What was your theme/color palette? All my wedding inspiration was brought to me through Instagram. I didn’t use Pinterest like most brides when planning their weddings, but I follow many wedding accounts on Instagram, which started largely due to my current career as the Membership and Event Sales Coordinator at the Burlington Country Club. I wanted to keep my color palette romantic, soft and simple by incorporating greenery, pale blush tones, whites and ivory because we already had the vibrant turquoise Caribbean water as our backdrop. Instead of seating round tables at our reception, I opted for rectangular as I wanted lush, fluffy eucalyptus garland to spread from one edge to the other. We lit the beach with eddison bulbs strung above our tables and incorporated pillar and votive candles into the garland centerpieces for additional whimsical lighting. I then decided that from years of experience working with The Vermont Tent Company, they had a far better selection of linen than what I could find in Barbados. This led me to my decision that completing my ideal tablescape I would need to bring napkins with me in the shade and texture of “Roma Baby Pink”.
What was your favorite detail from your wedding? I will have to admit that my favorite detail from my wedding was not something that I planned. It was a surprise given to me on my wedding day from my Mom and Nana. As I finished getting ready for the ceremony my Mom announced that she had something to give me from my 82-year-old Nana who was unable to comfortably travel to Barbados and decided to stay home in Vermont. My Mom opened a box and inside was my Great-Grandmother’s beautifully delicate, white lace handkerchief that my Nana wanted me to have as my “something old” for my wedding. Along with the handkerchief, my Mom had thoughtfully worked with Don to acquire a few extra baby blue buttons for my “something blue” from his custom-made suit from Michael Kehoe, Ltd. She then stitched Don’s blue buttons onto a white ribbon and tied the handkerchief to my bouquet for me to carry with me during my ceremony. It was a simple yet sweet detail that made my wedding that much more special.
How did your wedding reflect your relationship as a couple? I believe that our wedding was the perfect reflection as to who we are as a couple. We love spending time with our family and friends and having a destination wedding gave us a minimum of three days with our loved ones. We held several events throughout the weekend for our guests to enjoy with us including a welcome party on the beach with local cuisine and a steel drum player, a golf excursion for the guys and R&R for the ladies, and a privately chartered catamaran cruise replaced our rehearsal dinner where after four hours of sailing in the sunset of the Caribbean waters we took our guests to a local fish fry to experience authentic Barbados in a neighboring town to the resort.
The events leading up to our wedding were casual and fun, which carried into our wedding ceremony and reception and days following. Our ceremony and reception were both located on the beach, so most of the evening was spent barefoot in the powder soft, white sand. We danced all night long even extending the DJ an additional hour because we didn’t want the party to end, which it didn’t because we ended the evening in swimsuits jumping between the pool and the hot tub. Our final scheduled event shared with family and friends was our farewell brunch the following morning. This was held in an outdoor yoga pavilion where our centerpieces from the evening prior were refurbished and used again and it gave Don and I the opportunity to say goodbye to our guests who were leaving. It was extremely apparent that everyone who attended our wedding enjoyed every moment of the weekend because we received compliments and shared stories and laughs for months. Now we reminisce through the beautiful photos that were taken that we will cherish forever.
What were some of your favorite moments? There are so many favorite moments from our wedding that it is hard to narrow down to just a few to share! After discussing with Don, we both agreed that our catamaran cruise was one of the most special evenings throughout our wedding weekend. It’s difficult to express the amount of fun that we had cruising through the Caribbean waters at sunset with our friends and family. We had a theme to wear all white, so we were all dressed to match and we anchored during dinner in front of Rihanna’s property where at one point a vibrant rainbow sailed across the sky. After dinner, we drank and we danced on top of the Catamaran back to the dock where we carried this energy to our next destination: the Oistins Fish Fry.
Another favorite moment of mine personally was when I first woke up on the morning of our wedding. I knew it was going to be a long and overwhelming day, so I decided to let Don continue to sleep and spend time by myself reflecting and having a moment of quiet before the chaotic day ahead. During this time, I wanted to do something that felt normal, so I folded all our napkins for the dinner table that I had rented from the Vermont Tent Company and stuffed them with menu cards to deliver to the wedding coordinator to set up. In Vermont, I work at the Burlington Country Club as the Membership and Event Sales Coordinator, so folding napkins helped me to stay calm and feel as though it was a regular day.
Lastly, I would say that it was really amazing to experience the overwhelming emotion that followed directly after our ceremony. The nerves suddenly surpass and the number of hugs that were going around not only between us and our guests, but between our guests themselves was a powerful moment where you could actually feel so much love.
featured professionals | PHOTOGRAPHER: Amy Bennett Photography // VENUE & ACCOMMODATIONS: Sandals Barbados // WEDDING OFFICIANT: Chris Magistrale // EVENT RENTALS: Vermont Tent Company // FAVORS: Etsy // INVITATIONS: Shine Wedding Invitations // WEDDING GOWN DESIGNER: Lovers + Friends // WEDDING GOWN STORE: Revolve // ALTERATIONS: Linda’s Sew Unique // GROOM’S FORMAL WEAR: Michael Kehoe, Ltd. // JEWELRY: Vermont Gem Lab // REHEARSAL DINNER: Privately Chartered Catamaran // TRANSPORTATION: Kelley Murray, Accent Travel
