Wedding Photographer: Heather Carey Photography
Ceremony Location: The Cloisters, The One & Only Ocean Club, Paradise Island
Reception Location: The Lily Pond & The Versaille Gardens, The One & Only Ocean Club, Paradise Island
Decor and Flowers: Wildflower Design, The Bahamas
One & Only Wedding Coordinator: The amazing Avani!
I never tire of photographing these special moments at The One & Only Ocean Club, Paradise Island. It is truly a stunning location for that fairy tale wedding we all dream of. Lauren & Ryan are such a kind, beautiful and gracious couple and to be honest, I could have kept photographing them for hours. A beautiful bride, a handsome groom and more importantly a vibrant chemistry between them that just “lit up the room”.
A very poignant moment in the ceremony was the Wine Box element. If you are unfamiliar, this is where the bride and groom each place a love letter (unread) to each other in the box with a bottle of wine and lock it with respective keys. At some point in the future should their relationship experience hardships, they will open the box and sit and enjoy the wine while reading the letters they had written to each other telling what they loved about each other, why they fell in love, and the journey they expected to continue together.
Following the ceremony and the formal portrait session, friends and family celebrated with cocktails at the Lily Pond and then dining and dancing under the stars in the Versailles Gardens. As you can see from the photos, Lauren went the extra mile in asking Wildflower Design to light up the pathway through the gardens and the Cloisters so that the magic of this location could be seen in the background during the evening’s celebrations. As much as I knew there was energy in this bunch, I wasn’t expecting the dancing man that was Ryan. What a great dancer – couldn’t get him or his buddies off the floor all night!
And coming from St. Petersburg, FL how could they not carry with them the symbol that is the Florida Gators!! Socks and garters clearly tell the story of where their allegiance lies! Go Gators! And go Lauren and Ryan!
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