All the sunshine here in Ireland has gone to my head and I’m dreaming of sandy beaches and cool waters… today we have another destination beach engagement session, this time in Mexico. Alicia and Eddie organised their engagement session while holidaying in Cabo San Lucas…
Today we’re thrilled to bring you our first destination Greek wedding! Greece is fast becoming a firm favourite for destination weddings. Bryan and Shannan traveled far from their lives in the US to celebrate their wedding on the beautiful island of Santorini, Greece. We’re loving the very unique transport and the brides Grecian headpiece.
Today we are gracing the shores of Hawaii for Johnna and Ryan’s beach wedding, complete with flower garlands, wooden boats, a beautiful sunset and a bride brave enough to take a dip in her wedding dress! Melissa McCrotty their photographer tells us more about this FAB couple…
Johnna and Ryan originally planned for a wedding in their hometown in Russellville, Arkansas. However, Johnna just couldn’t shake the desire to get married in Hawaii… a place she had never been, but always dreamed of going. So, she made it happen, and two two brought about 15 of their closest family along for a Hawaiian Wedding.
We have a FAB beach wedding to share with you today courtesy of Shannon Livingston. Sarah and Brian chose to celebrate their wedding on St Pete Beach in sunny Florida. Playing on the travel theme, the groom is also in the Air Force, they added wonderful personal touches with handmade decor and fun colouful details… little wooden aeroplanes, postcard messages, a dessert table to die for, and I have to mention their daughter who was the most adorable flower girl!
The Bourland/Best families came down to sunny Florida from northern Ohio to celebrate their wedding with close family and friends at The Post Card Inn on St. Pete Beach in Florida. The rehearsal dinner the night before was held at The Hanger Restaurant at Albert Whitted airport in St. Pete as the groom is in the air force. Nearly all decor was handmade with an organic feel. Perfect weather and sunsets made their destination wedding a beautiful event.
Today we’re very excited to have part two of our Irish Wedding Traditions inspiration shoot for you, “A Mythical Tune’. If you haven’t yet seen part one make sure to check it out here. Set in the wonderfully contrasting Irish landscape of the private Island of Inish Beg off the coast of Cork, this shoot incorporates many of Ireland’s charming wedding traditions while also taking inspiration from Ireland’s famed literary history. Not forgetting our iconic food and drinks culture!
We begin in the enchanting forest at the river bed on Inish Beg, a truly magical or should I say mythical location…
I’m here to tell you how unbelievably amazing Mexico is for a destination wedding!
The Mexican Riviera shimmers lazily in the Caribbean Sea, its powder fine white sands and turquoise waters transport you to another world all together. The sheer beauty of the place is astounding and that’s before we mention the Maya ruins, the jungle and forest all around and the magical cenotes. All of this and fantastic weather, great service and fantastic people to boot and you know you are onto a winner! We had the help of the superstar wedding planner, Maria Tripaldi from weddings in Playa who helped us plan our ancient Mayan ceremony. She introduced us to the Shamen and arranged the perfect beach location and of course introduced us to some of the best Tequila to come out of Mexcio! With all of this arranged we met our fantastic photographer Dean of Dean Sanderson weddings who has just moved from Canada to live in this beautiful, laid back country. His work is beautiful, elegant and an absolute work of art. His balance and symmetry skill is that of a mathematic genius and he is most importantly…fun to be with!
We are always very nervous before every wedding and this one was no exception to the rule. The Maya ceremony is a very spiritual ritual and is practised very seriously as a sign of respect for the Mayan Gods.
On the beach we saw the Shamen, Miguel and Christian, in all of their traditional Mayan dress ready for our Nahautl. Beads on their ankles, huge feather headdresses and animal skins draped across their chests. A mat lay in front of them on the beach and they were lighting the copal. The mat held their offerings and bamboo poles with ribbons floating in the breeze marked the site of the wedding. We approached nervously with our offerings and my bouquet and were individually blessed. Christian played the drums and conch while Miguel blessed us by passing the smoke from the copal, produced by burning coal and sacred incense, over our bodies with a feather wand. It was a very cleansing experience, I felt all of my anxieties and nerves wash away, the heat and the smoke drifted over me and I felt completely at peace. Alex was next to be blessed and the tension in his shoulders vanished and he looked relaxed and ready for the ceremony. Christian had asked if we would like to hear the ceremony in English so we could feel more involved than had the ceremony been completely in Mayan as we anticipated. We had asked for him to explain the ceremony to us and then to complete it in Mayan with the calling of the Gods to witness the ceremony.
First let me explain that we (my fiance and I) are travelling the globe looking for the best place in the World to get married! Sounds a little far fetched already right?? BUT…it gets better… to make this decision we are actually having a wedding ceremony in every country we visit! The ceremonies are not legally binding but encompass everything a ‘real’ wedding would just without signing a registry. Then, when we have finished our trip, we choose our favourite place and go back there with friends and family and officially ‘tie the knot’!
Let me tell you a little about where we’re up to so far…
The first wedding was a total surprise to me. Alex had planned the whole thing, without my knowing, for 06.06.11, the day before we left on our journey of a lifetime. I woke up with a list of jobs as long as my arm, you know the sort…you’re about to leave the country for 2 years, so finish packing up the house, change our addresses at the banks, pack our backpacks…but Alex had a different idea. He woke me up, made me breakfast, sat me down and told me I was due at the hair dressers in half an hour…and the make up artists in an hour…and the wedding dress boutique in two… and that our first wedding started at lunch time!
I laughed, cried, shouted a bit and then repeated it all over again. The wedding was being held at the Metropolitan pub, a local to us in Didsbury. The wedding party was being held in several of the fabulous bistro/restaurants/wine bars/fish and chip shops around the village. Alex had spoken to 25 local businesses who had offered their services to make our day especially special!
Today we’re jetting off to Hawaii for Katie and Ryan’s beach side wedding in Waikiki. Katie and Ryan wanted a small intimate wedding with family and friends, and achieved just that when about 30 guests in all travelled with them from New Hampshire to Hawaii to celebrate their wonderfully relaxed special day.
Henry + Masci Photography joined them for the weekend as both guests and photographers… It was especially fun for us because we are really close friends with the couple too! Katie and Ryan did a great job planning a whole week of fun for everyone. By the time the wedding arrived at the end of the trip everyone was great friends. This is what a destination wedding is all about!
I’m very happy today to bring you the second of three Ibiza engagement shoots which were won by our readers last Spring… the lovely and talented Ana Lui offered free engagement shoots to three lucky readers at a location of their choice in Ibiza.
Carlos and Naomi’s met in Space Ibiza in 2005, it was love at first sight and they have spent all their days together ever since. They chose to get married in Ibiza as it was such a special place for them, where they met and fell in love and it was the perfect destination choice for their engagement shoot…
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