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Cayman Islands White House Wedding
The White House Wedding for Kayla and Leonard was absolutely stunning. The groomsmen wore blue Blazers and white trousers and looked incredible, the bridesmaids wore blue and white dresses looking brilliant and a few little flower girls to top off the 21 individual that made up Kayla and Leonards bridal party. Juliette Heath, planner for Five Star Events, made sure everything ran on time and without a hitch. Hair and makeup were absolutely stunning. A huge shout out to Robyn and Lauren. Debra Kettler delivered the most amazing bouquet and decor that was incredible! The arch was made with paper flowers and the cake was also decorated with paper flowers, amazing! When Leonard turned around and saw Kayla during the first look, the look on his face was priceless! Did I mention the spider 🙂 sorry Kayla…..! It was planted to make Leonard look like the hero!!!!
Kayla + Leonard
Venue: White House
Planner: Juliette Heath – Five Star Events
Cake Maker: Melissa Logan – Ritz Carlton
Officiant: Rev. Myers
Flowers: Debra Kettler
Decorations: Debra Kettler
Music: Samuel Rose (violin) and Daniel Roberts (steel pan)
DJ: DJ TNT
Dress Boutique and Dress Designer/Grooms suit: Essence of Australia, Bellissima Bridal in Miami
Rings: Magnum Jewelers
Hair: Studio V (brides hair by Robyn Banfield, owner of Studio V and dear friend)
Makeup: Lauren Buckley
Finding my dress was one of the easiest parts of getting married! I was on vacation and decided that I should start trying on dresses. I was dreading the idea of trying on hundreds of white dresses so I only made one appointment to get started. I brought one of my best friends and bridesmaid, Lauren, along with me. I thought that I wanted a romantic lace dress, so I picked out a few that fit the bill and they looked terrible! The sales associate suggested I try on a trumpet style dress to show off my hourglass curves. It worked and after trying on only six dresses, I was in love with an Essence of Australia dress. Mission accomplished in under and hour!
We met in Toronto, Canada at York University. We were assigned to the same group project in our Environmental Studies class. Leonard was wearing a t-shirt that read “Who ya fa?” and I asked him “what does that mean?”. The rest is history.
Rebecca has a vibrant and warm soul that instantly put us at ease and I cannot say enough how important this was on our wedding day. It’s very easy to get overwhelmed on your wedding day but it’s so important that this doesn’t translate into your photos. Rebecca made sure that we felt comfortable and confident throughout the whole process. (Even after a giant spider tried to eat me in her car)
Leonard was calm, cool and collected. I felt great until I had to walk down the aisle- then I panicked! I was shaking through my vows but once we had our first kiss as husband and wife, I was on cloud nine.
He arranged to have my friends invite me to happy hour at Beach Suites. Once I arrived, a server offered me a glass of champagne and escorted me to the elevator. When the doors opened, Leonard was standing on the roof top, right at sunset, wearing his brand new Hugo Boss suit. Samuel Rose (the violinist who also played at our wedding), was playing John Legend. After Leonard got down on one knee and I said “yes!’, members of our friends and family joined us on the roof top for champagne toasts. I’m really close with my brother and sister and it’s really hard for me to be away from them- especially for the big stuff. But Leonard had thought of that too- he set it up for them to watch the whole thing live on skype. It was perfect.
Our first dance song was a combination of Andrea Bocelli’s “e piu ti penso” and a cover of the Foo Fighters “Everlong” by Boyce Avenue
Leonard had a small football team standing for him, so it was a challenge to get them to be in the right place at the right time.-It was like herding cats. Luckily, I have a way of getting what I wants and was able to wrangle them in for some great shots! The trick is to not be afraid to shout the first, second and last names of the ones that stray.
Our favourite parts were: the “first look” photos, it was a really nice intimate moment for the two of us during an otherwise hectic day; the reception intro, it was great to infuse some humour into our day with the silly nickname introductions to our bridal party; and teaching the Canadians some soca dance moves on the dance floor
Our first look was one of our fondest moments from our wedding day- I wouldn’t have changed a thing! Since Leonard doesn’t have much faith in my fashion sense (I’m a t-shirt and flip flops kind of girl) he was really concerned about my dress selection. Naturally, I spent months torturing Leonard by telling him “details” about my dress that were wholly untrue, like that it had sleeves, and a bright floral print. When we did our first look, and Leonard turned around to see me, the look on his face was priceless as he thanked God. It was such a nice way to ease some of the stress of the day away with an inside joke that had us laughing.
Don’t go crazy trying to replicate every cute picture you’ve pinned to your wedding board. Make a short list of your “must have” shots and then trust your photographer and let her work her magic.
Overall our wedding was, in a word, spectacular.
Don’t feel pressured into following all the traditions, if they don’t mean anything to you. Do what feels right for you and your future spouse.
The Caribbean is known for its relaxed lifestyle. If you plan on getting married here, try to relax and go with the flow.
We did a lot of research on our vendors so we weren’t disappointed with any of our selections- they were all wonderful but I think it would be amiss of me to not mention some of my amazing and talented friends who dedicated their time and energy to making our big day a success. Robyn Banfield, owner of Studio V, located at the Ritz-Carlton Grand Cayman, and her team made me and my bridesmaids’ hair look absolutely stunning. Debra Kettler, head florist at the Ritz-Carlton Grand Cayman, made the most amazing floral arrangements and spent countless hours helping me decide on colour schemes and table settings. Some days we get by with a little help from our friends, on other days we get by with a lot of help. I would also like to thank Melissa Logan, Alexandra McMillen Cavallo, and the rest of the Pastry team at the Ritz-Carlton Grand Cayman for making our amazing cake and spectacular super hero cupcakes! Chef George, at the White House, put his heart and soul into the food and we’re still hearing about how amazing it was! Our wedding planner Juliette, at 5 Star Entertainment, made sure the day went off without a hitch.