Featured Weddings

Dearest Michele,

We cannot say thank you enough for all you have done for us over the last 2 years. We will try to put it into words, but bear with us, you know us…. It will be long!

It all started when we made the decision to get married on the picturesque island of St. Lucia. In fact, that's a fib. We chose the Caribbean but were unsure of which island. St Lucia or Tobago?

Matt spent the evening searching on the internet for independent wedding organizers and Awesome Caribbean Weddings came up. We sent off an email to ACW and the very same day we had a reply from Michele, full of ideas and suggestions for our wedding day.

From that moment on, the wedding was in St. Lucia! No second thoughts on that one!

We wrote a long email to Michele the next day describing the kind of wedding we pictured us having and what feeling we wanted to capture for the day; romantic beach setting, eating on the beach, bit of entertainment for the guests in the evening and so on.

Michele then sent us a fantastic email back showing us pictures of Pigeon Island, a small cove which would be just for us (exactly what we wanted). The email showed us photo's of what the beach could look like with flowers, vase's, floral arches, also picture's of the beach in the evening covered with candle's and torches and tables covered with flowers and petal's. Very pretty.

The way she wrote about it was amazing, describing in detail every small aspect of the day. All we had to do was chose what decoration we wanted! A difficult one!

With this, Michele was very patient. We changed our minds so many times with regards to decorations, one minute it was a floral arch then it was vase's full of flowers!

There were 20 coming out, then it dropped to 8 then went back up to 25! Each and every time, Michele changed the numbers and figures.

As for my bouquet, Michele was a saint! I sent Michele a picture of my dress and a few pictures of what idea I had in mind for my bouquet. I asked her opinion about whether she thought it would work. Michele then sent back lots of ideas of what she thought would work best. My dress was very fussy, lots of beading and detail, the bouquet I had picked was fighting with it. Michele's idea was so much better!

Then I changed my dress at the last moment! The dress was completely different!!!

So I sent Michele a picture of the new dress and asked for her help. After many emails back and forth I decided to do what most Brides might have found scary… I left my flowers and my three bridesmaid's flowers totally in Michele's very capable hands.

I had every faith in Michele and I knew she would do an amazing job. And what can I say. WOW!!! My bouquet was stunning, so different and yet so me. The bridesmaid's flowers tied in well but didn't fight with mine. Perfection!

It was also lovely to have a surprise on the day; I knew everything that was happening on the wedding day and so arriving at the beach and being handed my flowers by Michele, was an awesome feeling! I was totally blown away by them.

We did have a scary moment two days before the wedding, Michele contacted us to say that 7 members of my family, my dad and sister being two of them, could not fly out due to the flight being cancelled because of a volcano eruption under the flight path!! This made us stress slightly!

However, Michele was as calm as anything and helped us sort everything out, trying to see if we could move the wedding, relaying messages between us and my family.

It all worked out in the end and my family managed to get on different flights and arrived the night before, what a relief.

This just sums up Michele though; she was amazing throughout the whole two years of planning even down to meeting us at our hotel the first day of our holiday and talking through details of the day so we knew everything that was going to be happening. Even down to where Matt will stand and where we will be entering from. It was lovely to meet Michele in the relaxed environment of our hotel with a rum punch!

The wedding day:

With bright blue skies and hot weather for the first six days of our holiday, you can imagine how we felt when I went for breakfast with my bridesmaid's to see it raining! Not heavy, but rain none-the-less. Not good.

I got back to my room and Michele had been trying to get hold of me, we spoke on the phone and she suggested putting a marquee up over the tables while we ate. It wasn't something we wanted as we had an image of eating under the stars. Michele said she would go to the beach at 1:30pm to start setting up and would assess the rain situation.

During this time we were all so busy getting treatments done at the hotel (which Michele booked for me) having our hair done and drinking bubbly, that we didn't worry about the rain threat! We knew that our miracle worker Michele would sort something out for us and that it would look amazing.

Matt and the guest's got picked up by a mini bus at 3:50pm and my bridesmaid's, my Dad and me in two cars at 4:10pm. It couldn't have gone more smoothly.

Matt and our guests were on the beach already chilling with ice cool water and shade from the marquee. Which I might add was a great idea by Michele, thank you for that!

People were free to walk along the beach and paddle in the warm clear sea, while they waited for us to arrive… very relaxed.

Then our time arrived. When we pulled up, the image I saw will stick with me forever. My future husband waiting near the beautiful floral vases, all our family and friends finding their seats, flower petals on the sand, and our chair covers blowing gently in the breeze. Wow.

It took my breath away!

This is when I met Mikael (Photographer) and Trevor (Videographer) while I was in the car being handed my amazing bouquet. I started to get butterflies at this point but they calmed me down with their jokes and relaxing manner.

Matt had been told by Michele where to stand and where to look so he wouldn't see me until I was at the top of the stairs, and the guests were told when to take their seats ready for the service.

I can remember every single, wonderful moment and wish I could put it all down on paper for you. It was so emotional.

Once we were all out of the cars with flowers in hand, we made our way to the steps. At this point Michele helped me with my veil and train. I opted for a long veil and I am so pleased I did, although Michele may say otherwise because she had to carry and control it while we waited! ;o)

Once we were there Michele asked if we were going barefoot, and showed us where to put our flip flops!

The single steel pan player started up and one by one, my bridesmaid's walked down. Then it was my turn. Michele was a star at this point, she made sure my veil didn't get caught up on the stairs and let go of it at just the right moment for it to trail softly behind me.

Walking towards the man of my dreams was the best feeling in the world and it is a moment I will never forget. The whole backdrop of the sea, the blue sky, and the pretty little boats on the water, just made it all the more romantic. The gorgeous vase's looked stunning in bright pinks, reds and pale pinks.

This was when I then met Leslie our marriage officer. What a lovely man!

We had opted to have two friends to read out some poems for us and these worked really well and brought a tear to the eye. Reading them at home is one thing, but listening to them in that setting; a totally different experience!

The service went well and we were so caught up in the moment that we didn't even realise that we were being filmed or photographed. They have got some great shots and have caught the magical, tender moment of our vows.

When it was over and the papers had been signed, our quests followed us back up the steps and onto the open grassy area. This was where we met everybody and got lots of hugs and kisses.

We had decided that while our photo's were being taken, our guest's would go over to the Atlantic side for Bubbly and a Steel Pan Band waited there to entertain them. This was something we are so pleased we did. The guest's really enjoyed this time to catch up and chill with fantastic music and great views.

The time went so quickly while we had our photographs taken and we could still hear the Steel Band playing!

Mikael and Trevor made us feel very comfortable encouraging us to act normal, chat and relax. It was much more natural that way and they have managed to capture it entirely as it was on the day. Amazing!! Beautiful!!

After we had these done, we met the others by the Cliffside where we were met with a glass of bubbly and we had chance to mingle with our guest's for a bit before our group shots were taken.

This was something we had requested from Mikael. (We have put our thoughts together about Mikael below)

We then made our way back to the beach, and what a sight! Michele had worked so hard to make it look like something out of a wedding magazine. It was gorgeous. The marquee was breathtaking, the tables had been set up with candles and petals and crystals that I brought with me from the UK.

The candles were lit on the sand and the sun was setting. Oh my god, words cannot describe how tremendous it looked.

Mikael took more shots of us with the sunset as our guest's stared to make their way down for dinner.

The Beach BBQ:

The food was delicious…. What more can we say!

We were not entirely sure what it would be like as we had seen no testimonials about the beach BBQ and there were no pictures on ACW website. Every couple we looked at went to a restaurant.

But I can tell you now, we are so pleased we trusted Michele and had the BBQ. The food was amazing and I was even able to have two plates!! One for my salad and one for my meat! Piggy! ;o)

Everybody commented on how nice the food was and how friendly everybody was who was serving us. The food was amazing, the meat was so tasty and the salad…. Yummy!!! We couldn't have asked for better.

The bar was also a great idea. We decided not to have wine on the tables but had an open bar instead. This allowed our guests to go up and get a drink that they wanted to toast with. It worked perfectly.

After the food had disappeared and we had our dessert (which was mouth-watering!) we had our speeches. These went well and my husband made everyone shed a small tear, even the tough men!

After this we had our first dance and then encouraged our friends and family to join in. Then the party really got started! We had surprised our guests with fire eaters and limbo show. We wanted the party to be upbeat and we were worried that after two slow songs people might sit down with a drink and chill

…. Bring on the fire eaters!

We kept this a secret and I am so pleased we did because the impact was beautiful! The guest's got caught up in the fun of the night and the limbo dancers got everybody up, they even got us fire eating!!!

If you decide to have a beach BBQ the Limbo show is a must.

The Limbo dancer's made a point of getting everybody involved in the show and everybody had a laugh and a joke about it.

They definitely kept the mood upbeat from that moment on. Few sat down; they were all up dancing and drinking!

When we had about an hour left, Matt and I took a walk along the beach; having a paddle and chatting about the day. It gave us a great opportunity to watch everybody enjoying themselves and to take in the moment of the evening.

The end came too quickly and we were taken back to our hotel. It went so smoothly and we both couldn't have wished for a more perfect day. That is all down to Michele.

So once again Michele, thank you so much for everything you have done for us. You have become more than just our wedding planner and we will look forward to coming out and seeing you again soon.

Lots of Love

Liz and Matt Purser

Cambridgeshire, UK

About Mikael and Trevor…..

Mikael managed to seal every magical, romantic moment in each and every picture.

He made us feel very relaxed and calm, in fact so calm that many of the gorgeous pictures we didn't even realise he had been there to take them! Mikael managed to get all the group photographs of us with our family and friends, in which we requested but still, in his own way, he kept the look light, casual and fun, not stuffy and posed like you usually see in wedding photography.

Some of the photographs Mikael took of Matt and I… words cannot describe how much we love them! They look stunning! The effects he put onto the photographs (black and white, black and which with hints of colour, soft focus; to name a few) and the angles in which he captured the shots, he has a real talent and we are so grateful to have had him there as our photographer.

Best wedding photographer ever!

Trevor… the funny man with the camera!

Trevor did such an amazing job!

Due to us being on the island for 10 days after the wedding, he made sure we had the DVD to take home after the wedding and… WOW!

We watched it as soon as we got through the door on Saturday, again with our parents that night and again on the Sunday with the friends who came out for the wedding. It was great to relive it so soon after the day.

Trevor caught the ceremony and speeches perfectly and even managed to turn to get the best man blubbing!!

We didn't even know he was there filming until you saw his cheeky smile from behind the camera.

Trevor was great at making everybody feel comfortable in front of the lens, therefore being able to get some fantastic footage of everybody dancing. Even getting my Bridesmaid rapping to Black eyed peas!!! Funny stuff!!

Trevor's sense of humour really helped on the day, especially with me. I was so nervous when I was waiting in the car before the ceremony but he came over and lightened the moment straight away with his jokes and laughter!

The songs Trevor put on the DVD are awesome, great choice. Together with the footage…. Fantastic, romantic but not too cheesy!

You are the greatest, thank you.

_____________________________________________________________________________

Mechelle and Desi

Extraordinary, Superb, and Elegant are three adjectives I can use to describe my wedding that was coordinated by Kayt and her team at Awesome Caribbean Weddings (ACW).

The minute I got engaged I knew I wanted a destination wedding. My travel agent recommended the “majestic” island of St. Lucia . Based on her recommendation, I did further research about the island, wedding locations and wedding coordinators. I came across a website called “Awesome Caribbean Weddings,” and now the rest is history.

Once I read reviews about ACW and saw the pictures, I contacted them and Kayt responded, immediately. At the inception of my relationship with Kayt all I knew was that I wanted to have a wedding unlike anything my guests had ever seen. I think my first words to Kayt once she responded to my email were that I wanted to feel like a princess and in the process wow my guests. Kayt did not let me down; she fulfilled my request and much more. She held my hands through-out the process, listened to me, and provided key suggestions that helped to make my day spectacular. I have to admit I was nervous allowing someone I never met to plan a wedding for me, in a country I never visited, at a location I never saw in person, and at a restaurant, I never ate at. My friends and family, especially my fiancé' thought I was crazy but they remained supportive during the entire wedding planning stages.

One of my biggest concerns was the wedding cake. To ease my worries Kayt, fed-ex all the cake flavors I wanted to try, to New York . I was extremely relieved that I would have an opportunity to taste test the cakes before my wedding day. We decided to have a two-tier cake traditional fruit cake and chocolate cake.

A week before I arrived to St. Lucia , Kayt sent me an itinerary outlining everything I had planned for my big day. I sent all of my favors for my welcome bag and for the reception to Kayt. Kayt received my many shipments and put the bags together for me. Kayt had arranged that once my guests (36 individuals) arrived at their accommodations the welcome bag with all their goodies (a welcome letter, itinerary, towels, cookies, chips, sunscreen, safety kit, fans, and Tylenol) would be presented to them.

The day after I arrived on the island, Kayt met my fiancé' (now husband) and myself in the lobby of our hotel (Bay Gardens Beach Resort). She went over everything on our program very thoroughly. She even arranged for us to meet with the photographer and DJ so we could tell them face to face what we wanted. We had planned a rehearsal/welcome bar-b-cue at the Bay Gardens Beach Resort the night before the wedding. Kayt had set up a meeting with the manager so we could go over all the details for the festivities. When Kayt was leaving she gave us her cell phone number just incase I needed to talk to her. Once this meeting was completed my mother and I had a hair and make-up trial scheduled, which was also set-up by Kayt.

The morning of the rehearsal/welcome bar-b-cue Kayt had scheduled a rehearsal at the ceremony site. She had informed all the participants of what time the rehearsal would be and provided transportation to and from the rehearsal. Kayt also had the officiant who would be performing my wedding in attendance. Kayt had us go through everything down to the kiss between my father and myself when he was giving me away. Kayt is a very thorough person, she leaves no stone unturned.

My rehearsal/welcome bar-b-cue was so beautiful. I was expecting just an ordinary bar-b-cue with friends and family on the beach, but that is not what I got. The beach was decorated with the wedding colors (purple and buttercup). There were so many different food and drinks options my guests did not know what to eat or drink first. The DJ played the right music the entire night. Many of my guests were dancing, drinking, and eating all at the same time. When the bar-b-cue was coming to an end my guests begged the DJ just to play a few more songs, because they did not want the night to end, and he obliged. The videographer (Trevor) captured so many different funny moments at the bar-b-cue that still make me laugh till I cry.

On the eve of the wedding Kayt constantly checked the weather forecast to see if showers were expected on the day of the ceremony. Based on the reports there was a 50/50 chance of rain. With this information, Kayt informed me that we might have to put up a tent to shelter the guests. At first I was depressed to hear about the rain and the tent going up because I felt it would take away from the beauty of my wedding site. Kayt noticed the disappointment on my face and told me we could wait to the day of the wedding to decide. The morning of the wedding, Kayt told me there was a 30% chance of showers and gave me the pros and cons of the tent. I finally decided to use the tent and I am glad I did. It did not rain on my day but it was extremely hot. My guests appreciated the shelter I provided them from the sun. The tent did not take away from the look I had envisioned for my wedding day.

The morning of the wedding, Kayt arrived at the hotel with my bouquet and flowers for my bridal party to wear in their hair. She also checked to make sure everything was running smoothly. She also took the items that I would be wearing during the reception (2 nd dress, shoes, jewelry, garter, and undergarments). Kayt told me to make sure I ate something before the ceremony, because I would hate for my stomach to grumble during the ceremony. She also informed the guests of what time they should be ready and that they should only get into a mini bus with ACW logo.

My wedding in one word was SPECTULAR! I had two cars for the ceremony; one to transport mother and myself and the other for my bridal party. When we arrived at the ceremony site the car with the girls left and Kayt told me to stay in my car and prepare for my grand entrance. The ceremony was at the Sea View Gardens. This venue overlooks the majestic island of St. Lucia . We had someone to blow the conch shell to signal the beginning of the wedding. This also signaled my onslaught of tears before I even reached the rose petal isle. At the end of the ceremony the guests had rose petals in a coconut shell that they threw to congratulate us.

When the ceremony was over and I dried most of my tears the guests were served champagne and the kids orange juice. A steel pan band group played while the pictures were being taken. The photographer (Mikael) and videographer were busy at work capturing all the days' events for posterity. When the guests left the Sea View Gardens , Mikael took a few more shots during the sunset.

The reception was held at Piano Piano. When the guests arrived at this venue they were greeted with cocktails, a signature drink, and entertainment (fire eaters). The guests loved the cocktail hour outside Piano Piano and some of them participated in the cocktail hour festivities. When the groom and I arrived at Piano Piano we were greeted by Michelle (Katy's colleague) who made sure the reception ran smoothly until Kayt arrived.

The ambiance, service, food, and drinks at Piano Piano were out of this world. Everyone partied until the DJ announced that the night's festivities had come to a close. The guests collected the goodies and cake that Kayt had put out for them by the exit. They bid myself and the groom final farewell and told us how much fun they had.

If someone is considering a wedding on the beautiful island of St. Lucia it behooves them to not just contact ACW but to hire them. I can honestly say that once you tell them your vision you will get that and much more. No one will ever regret leaving their special day in the hands of Kayt and her team. Kayt dealt with our wedding like she was planning her very own and for that we will always be eternally grateful.

Love and Respect,

Mechelle and Desi

Brooklyn , NY USA

Photos - Mikael Lamber

I am not a photogenic individual so I was not sure if I wanted a photographer at my wedding. My family insisted that I hire someone, so I did it to please them and my fiancé. I am so glad I listened to them and had Mikael as my photographer. Looking at my wedding photos made me less camera shy. I believe in my heart of hearts I had the best photographer in the world at my wedding. Mikael took so many beautiful pictures before, during, and after the ceremony, that still leaves me in awe of his work. I am so glad we requested for him to take pictures during the reception. I recall posing for about 20 images but Mikael took over a thousand images. I have no idea when he captured so many candid shots, but he did. We honestly forgot Mikael was at the wedding, until we went online and viewed our photos. I would like to thank Mikael on behalf of myself and my husband for capturing our day so beautiful. The photos allows us to remember our day in an oh so special well.

Mechelle and Desi

Brooklyn , NY USA

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Alauna & Jorge

There is a reason that Michele and her group have named their company "AWESOME Caribbean Weddings"! Our wedding and reception was truly a dream come true for Jorge and I.  From the moment we were engaged we knew that a destination wedding was going to be in our future. The question was when and where?  After countless hours of research and debating we came across Michele's website.  Neither of us had ever been to Saint Lucia but have close friends who had.  So we took a gamble and requested a quote from Michele at Awesome Caribbean Weddings.  Low and behold that very same day I received a full 3 page dream description with photos of what our wedding could be!  I was so impressed with the quick response and the ability to take my imagination to the sandy shores of Saint Lucia.

Michele and her team are true professionals. In all weddings organization, flexibility, creativity and patience are of the upmost importance.  We cannot express enough how much Michele embodies all of these characteristics!  Michele sent us timely updates of our programs selections and price.  She has the patience of a saint, while I changed my mind on things a million times!  Michele would always reply in the most cheerful voice "that's okay Alauna you're the bride and you are entitled to change your mind as much as you like!  That is what I am here for". So if you ever once have a fear of another person planning your wedding from another country....DON'T because Michele was absolutely PERFECT!  She left no stone unturned.

About our wedding ceremony

Jorge and I decided to have our wedding ceremony  on Pigeon Island .  I had always dreamed of a beach front wedding with miles of blue water in sight.  Of what we thought was going to be a small and quaint occasion for a few turned into a bash for about 74 people! The decorations were just beautiful and more then I could have ever hoped for.  We decided to have the wedding canopy, wooden white chairs (nice extra touch) and a beautiful bougainvillea rope to line the aisle!  The colors were perfect!   And after the ceremony Michele had 2 tents (one for shade) and the other for our platters of fruits and veggies for our guests to snack on and for the champagne and Pitons! The only one thing that we would change for next time would be to have our guest hang out on the "cliff side" of Pigeon Island after the ceremony.  This is where we took most of our amazing photos and it's more comfortable (temperature, breeze and shade) on that side.  All of our guests stayed at the Bay Gardens Beach Resort and Michele arranged for all transportation throughout our wedding day.  All of our guest were picked up in front of the resort and then returned at the end of the evening! The transportation was seamless and Augustin is not only always on time but also a true pleasure and delight to work with.  He has a wealth of St Lucia Island history and will keep you and all the guests entertained!

Reception

Jorge and I had our cocktail hour at the Cotton Bay Village pool and our dinner reception at the 1461 beach restaurant.  Again Michele made all the arrangements with the fantastic manager Frederic.  One thing we can say for sure is how flexible and eager to please Frederic and his staff are. 

So here is a little summary of our events.  After photos at Pigeon Island all of our guests were transferred over to the Cotton Bay Village pool for a "pink and white" cocktail hour!  Please do not fret as this was only 10 minutes away MAX! Here we had a fantastic steel drum band playing, a signature pink cocktail for each guest as they arrived, passed and plated appetizers, and a   tiki bar to serve any drink your hearts desire!!!  After the cocktail hour guests were ushered down a beautiful lit wooden path to the 1461 open air beach restaurant!  Wow was this place the perfect location for a reception!  1461 had completed the covered deck extension from the original restaurant where the band played and the guests danced the night away.  Attached to the decking was yet another fabulous tiki bar where those who preferred a cold beverage and bellying up to the bar were able to still keep an eye on the antics and "coming attractions" on at the dance floor and dining area at the same time! 

Food

The food at 1461 was to die for!  Our guests still rave about the meal which Frederic was able to provide for the cocktail hour and the dinner reception.  It usually began and ended with..."best food on the island and best food of all the weddings I have ever been too".  Some signature dishes to be sure not to miss are the famous tomato tart, lobster ceviche, blackened mahi mahi and of course the filet mignon! 

We really wanted to have what we called a "free flowing" reception.  So as soon as we made our entrance and began our dance the family style appetizer plates were served and the bar opened for all to enjoy. 

Now on to the wedding cake !  Jorge and I decided on a 3 tier cake to include ginger, chocolate, and red velvet (my personal favorite)!  Being that it was the first time the baker was to make a red velvet cake we decided to make it the smallest tier.  Wow was this a BIG mistake, we should have done the entire thing in red velvet!!!  All three flavors were fantastic but if I have to suggest any I would go for the red velvet any day!  I believe that Frederic and Michele were both quite impressed to see that we ate all the cake!!!  Does anyone ever eat all the cake at weddings???? Well in all my past experiences that cake usually stays on the plate.  Well not in this scenario, we ate it all!  It could be that we were a group of drunken, obnoxious and hungry New Yorkers (yes true)...but I am going to have to go with the full truth.  The baker is amazing and she can do anything!  Have faith!

The Band "Spectacle"

In all honesty this was the decision that did give us a bit of angina.  I stuck my poor husband in front of the computer with his i Tunes collection downloading a wedding mix "just in case" the band was a bust.  Most prefer to go and hear a band live before booking but in this case we really didn't have that option.  Michele did send over some camera video recordings which the quality was okay, but really didn't have us convinced that we had made the right decision. 

While on the island for our first visit we asked around to many of the locals.  The name "Spectacle" came up over and over again.  After speaking with Michele she tracked them down!  Michele went to watch them perform a few times before we officially booked them.  She could not have been happier with their performances every time, but we were still nervous.  So we went with our gut, and trusted Michele as she had not ever steered us wrong.  Man, were they FANTASTIC!  The lead singer has the voice of an angel and they kept our guests dancing all night!  I will always remember my husband's aunts comment "I haven't danced this much in 25years!  Man that girl has a beautiful voice".  So if you and your guests like to put on your dancing shoes and prefer no breaks, Spectacle is your band!

Photos/Video

I am not sure where to start in regards to the AMAZING photos that Mikael took for us!  We had Mikael for our ceremony, cocktail hour, and 1 hour at the reception!  He took nearly 1000 images for us.  The only problem is that they were all so BEAUTIFUL we had such a difficult time picking through them all.  So of course we did what every "realistic" couple would do and purchased the rights to all of them :)  Mikael is a true professional who is not intrusive at all.  I honestly had forgotten that he was there taking photos at the cocktail hour and reception all together until the end when we said our "thank you" and "goodbyes".  Within a week of our wedding our photos were posted on a website for us to view, and then 2 weeks later we had a CD full of memories that will last us the rest of our life!  Mikael THANK YOU for making our memories so beautiful!

We LOVED the video!  We really enjoyed the fact that we could hear our vows and it enabled us a chance to relive the wedding moments again.  Jorge and I were loving our marriage officer, he was so perfect for our personalities!  The video messages were such a wonderful surprise as well!  We laughed through the entire things.  It really took us back to our wedding day.  I cried and OF COURSE kept my face to the side so Jorge wouldn't make fun of me.  He enjoyed it too though really.  We popped champagne and watched it together!  A little bubbly never hurt anyone!  We also thought that he did a fantastic job putting in the music at the appropriate times and to the right moments.  Job well done TREVOR we enjoyed it tremendously!

So in all honesty, at the end of the day our wedding was a dream come true.  We could not have been happier with the way things turned out!  Michele and her team at Awesome Caribbean Weddings do a wonderful job and we will be forever thankful to them.

We Love you Michele!!!

Alauna & Jorge

Jason & Stacie Sloan

If you're newly engaged and nervous about the wedding plans process, your options, and how it could possibly be pulled together the way you want it - read on. Hopefully our story will lift some concerns and allow you to have fun with it.

From the day we got engaged we were, as most newly engaged couples are, completely overwhelmed with wedding plans. We knew we wanted to get married on an island and that was about as far as we could go. We started weeks of research on many islands of the Caribbean contacting agencies and wedding coordinators to get more information on our options. We fell in love with St. Lucia almost instantly, however honestly, it was Awesome Caribbean Weddings (ACW) that sealed the deal for us.

Unlike any of the agencies/wedding coordinators we had interviewed up to this point here in the States and all over the Caribbean, ACW was the only one to consistently respond to us within 24 hours. For those of you that consider service is important, this experience with ACW was amazing. Right from the start, Michele offered advice and sent tons of information on the island, as well as the wedding event. We shortly picked a date and signed on with ACW - if only they knew what they were in for.

Here's the kicker - our wedding included 62 people, much larger than we had anticipated. The group ranged in ages from grandparents in their 70s to kids under 5 yrs. Planning the wedding itself became only a piece of the puzzle as we started planning activities throughout the week for guests. ACW took the reigns and coordinated activities for everyone including a zipline tour in Dennery, spa appointments throughout the week, a deep sea fishing trip for the guys, a Sunset Cruise on the night before the wedding, and pointed guests in the right direction for diving expeditions, horseback riding, day sails, etc. It was great to be able to spend time with friends and family during the week before the big day. Michele and ACW did a fantastic job coordinating whatever our guests asked for - a feat to be proud of!

The wedding.our vision was simple and elegant with Caribbean flair. We wanted an experience, not just a quick wedding on the beach. ACW delivered, the wedding day was more than we could have hoped for. ACW took our vision and made it real. They were great to work with and have been some of the most genuine people I've met. Hopefully our story can give you some ideas or inspire your big day.

We chose a private beach wedding on Pigeon Island in late afternoon. As guests arrived at the site, they were welcomed by a steel pan band and a bar serving sparkling wine, mimosas, Piton beer, and water for refreshment during the ceremony. It was the perfect set-up for a hot afternoon Caribbean wedding. ACW did a great job with decorations at the beach. The flowers were the most beautiful I've ever seen, more vibrant than what I expected.

After the ceremony, our guests enjoyed the steel pan band music and the bar while the groomand I took sunset pictures. Mikael and Chris, the photographer and videographer, did a fantastic job at capturing the moment, the environment, and the spirit of the event. Our advice is not to skimp on the pictures and video -- we couldn't have been more happy with them.

From the beach, we headed to Cotton Bay Resort with our guests for a cocktail hour next to the pool. The resort pool created a stunning setting as our guests snacked on canapés and cocktails. It was a great transition between beach and dinner.

Great food was one of our priorities and dinner for 62 is always difficult for even the best restaurants to pull off. Beach Club Fourteen Sixtyone, a restaurant at Cotton Bay Resort situated on the water, created the romantic atmosphere that we had hoped for. With the menu offering choices including filet mignon, red snapper, and rack of lamb, not one of our high-maintenance guests had a complaint on the food. The taste was fresh and the dishes were well presented. The night was rounded off at Beach Club Fourteen Sixtyone with a live band until shuttles escorted our guests back to the Windjammer.

All in all, I couldn't have been more impressed with the impeccable service and professionalism of ACW. We had a large group with many requests and ACW handled them beautifully. Their first-hand knowledge of the island, the activities it can offer, and the relationships to make it happen was what we needed to make our wedding what we wanted it to be. Thank you to Michele, Kayt, Mikael, Chris, and all those who made the vision real for us.

Stacey and Frank Febbraro

On our special day our wedding fantasies became a reality thanks to Michele, Kayt and team from Awesome Caribbean Weddings. St. Lucia was the perfect setting for us and our guests, specifically Pigeon Island which we found by looking through many photos that ACW sent to us. We had always wanted a "custom" beach wedding and reception with our closest family and friends and ACW made it possible by acting on our ideas and perfectly orchestrating the event.

My fiancé and I had an entirely different wedding planned when we started year 2006 off. And four months before we were set to be married in Washington DC we decided to cancel the formal winter wedding and started researching the lovely island of St. Lucia where we were already locked into our honeymoon! I had started the quest by calling resorts and hotels to get the ball rolling for a new wedding plan, but to my despair I wasn't getting the responses or customer service I had hoped for and my dreams were slowly starting to slip away. I thought I was going to have to settle for something that I didn't necessarily want since we already decided to officially cancel the nuptials in DC.

Just as I was about to give up, one evening I came across the ACW Web site and found a glimmer of hope. I studied all the beautiful photos and read every single page on the Web site and was starting to feel good about things again, so I took another chance and filled out the contact form not really expecting to hear back. To my surprise, the very next morning I had a 4 page email from ACW describing all of the places to choose from for a custom wedding as well as sample packages. After going back and forth in numerous emails that week and crunching numbers quickly we signed on with ACW and knew that things were finally going to be taken care of with precision and tact.

Then it came time to plan the custom details once since we had the place and time set, I wanted to be able to plan a wedding that would fit right in with the "Martha Stewart" weddings (yet funkier) and wasn't quite sure how I was going to pull that off being thousands of miles away. Right off the bat Michele told me that they loved it when brides brought new ideas to the table and said her team was game for anything, which excited me. My ideas were not revolutionary but I wanted it to feel special and have details that reminded the guests of Frank and me. Michele went to great lengths for us over the 3.5 months we had to plan, she scoured the local markets for us on the weekends for baskets and wooden chairs. She was constantly going to the post office to pick up one of the 12 large boxes of goods we shipped over to the island. They found a vendor that would provide us with sparklers for guests to light (since you can't ship flammable goods). She also constantly challenged her vendors to see if they could do things that were out of the ordinary such as actually having the florist create/meld together bamboo flower displays, placing fairy lights throughout the trees, luminaries lining the beach/reception site on pigeon island, finding red bull and our favorite liquor to serve to our guests, and even having the caterer serve our 40 people "family style" rather than buffet style. The event was a success because Michele stayed in constant contact with us and always helped us pull off the unthinkable.

Some of the items we shipped to the island were table clothes, vases, candles, candleholders, luminaries bags, favors for the guests, pillows for our nieces and nephews to sit on in the front row of the reception, seating cards, signs for the bar and reception tables, flower petal bags and fans for the guests at the reception. When they arrived at ACW headquarters they took great care of them and quickly notified us of the contents that had arrived.

Michele was wonderful she worked with us day and night and when we arrived on the island we were so thrilled to finally meet her. She came the first day with all the legal paper work and the finishing touches in terms of schedule of events, etc. Michele even went to the trouble of taking us to the florist so that we could make sure we were getting exactly what I had been describing over email. Frank and I didn't have to worry about a thing once we arrived. We trusted that Michele had it all together and she really ran with it. She helped us coordinate everything even a last minute rehearsal in our rooms the night before which was very helpful! The flowers, transportation, food, set up crew, videographer, rentals, cake, dance floor, steel drum band, priest, fire dancers, wait and bar staff were all extraordinary and well orchestrated and planned by ACW. There wasn't a thing that I wished was done differently. The next day our guests didn't stop talking about how unique and memorable our wedding was and alas we had pulled off the destination wedding that I had been dreaming of for years. Oh and how could I forget to mention the other big hit - The Cake - our guests couldn't stop talking about the delicious ginger, chocolate and vanilla goodness! We even had our guests over the next night for the leftovers and the cake was devoured.

We did have some rain that blessed our reception but it was a non issue thanks to the tents and quick thinking of Michele. Our guests didn't even let a little rain damper their spirits as they danced on and truly enjoyed themselves. Most of all - ACW made it so that Frank and I could enjoy every minute of our trip. This was very important because we were stress free the entire day because we knew they had it under control. Thanks Awesome Caribbean Weddings!

The Vision: Funky and Colorful

The Colors: Light Pink, Fuscia, Lime Green and Orange

The Ceremony: A romantic and intimate setting on the  ocean side of Pigeon Island. Our guests were seated facing the ocean and we were facing our guests. The flower displays helped to give structure to the beach and outlined the aisles eloquently, really made it feel like a grand entrance. We had our nieces and nephews on pillows in the front row so that they could feel as if they were all a part of the ceremony and reserved seating for our family and Bridesmaids/Best Man/Speakers on the front two rows. We had two vases set up at the entrances on tables where our guests contributed sand and later we used this as our unity ceremony and poured the sand into one jar. We had the DJ set up early so that we could have a sound system out on the beach and Michele helped us play music from our iPod. The priest was excellent and made us feel at ease the entire time. The videographer was hard at work as well and really did a great job of capturing the moment without us even knowing he was there.

The Cocktail Hour: Immediately following the reception, our guests headed over to the cliff side of Pigeon Island for cocktails, hors d’oeuvre and a steel drum band. We took family photos with our photographer that we brought over from the states on the cliff side and then Frank and I headed over for some photos by the beach for sunset. Our guests really enjoyed the relaxing nature of the cocktail hour with the steel drum band the wonderful rum punch and most of all they loved the Red Bull that

Michele was able to track down (I guess the island sun had made some of the guests a little tired)!

The Reception: While cocktail hour was taking place Michele and team were busy resetting the beach with all of the reception details. They were also busy lighting around 100 luminaries in the perimeter of the beach, setting up the round tables with the pink linens and green vases with white orchids and lighting the frosted candleholders on the tables. They reset all the floral displays to the front of the tents for the DJ and the bar and it looked beautiful. The dance floor was made of plywood and worked out very well. There were two entrance tables set up with the seating cards and a guest book for people to drop us a line. When the guests made their way to the tables frank and I were announced and entered by doing our first dance. Then the festivities kicked off and we enjoyed a night full of fun festivities. We played music off of our iPod which my husband diligently worked on for the two weeks leading up to St. Lucia.

One of our favorite things was the sweetheart table that was positioned off to the side under a romantic tree. This allowed us to enjoy every bite of the delicious food that was served. We had speeches during our first course and passed the microphone around for good stories and laughs. Then after the main course was cake cutting time and dessert was served. The big surprise for all of our guests were the fire eaters/limbo dancers. They came out and got the crowd moving again! Once their routine was over the rest of the night was ours to enjoy by spending quality time with our friends and family on the dance floor. When it was time to head out, our guests lined the pathway to the car and lit sparklers to send us on our way. And the second our car left the gate there was a torrential down pour and everyone ran to the vehicles. ACW had to break down the entire event in the rain but they still wore smiles when I spoke to them the next day – what troopers they are! I think we were all quite impressed with what we had just pulled off :)

Stacey and Frank Febbraro

Virginia, USA

Photo credit

Brad and Nicole Wolf of SOTA Dzine Inc. www.sotadzine.com 703-6450900