Crystal Blue Monday Mini

Talk about personalizing every aspect of your wedding…LOVING this groom’s ring!!!

 

photo credit ::  Better Angle Photography

Cayman Islands Real Wedding :: Sancia and Jurell

Happy Friday!  Hope you have all had a good week and for the Americans a very Happy Thanksgiving!  Now I know you’re all out black Friday shopping but I hope you take a few minutes to read today’s real wedding.  Sancia is an avid Crystal Blue Weddings reader and throughout her planning process we were in touch a few times with questions or to give her some direction along the way.  I was so excited to receive her wedding submission to see how it all turned out and share it with all of you!!

I love the color palate and all of the details (most of which were DIY, by the way!).  Come back Monday to see this couple trash the (second) dress!

Providers who made this day happen ::

Floral ::  Every Bloomin’ Thing

Photography ::  Better Angle

Venue ::  Grand Old House 

Crystal Blue Providers Giving Back

I love to see when Crystal Blue Providers give their time and talent for good causes.  It makes my heart smile to see these amazing people give selflessly to help others.  I couldn’t let it go by without sharing with you some of the details of the National Gallery Fundraising Ball that took place recently in Grand Cayman.

First, some eye candy (or fruit, actually…)

The fundraiser is held each year to raise money for the National Gallery’s educational programs and this year, specifically to fit out the Gallery’s new educational center.  GREAT news for the kids of Cayman!!  Mise En Place catered the event (no, they didn’t serve apples) and Better Angle captured the moments.  Lots of fun was had by all but most importantly, lots of money raised!!

A special shout out to the organizers and volunteers for this event…it of course wouldn’t happen without you!  Natalie Urquhart, National Gallery Director, Fundraising Ball Co-chairs, Jennifer Woodford and Nisha Bismallah, and the amazing team….Marcia Milgate, Jennifer Marshall, Sali Odendaal, Susan Sumley, Gabriela Zamora, Emma Drake and Lesley Arthur.  You guys rock!!!!

Cayman Islands Real Wedding :: White sand elegance

I am in love with this wedding simply for these reasons…it adds beauty and elegance to what is already beautiful.  White simplicity against the white sands of the Cayman beaches and the aqua blue of the Cayman waters just makes for a perfect combination for this beautiful couple!

Seriously, what is there not to love about this??? 

Providers who made this day happen ::

Accommodation and venue ::  Villas of the Galleon

Cake ::  Cayke

Catering ::  Mise En Place *

Design, decor, event rentals and floral ::  Lions Productions

Coordination ::  Parfait Weddings & Events *

Photography ::  Better Angle Photography *

* Crystal Blue Preferred Providers

Cayman Islands Real Wedding :: Rosani and Jerome

Welcome to today’s real wedding of Rosani and Jerome!  I absolutely loved this pink affair and when I say every detail was carefully thought out, I mean EVERY detail!  This wedding is your classic fairy tale wedding from the beautiful gown to the amazing head table.  Combined with fantastic lighting, crystals and amazing floral design, you can’t get much better than this wedding!

Rosani and Jerome are from Cayman, but when they got engaged they started planning a destination wedding in Hawaii.  They stopped those plans and “returned” to Cayman for two reasons…First, ALL of their friends and family could be there to support and celebrate with them.  Second, they knew they could not find a location more beautiful than Cayman!!  (True, true!)

Oh, the crystals, the flowers, the beautiful pink lighting…I just can’t get enough of it!!!  Even the cake cutter was bling’d out!!

Providers who made this day happen :: 

Cake ::  Treats

Coordination, design, equipment rentals, floral ::  Celebrations

Photography ::  Better Angle

Venue ::  Grand Cayman Marriott Beach Resort

Transportation ::  Grand Limousine

Videography ::  VIP Productions

Cayman Islands Real Wedding :: Kim and Kenyetta

Welcome to 2011!!  We hope you had a great time ringing in the new year and to start you off, we have a fantastic Cayman Islands Real Wedding for you today!  I love so much about this wedding…the blue (of course!) the gorgeous bride, the amazing venue and the emotion coming through on these fantastic photographs!!

Kim and Kenyetta were married on the Great Lawn at the Ritz Carlton, Grand Cayman with a gorgeous poolside reception to follow. 

Crystal Blue ::  Why did you choose the Cayman Islands for your destination wedding?

Kim and Kenyetta ::  We travel extensively for business and leisure so we had many options to consider. In order to narrow down our options, we agreed that the Ritz-Carlton would be our choice for a hotel and researched their Caribbean properties. Upon seeing the pictures of the Great Lawn online and visiting the island for a personal tour of the Ritz-Carlton, we knew that this would be the destination for our wedding.

Crystal Blue ::  What was the design inspiration for your day?

Kim and Kenyetta ::  Well, one of our favorite colors is blue and although we were in the Cayman Islands, we wanted winter represented so we came up with a “Blue Ice” theme.  Our favorite design element from the day was the organza draping of the gazebo on the Great Lawn.

Crystal Blue ::  Did you plan any excursions for your guests?

Kim and Kenyetta ::  We arranged for a private boat trip to Stingray city and 2 snorkeling stops, however, due to the weather, we had to modify the itinerary to just include a trip to Stingray City and a stop over at Kaibo for lunch.

Providers who made this day happen ::

Accommodation ::  Ritz Carlton, Grand Cayman; Sunshine Suites; The Westin Casuarina Resort and Spa

Coordination, Food, Beverage and Floral ::  Ritz Carlton, Grand Cayman

Photography ::  Better Angle

Videography ::  VIP Productions

Cayman Islands Real Wedding :: Wedding Wednesday!

Happy Wedding Wednesday!  Hope your week is going well and you’re looking forward to the wedding goodness today.  I commonly receive emails and comments asking me to feature more simple weddings and today I’m happy to oblige! 

This wedding was held recently on a private beach in the South Sound area of the island.  The couple and guests stayed on the East End of the island and made the “journey” into town for the ceremony and dinner at the Ritz Carlton Grand Cayman.  The day was beautiful, as you can see by the photos and the couple couldn’t be happier!!

Providers who made this day happen ::

Accommodation ::  TheReef

Coordination ::  Octopus Events

Event Rentals ::  Massive Equipment

Floral ::  Every Bloomin’ Thing

Photography ::  Better Angle

Transportation ::  Grand Limo

Cayman Islands Real Wedding :: Rachelle and Justin, The Reception

Welcome back!  I promised you some cute details and here’s where you’ll find them!  First, though, some more gorgeousness from Better Angle and the Ritz Carlton.

So Rachelle and Justin love their dog.  I mean, REALLY L-O-V-E their dog.  Unfortunately he couldn’t make the trip, but that didn’t stop them from incorporating him into their wedding details. 

The favors…

The escort cards….(note the dog collar used to hang the luggage tag)

And finally…

I had to do a double take on this one, but alas, they are human cookies.

Providers who made this day happen ::

Accommodation ::  The Ritz Carlton, Grand Cayman; The Westin Casuarina Resort & Spa;  The Grand Cayman Marriott

Coordination ::  The Ritz Carlton, Grand Cayman

Design, decor and event rentals ::  The Ritz Carlton, Grand Cayman in collaboration with Celebrations

Gown ::  Vera Wang

Hair and Makeup ::  Spa to Go

Invitations :: Bella Figura

Music ::  One World

Photography ::  Better Angle

Cayman Islands Real Wedding :: Rachelle and Justin, The Ceremony

From the moment I saw this wedding I fell in love.  First and foremost everything was absolutely beautiful.  Second, there were some really cute and fun details incorporated into the day.  Then, I chatted with Rachelle and found out how they got engaged and I knew I had to feature this wedding on Crystal Blue! 

The proposal ::  Justin and I have been going to Dave Matthews Band concerts for about 10 years every summer. It has always been a “summer thing” of ours to do. Somehow, Justin worked it out with a friend of ours who works for the Dave Matthews Band to give us all access back stage passes at a concert in NY and he proposed to me on the side of the stage during a song about a boy who has a crush.  (CBWS note…I am a HUGE Dave Matthews Band fan, and I mean HUGE.  I couldn’t think of a better evening–backstage at DMB and a proposal.  Awesome!)

The beautiful color palette of turquoise and lemon rocked in so many ways.  Rachelle’s bridesmaids above–absolutely gorgeous in that stunning dress!

The ceremony at the Ritz Carlton, Grand Cayman was one of a kind.  The aisle was a series of bamboo canopies draped in white fabric and accented by yellow flowers and star fish.  The bride and groom stood under the final canopy to exchange their vows. 

Crystal Blue ::  What was the design inspiration for your day?

Rachelle ::  

We had seen a walkway that we fell in love with in a picture and when we were beginning to plan the wedding, we knew we wanted a similar design.  With the help of  Adriana (our coordinator) and Frank (the floral designer) the vision was turned into a reality.  As for the colors, we wanted something that would complement the ocean and the beach which was why we chose the blue my bridesmaids wore.  The yellow seemed like a perfect compliment to complete the color palette. 

Come back later for the reception and to find out who made this day happen! 

photo credit ::  Better Angle

Cayman Islands Photographer :: Melissa Wolfe of Better Angle

Re-introducing  you to Melissa Wolfe of Better Angle! 

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Meet Melissa!  Fun, down-to-earth, and ever creative, Melissa Wolfe of Better Angle.  Melissa has been shooting weddings for a while now and I am so happy to be able to introduce you to her!

Crystal Blue:  Melissa, describe your style to our readers.

Melissa:  I like to have fun with the couple and make sure to capture the sentimental moments, the details of the day as well as those unique candids with the guests.  Of course portraits are a must and need to capture the personality of the bride and groom.

Crystal Blue:   Especially for the portraits, since many couples are not used to getting photographed to the extent they are on their wedding day, how do you get them to relax and be themselves?

Melissa:  Well, it varies with each couple, but I’m relaxed and find it only takes a few minutes to get everyone relaxed and enjoying themselves getting photographed. 

Crystal Blue:  After shooting so many weddings, how do you keep things fresh and new?

Melissa:  Well, I can’t give away all of my trade secrets!  hahah!  I have new things up my sleeve everyday!  Recently, during Pirate’s week, I did a “Trash the Dress” session the day after the wedding.  I hired 10 pirates to join us for the shoot–they “stole” the bride and the groom triumphantly fought back to win back his lady!!

Crystal Blue:  That sounds like so much fun!!  What is the process you to through with each couple?

Melissa:  Again, it varies with each couple.  My only goal is to ensure my clients are 100% satisfied throughout the process and with the end product.  To me it is not good enough for someone to say “the photos are nice”.   I want my clients to be overjoyed with the photos and thrilled they chose me as their photographer! 

Crystal Blue:  Well, based on what I’ve seen, I’m sure they all are!!  If you could give one piece of advice to couples looking for a photographer, what would it be?

Melissa:  Make sure you hire someone with a good reputation for delivering amazing photos and has established experience shooting weddings.  Also, remember your photos are the one keepsake you have from your wedding day so have your photographer present for every moment, of course, as much as your budget allows.

Crystal Blue:  Thank you so much, Melissa! 

Do you have any questions for Melissa?  If so, leave a comment here!  Melissa was the photographer on yesterday’s real wedding.  You can also check out some of her work here.

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