Crystal and Lou traveled from Boston to St. John, USVI with 55 friends and family to celebrate their nuptials in a beautiful beach destination wedding. The pair enlisted the expertise and assistance of destination wedding planners, Island Style Weddings, who had actually planned the bride’s uncle’s wedding on St. John eight years prior. The bride shared with us a bit about the experience and coming back to this special island.
St. John is Crystal’s favorite island vacation spot and she always said she would get married there after attending her Uncle Danny’s wedding, 8 years earlier. We both wanted to do a smaller, more intimate wedding that felt personal to us both. This was the best way to keep the group small, with our closest friends and family, and make it a week of celebrating.
The inspiration was sand and gold colors, which I thought would play off really nicely with the turquoise St. John water. We didn’t want to use too much in terms of embellishment because the surrounding beach and scenery was beautiful in itself, and we liked the simple island feel with a touch of color. After looking online at Mary’s past weddings, we loved everything we saw and put our trust in her…and it turned out more beautiful than we pictured.
Most memorable moment from the day… was being on the beach, taking pictures with all our friends and family after the formal ceremony. It was so humbling to see all these people travel so far to be with us, on a beach that meant so much to us already. Another favorite moment of Crystal’s was walking in to the Waterfront Bistro for the first time, seeing all the people seated at the gorgeous tables that we had pictured for all those months. We had never been to the Bistro so it was exciting to watch it all come together. Also our last song was an incredible memory, when they played “Shut up and Dance” and we did a group hug with all the wedding guests. We didn’t want it to end!
Advice for other couples… is to get a wedding planner! And research pictures of flowers, tablescapes and scenery. I was hesitant to go with gold in the beginning but was so glad that I stuck to my gut. The gold candelabras, table scape accents and the crystal chandeliers are what “made it.” The gold sand with starfish table assignments were another great accent.
Mary from Island Style Weddings added her sentiments about the big day:
What a fun group they were! I was deeply honored to be able to perform a second family wedding. How sweet it was that Crystal had attended Jennifer and Dan’s wedding eight years prior on St John.
Congratulations to the newlyweds!
Destination Wedding Photographer: Elisha Orin
Wedding Vendors: Groom, Groomsmen, Ring bearer & Father of Bride Ties: Ralph Lauren, Groom’s Shirt: custom by Elegancia, Groom’s Pants: custom linen by Studio Suits, Rings: Descenza, Invitations: Minted, Save the Dates: Appy Couple, Wedding Planning and Design: Island Style Weddings, Ceremony Venue: Trunk Bay, Ceremony Music: Albion Sewer – Steel Pan, Officiant: Mary Bartolucci: Island Style Weddings, Reception Venue: The Waterfront Bistro, Reception Music: DJ Adonis Morton, Florist: Jessica Aubain – Roses too, Cake: Queen of Tarts, Hair/Makeup: Sugar and Spice, Rehearsal Party Venue: Drink, Caterer for rehearsal dinner: Local and Tasty, Sailing Charter: Daydreamer, Bridal Gown: Cristina’s Bridal
