islands: besides being a kids' paradise, it hosts hundreds of beautiful weddings every year. In house photographers are present to capture every special event however, once in a while, I have the opportunity to be stay at the resort and photograph a lucky couple. Tessa and Jordan are young, gorgeous, modern and sexy - a traditional wedding photographer just wouldn't do it... so they called me and we had a blast creating a collection of edgy and incredibly sexy images.
From Valerie's diary:
The Proposal, March 20th, Central Park
4:45am: My alarm goes off, I snooze for 10 minutes but then it’s time to get up for my morning run.
5:15am:Â Chris, Bucks, and I are dressed and out the door headed to Central Park.
5:45am: Mile 3, Chris says he’s got “something in his shoe†and we need to stop. As I wipe my nose and reach down for the leash I hear him say, “Valerie, Will you Marry me?â€
5:47am: I put on the ring (it fits perfectly), and am dazzled by the sparkles! We hug and kiss and finish our run of course. I think I floated/danced the whole way home as Chris told me all the details that lead him up to this point.
6:00am – Now: I can’t stop staring at my finger, and I don’t think either of us has stopped smiling. It’s been so wonderful to tell everyone that WE’RE GETTING MARRIED!!!!
Every wedding has something special: a beautiful venue, colourful flowers, shining rings, funny friends, a promise of eternal love... Connie and Kevin's had all of that with a big plus: the amazing and bubbly bride's personality. She looks like Elizabeth Taylor with blond hair, but Audrey Hepburn's words could be hers: “I believe in pink. I believe that laughing is the best calorie burner. I believe in kissing, kissing a lot. I believe in being strong when everything seems to be going wrong. I believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls. I believe that tomorrow is another day and I believe in miracles.â€
I love stories, this one is from the groom's diary (wrote it for my blog): "I was involved in planning an upcoming art show with a friend of mine and, as we were sorting out the details we realised, we needed more people to fill the space. Unbeknownst to me, my friend had asked Anne to be one of the Artists and, as I was finishing one of the pieces, I was going to show my easel broke. So, I headed down to the Art Store where Anne was the manager and asked her to show me some of the easels that they had (now bear in mind I had always had a keen eye out for the pretty blond that worked down there). After she showed me the selection and as I was looking over each easel trying to decide which one I was going to buy, I overheard Anne speaking to one of her Employees about being involved in an upcoming Art Show and sure enough it was the same show I was preparing for. Well, one thing led to another and here we are 3 years later and happily married". - Peyton.
An excited bride called me today to reserve my photography services for her May 2015's wedding (that's what I call it early planning!).
Last week a cute eloping couple, contacted me to via Diane, Island Harmony, to photograph their special day the following day.
Someone needs something old, new, blue and plenty of the little details; someone else simply jump on a plane and get married. And that's why I LOVE being a people photographer - 7 billions of human beings and each one is different.
Choosing the perfect wedding venue it's not easy, there are so many things to take in consideration...
Natisha boarded a plane from San Francisco and David one from London to meet in Provo and together explore the island to plan their big day. I loved chatting with them, listen to their story, sharing a few island tips & secrets and, of course, taking their pictures. When they proposed Blue Hills for their photo shoot, I jumped at it: the low-key, relaxed and natural feel of the location is a real representation of the Caribbean life-style.
Tessa: "This is what I like... no, it doesn't look like your usual style at all... can you shoot my wedding?"
Ileana: "Of course!"
I admit it, I didn't sleep much the two nights before the big day, but I couldn't turn down such an exciting a challenge. The big question was: how could I reinvent myself overnight?
Tessa and Michael made it easy: the hand crafted decorations, the stunning location, the natural and joyful interaction with the guests and, above all, their perfect love. Â
As a wedding photographer, I've seen it all (well, a good chunk of it) - following you will find my top ten tips for planning your destination wedding in the Turks and Caicos.
It was hard to pick only 10 pieces of advice. I invite all of you to add a comment and share your experience - spread the love!
Yesterday I forgot to wish a happy Valentine's day to all the "amoureux" out there... but I have the best post to make up for it, a real expression of love: Valery and Kevin's fabulous wedding. The couple pronounced their vows on the pristine beach of Ocean Club, surrounded by the closest family & friends and a crowd of admirers that could not take their eyes off the stunning bride and the handsome groom. I'm serious, the resort staff, the guests and every person walking on Grace Bay beach, stop by to admire, congratulate and take a picture of the newly weds.
A special thank you to: Diane, Island Harmony, for the impeccable planning; Environmental Arts for the beautiful bouquet; Anne, Beauty and the Beach, for the bride's makeup and Jeraldine, Maxime le Salon, for the hair style.
