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Taylor, Andrew and family all flew down for this Kaibo Beach Wedding in the Cayman Islands. The venue, Kempa Kai was the perfect place for this barefoot beach wedding in the Caribbean.
Wedding Planner: Celebrations | Brianna Kane
Officiant: Dave | Andrews Step-dad
Hair and Makeup: Glamorous Hair
Shoes: Barefoot
Caterers: Chef Remy
Decor: Celebrations
DJ: Denys Carbo | Live Music: Sax
Photography Team: Wild Love Artists | Rebecca Davidson
Heading to the island
To keep our ceremony intimate, we only had our immediate family present. We flew into Grand Cayman from Florida Thursday and left Tuesday–we had an entire weekend to bond and spend quality time with our families together. We are both very close with our families and wanted to really put an emphasis on two families coming together. The weekend after we returned home, we had out reception with all of our extended family and friends! Another unique thing about our wedding was Hurricane Ian was on it way a few days before our wedding! We weren’t sure we were going to be able to have our ceremony at all! Once it passed Grand Cayman, it was headed straight for Florida and we weren’t sure we were going to be able to fly out. Luckily, things worked out for the best for us.
Special moments
Unfortunately, neither of our fathers were there. Instead, Andrew had a photo of his dad pinned to the inside of his suit and I had a photo of my dad pinned to my bouquet. They were both there with us in spirit on our special day and every step of the way as we walked down the aisle!
Cute Story
We both grew up in the same city in Florida (Coral Springs), but we never knew it until we started dating and were both living elsewhere! We even have a couple of mutual friends from Coral Springs that we didn’t know were mutual friends until we started dating.
The Dress
After a dentist appointment one day, I decided to stroll into a nearby bridal store with no expectations at all. The dress that I purchased ended up being one of the first I tried on. I told the consultant my mother would be so upset if I purchased a dress without her and that I would be back for the dress hoping no one purchased it in that time. When I called my mom to tell her about it, she was so ecstatic and said she would leave work early to meet me there. Next, I called my step sister, Heather, and she also eagerly was willing to leave work early to meet us at the bridal store. I tried the dress on for them and they both agreed it was the one! Heather ended up surprising me and buying my veil, making it exceptionally special to me. She was also the one to put it on me on my wedding day 🙂
Live music
Denys Carbo played the saxophone. He was incredibly talented and really helped to set the mood/vibe we wanted during our cocktail hour and sunset dinner.
How did you choose your venue
Our first ever vacation together was to The Virgin Islands in the Caribbean, so we knew we wanted to get married in the Caribbean. We chose Kempa Kai as our wedding venue because the place was absolutely breathtaking and an entire vibe in itself. Since we were also staying there all weekend, it literally felt like our own little slice of heaven. Having our ceremony where we were also staying made the wedding day extremely relaxing– we did not have to waste any time traveling and could really soak up the day and live in the moment without feeling rushed at all.
How did you both meet
We met through mutual friends. I (Taylor) was really on the fence about going out one night with friends, and luckily I finally decided to go! A friend I met out posted a photo of her and I on her instagram story. Andrew saw the instagram story and reached out to the friend that had posted it and later decided to reach out to me via instagram message. We went back and forth messaging and texting for months before we finally went on a first date. We have been pretty inseparable since that first date!
Did you see each other before the wedding
We chose not to see each other before the wedding. We wanted out first look to be down the aisle. Luckily, Rebecca convinced us to do a first “touch” while both being on opposite sides of a door and my goodness it was such a rush of emotions! This moment was definitely another top favorite moment from the wedding day. I wouldn’t have done that any differently at all and thank you Rebecca for suggesting that!!
How did Andrew pop the question
Andrew popped the question at his family’s holiday party. Someone suggested we all take a group photo outside, and while we all gathered around to take the photo, he got down on one knee. Both sides of our family were there which made it really special, along with other close friends. Once he proposed, my oldest and dearest friends from out of state and out of town jumped out and surprised me. I was surprised so many people were able to keep such a big secret from me! Afterward, some of our close friends admitted they were too nervous to talk to me at all before he proposed and avoided me in the early parts of the party 😛
How did you feel as you waked down the aisle
Ah. Almost every emotion under the sun. But mostly so much excitement about our future together and the life we have already started building together. I had many moment throughout the day that I thought “wow! pinch me! I must be dreaming” I felt so lucky to be marrying my best friend.
Photography advise
Be yourselves and let your raw, unfiltered love shine through the photos!
Unique mentions
Like I mentioned earlier, our fathers were not able to be there. Andrew brought his fathers urn all the way from Florida and had a seat for it along with a photo of the two of them together.
Wedding planner
Lovely! Brianna took a ton off of my plate and was really the one that made the entire wedding so seamless. She always made herself available to me and she was so attentive to the little vision I had in my head and really made it come to life. She paid such great attention to even the littlest of details. When we arrived to Grand Cayman, she invited us to the Celebrations warehouse and she even took the time to give us a tour! She is so talented at what she does and I can not recommend her enough.
Food
Chef Remy was our chef our entire wedding weekend. There are not enough words to describe just how gifted and skillful this man (and his team!) is. He is a fantastic chef and he is so personable. Although he did not make our cake, he did facilitate getting one for us. We still talk about his meals on a daily basis and can’t wait to get back to Grand Cayman to enjoy more of them!
Favourite moments from the wedding
So hard to pick a single favorite moment!!!!! One I will forever cherish is sitting around our table for dinner in a gorgeous Grand Cayman sunset with our immediate family laughing and just enjoying each others company.
How would you describe your overall wedding experience
I wish I could go back and re-live it a million more times!
How was taking photos with me
Remarkable! When I first met Rebecca, it had felt as though I have known her for a long while. She had this special way of making me feel comfortable (and even beautiful) in front of a camera and while being photographed. I could immediately tell from watching her photograph, she is passionate about capturing love and special moments and she does it so gracefully and well. Even while she was being attacked by mosquitos to capture some of our shots, she was so sweet!!!!!! Our entire family loved Rebecca.
Rebecca Davidson and Wild Love Artist Team are Grand Cayman Photographers and Videographers based in the Cayman Islands and Spain Costa Del Sol photographing and filming Weddings and Portraits. Rebecca and her team have been capturing Love and “I do’s” for many years, travelling from her home in the Cayman Islands to her ‘second’ home in the Costa Del Sol, Spain. You can contact her here.