Two of these reasons are named Jessalyn & Rob.
Jess & Rob hired me well over a year ago to photograph their local wedding. Yes, local. But due to a single invitation for their friend's destination wedding and the resulting week, Jessalyn called me with a huge announcement. They changed their minds. They've canceled everything and were booked to board Princess Cruise Lines newest gem, the Ruby Princess, on Valentine's day 2009. Would I happen to be available to come along?
Yes. Oh, yes.
Imagine for a moment, you don't have to make up your mind. You can take a vacation that whisks you to not one but four sunny destinations. You can dine on gourmet food every night, afternoon, morning, and every hour in between. You can be married on a white sand beach in Jamaica with crystal clear turquoise water as your backdrop, wander the colourful shops and sample the best Sangria in the Caribbean in Mexico, snorkel and bask in the sun with your friends and family in the Bahamas, play with the sting rays in Grand Cayman and still have time to spend endless hours in the hot tub, watching movies under the stars, dancing and laughing and eating (oh, let's not forget the eating), aboard one of the most beautiful cruise ships on the water. I know I sound like an advertisement. But honestly? This week could not have been more perfect. And the 40+ travelers that accompanied these two on their week adventure will wholeheartedly agree. We are all waiting for the day we have an excuse to do it again...
There is a difference between getting married at home and getting married at a fair-weather destination. The cost is much lower to pack your bags and head off into the sunset than it is to host a local wedding. There is far less stress to contend with, expert wedding planners and stunning amenities take care of pretty much everything for you. It solves the problem of flying people in for a weekend and not getting a chance to spend time with them... in fact it solves the problem of being too busy to see your guests entirely. Not only do you have a full wedding day to play with your guests in the surf and sun but you have an entire wedding WEEK. I cannot explain how it creates incredible bonds between people, the lasting friendships that are created and rekindled. Spending stress-free time with family is rare these days and having these stress-free days be your wedding days??? - all the better.
I remember as the wedding night was coming to a close and the coon-skin cap had been finally taken off (inside joke, sorry guys) that Jessalyn, overcome with emotion from the joy of the day, was thanking everyone for coming like there was no tomorrow. I don't think she realized at the time that although the thank-you's were very kind and well-deserving, that she really was was going to see everyone the next day. And in fact, it seemed that the next 5 days of the trip were truly an unexpected gift. When normally everyone would be packing themselves into the cars to go home, we gathered in more laughter, adventure and mohitos.
I really wish to thank everyone in the group for making this experience the final clincher for my dream to move to the Caribbean and shoot destination weddings full time. It may not happen for a few years but I will always have these photos to inspire and remind me to just how wonderful life will be under the Caribbean sun.
And Jessalyn, thank you for being so brave to let your perfect wedding dress slip into the ocean. I will always remember your beaming smile as you turned to me and said "can we run?" and seeing you pick up that dress and sprint - splashing surf and laughter into an unforgettable day.
There is absolutely no way in the world I can just pick a few photos to represent this trip... please visit my gallery to view all my favourites from the week! (and in much higher quality)
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