Over the last few months I have been working with an amazing couple who want to incorporate aspects of their life and their philosophy into their celebration. They believe in giving back to community, utilizing earth friendly ideas in their celebration, having a fantastic celebration to include their family and friends and using elements that are representative of that inner circle. I am so excited to be incorporating the following elements into their day:
- Hemp and burlap into their décor
- Wooden stands and tables from local craftsmen
- Estate styled pre owned silverware and china
- Local flowers and décor items
With my deep sense of community and the relationships that I have built with vendors on island, this will definitely be one of my favorite weddings yet. This dynamic and fun couple with a great heart and beautiful spirit will certainly make a difference in the community with their fabulous celebration.
What are you doing to bring your unique style to YOUR celebration?
Images courtesy of : Style me Pretty blog; The Slightly Obsessive Bride blog; Elizabeth Anne Designs; Veranda.com; The B-List.
What’s that…it’s a movie? Not in my world it isn’t lol!
It’s par for the course in my life and I witness it weekly (especially in the summer!) in Jamaica!
I have had a full summer of crazy, stupid love between my fashionista brides and my dashing grooms and I would love to share some shots from one of my faves for the summer.
Set at Moon Dance Cliffs in Negril, the day turned out brilliantly under a cloudless blue sky. The brilliant hues of all shades of purple set off by pewter and glass made this stunning affair worthy of the amazing backdrop of rugged cliffs and untamed sea.
The ceremony was held at the pristine gazebo on the knoll, followed by cocktails on the top lawn and then ended with dinner on the Cliffside at Annie’s Restaurant while the surf pounded the rocks below.
I worked with amazing local vendors as well as an import from Toronto, the fabulous duo of Lisa McPeek and her assistant Thomas from Ikonica!
Here are a few absolutely non worthy pre shots of the decor 
Pro shots can be found at the link below!
One Love!
Irie Vendors!
Saxaphonist: Garfield Lawrence
Non Wedding Vendor: The Coconut Man at cocktails!
Routinely, the two most popular vendors that clients take with them to their destination wedding are the wedding planner (aka ME ) and their photographer. Clients are admittedly nervous, and understandably so, about using a photographer that they have not met or consulted with for their celebration.
That said, for a destination wedding to Jamaica, there is no need to take your photographer with you as you can book and work with one of the best wedding photographers on the island, Merrick Cousley! Merrick is very passionate about his craft and his photo journalistic style will capture all the moments that will make you sigh over and over again as you relive your wedding day. He is undoubtedly one of Jamaica’s most sought after wedding photographers (as his calendar will attest to ) and you will absolutely love working with him.
His website is a testament to his crafty and style and he is always willing to do a telephone consult and work with you to customize a wedding package to your needs. My favourite thing about Merrick – he does not time and charge. Once you have gone to contract on the package that suits your needs, he shows up and shoot your wedding…for as long as it goes on (within reason now;)). That to me is the mark of a professional who is committed to quality service and customer satisfaction.
Check out Merrick’s website at www.merrickcousley.com and check out a few shots from him below.
Many of my clients cite food as the most important thing to them for their wedding. They are generally worried that they will either not be able to have what they want or that the flavors will be different in destination – too spicy in the case of Jamaica!
My answer and reassurance is always the same, you are in the excellent hands my partner and culinary artiste, Chef Oji Jaja of Ashebre. As Jamaica’s leading culinary artiste and indeed celebrity chef, having worked as personal chef for Tom Cruise, Amy Winehouse and Drake to name a few, he embodies the art of modern Caribbean cuisine and can create and tailor any menu for the discerning palate.
Clients can rest assured that their expectations will always be exceeded and the problem I generally have when he caters is that guests usually break out cameras to capture the perfection on their plates instead of their tableware . Have a peek at some of his creations….hungry yet?
You can reach him for a quote at cuisine@ashebre.com.
Many clients have asked about the etiquette of a honeymoon registry. This would be a service where guests would contribute to the couples honeymoon in lieu of a wedding gift or an envelope at the wedding.
There are several schools of thought surrounding this issue. From the couple’s perspective, they would like to chose their gift and actually be able to get something that is beneficial to them that they will truly enjoy and use. From the guest point of view, they feel that the couple should not dictate/mandate what they should gift them with.
Both good points and both valid.
My two cents: do what is right for you group. In my opinion, you should be inviting your closest family and friends to celebrate the beginning of your new life together and therefore it stands to reason that you know them well enough to know if they would be fine with it or if they will be offended.
A good cross solution would be to only tell certain persons about that registry and let them contribute as chances are, there is a cap to the cost of your honeymoon and it shouldn’t take all your guests to fulfill thatJ.
The best that I have seen seems to be the following below, unfortunately it is only in the USA & UK (maybe you have stateside or wedding guests across the pond .
http://www.buy-our-honeymoon.com/usa/about/how
The pros: There is only one low registration fee, no hidden fees that I can see and the money is available to you as soon as they are applied and you do not have to do anything else with the registry. They are not a travel agent and you can use the money for whatever you need, they seem to only facilitate the registry and at a very reasonable administrative fee.
Cons: They are not in Canada!
My opinion, do what makes you happy! In the end, that’s all that matters…really .
As my booking season for 2012 heats up (is it me or are planning times getting shorter?), I must again mention how important it is to work with amazing vendors.
I have the privilege of having two couples meet me in Negril in two weeks to do a property tour and make some decisions about their wedding vendors.
Though both weddings are in winter 2012, these clients want to be hands on with the planning from the get go and want to make sure that their guests have an amazing time at their celebration. I am so pleased that they have taken the time to come out and see the destination prior and I encourage all couples who can, to do this because it makes them so much more comfortable with planning a wedding in destination after they have done a site visit.
Now back to the vendors . Both properties that the clients are looking at have decided to offer them amazing rates for their venue visit and I have also been able to arrange complementary ground transfers and a few other surprises so that different vendors can show off their products and services as my clients “shop” for their wedding.
Many thank you’s to Villas Sur Mer, Jamaica Customized Vacation & Tours, Westender Inn and Wild Thing Watersports for their hospitality and support. This is going to be an awesome trip!
Btw, I have it on good authority that a few of these private villas are offering specials for winter 2012 bookings now…call or email me for details 
.
I have found that there are not many tricks or light bulb moments about this segment of the wedding industry. It is simply hard work and dedication. Here are some pointers to get you started and my suggestion would be if after a few months, you find that you are still not in the swing of things, move on to something else J.
Specialize in a destination or two – I specialize in destination Jamaica. I am Jamaican, I know Jamaica and I started my wedding planning career in Jamaica. When I moved to Toronto over a decade ago, destination weddings to Jamaica was the automatic step for my business. It makes a huge difference when you are knowledgeable about and familiar with the destination that you are selling and clients recognize that and are more comfortable. That helps to get over that first big hurdle – they feel more in control and can let go the planning to you because they trust your judgment and suggestions. Understandably, many persons work in a destination that they do not have a background in, so I suggest that you pick one or two places, make the commitment to get to know the destination intimately and then create relationships there that will allow you to offer a very high level and quality of service that you can deliver to your clients because you have done your due diligence and paid your dues.
Set your expectations with your vendors – every destination is different and the way of business in the destination may not be the way the industry operates where you are from. Be flexible, explore what is done in the destination country, decide if you can work there and then sit with each vendor that you want to work with and outline what you understand to be their expectations of you and let them know your expectations of them. Follow up with vendor contracts (you may have to design multiples for the different vendor groups) and make sure everyone knows where they stand.
Manage the expectations of your clients – this is very important. Clients have a certain vision of their wedding in destination and you will spend months creating and designing with them and consequently they expect to see that vision produced at their wedding. Make sure that you can manage their expectations with the available resources in a destination. Items like flowers etc. are seasonal depending on your destination, you need to be aware of what is available and the associated costs. There might be a slip between the cup and the lip if tropical flowers in Jamaica to your clients stir up visions of orchids, hydrangeas and peonies because they need to be thinking hibiscus, anthuriums, certain indigenous orchids, torch ginger lilies and bird of paradise!
Invest in your destination business – Go on as many FAM trips (familiarity tours) as you can, to explore your chosen destination and all that it has to offer. There are all perks and no downsides! You are treated like royalty as the country and vendors alike, show off the best of their attractions and properties and educate you on the selling points of their product.
See if it works for you. If it does, great! If it doesn’t, move on.
So in my search for inspiration on the Royal Wedding Destination style, I have headed directly to wedding designers who I love for inspiration. I have thought long and hard about the venues, the space they have to work with and what tropical looks would work well for a Royal Wedding.
Though I do not boast the title “Wedding Designer”, I gravitated towards the following designs from my fav industry professionals including Colin Cowie, Preston Bailey, Sasha Souza and Jung Lee. Would love any and all comments on my inspirational choices – what you think would work, what would not be suitable etc
Image Courtesy of Colin Cowie Gallery
Image Courtesy of Preston Bailey Gallery
Image Courtesy of Sasha Souza Gallery
Image Courtesy of Jung Lee of Fete NY
Good place to start? Stay tuned for more inspirations as we build a Royal Wedding Destination style!
Please feel free to join in and create your own inspiration boards for submission
Though this is my first post about the Royal Wedding, I have been following with avid interest and am just as caught up in the excitement. Who wouldn’t be at what must be one of the social events of the decade?
As an ode to the Royal Couple, I have a few ideas of my own and have been wondering what a Royal Wedding Destination Style would look like…here is my take on it .
I obviously see destination Jamaica! There would be several properties in play as we would have to add an element of cloak and dagger to throw the paparazzi off the scent and so everyone would be speculating about:) Here are my top picks – Round Hill Villas, Half Moon & Jamaica Inn.
Why these properties? They all have pedigree and a long standing reputation for housing celebs and Royals when they headed to the “colonies” for a getaway!
Half Moon certainly has pedigree, having welcomed HRH Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Phillip, HRH the Prince of Wales, HRH Princess Margaret, John F. & Jacqueline Kennedy, Prince Rainier of Monaco and George H.W. Bush during his term as the Vice President of the United States among many other celebrities and luminaries.
Jamaica Inn boasts the White Suite where Sir Winston & Lady Churchill spent several vacations, where Marilyn Monroe and Arthur Miller celebrated their honeymoon, and good guys and bad guys alike such as Ian Flemming, Noel Coward and Errol Flynn spent countless hours at the bar overlooking the sea.
The Round Hill Villas definitely deserves it’s nomination as over the years it has been the private haunt of style icons and socialites including Lord & Lady Ednam, Adele Astaire, Oscar Hammerstein, Sir Noel Coward and even now welcomes Ralph Lauren and family on vacations as they own a beautiful private villa on the Estate.
Now that we have set the tone, let’s look towards the practicalities of staging a Royal Wedding in destination:
- All the properties are right on the water which makes it easier to secure landside and from the sea.
- They are all accessible via helicopters and are small enough to be secured quickly in the event of any emergency and can keep the “dreaded paparazzi” out!
- The Royal Wedding would have to be appropriately officiated, and as Jamaica still bears allegiance to the Queen, the Church of England is the official church on island, with no lack of eager clergy to provide assistance.
Stay tuned for part 2 to explore the design and décor of the wedding destination style. Please feel free to leave a comment and send or post your version of what a Royal Wedding Destination style would look like! There might be a surprise in there for you
The newest and most trendy wedding colour is now “green” and as every bride look towards making more sustainable decisions on that day where opulence and abundance reigns, here are a few tips to keep you on track.
Shorten your guest list – the more guests that you invite to your wedding, the greater your carbon footprint will be for the event. The more people that are on your list the more food that will be consumed, the more miles that will be travelled and the bigger your venue will have to be to accommodate your wedding.
Ceremony & Reception Venue – Consider an outdoor wedding in the park or at on a beautiful deck overlooking the sea so you can take advantage of nature’s décor and reduce the amount of added decorations. Have the reception at the same location, or at least nearby to shorten guest travel and reduce car pollution.
Wedding Dress and Tuxedo – Consider one of the following: buying a vintage dress and tuxedo from a resale clothing store; buying an organic silk/hemp wedding dress; wearing a simple dress or suit that you can wear again or find a company like Adele Wechsler who is the queen of eco wedding couture that practices sustainability. http://adelewechsler.com/latest/eco.html
Invitations et al – Consider printing your invites, thank you notes, programs and all other related items for your wedding on handmade seed paper so that your guests can plant the invitations and enjoy the flowers that grow from them. You can also encourage your guests to recycle the paper and make that your keepsake from the wedding. Also think of using less paper by using a postcard for the replies and forgoing the envelope and creating a wedding website with all the necessary information so that you do not have to do too much printing.
Flowers – Consider using a florist that uses flowers from local and/or organic farms or use a wildflower grower at your local farm market to create bouquets & table arrangements. Try to find potted plants instead of cut flowers for centerpieces and guests can take them home to plant and watch your love bloom!
Food – Consider donating the food left over from your reception to a local soup kitchen instead of throwing it out. This will assist them to feed so many persons that rely on them for a daily meal and it will reduce the waste produced from your celebration or work with a trained chef or culinary artist to create dishes that maximize taste, flavour and presentation and is served in more appropriate portions so that your guests are comfortable full and not overwhelmed.
