We just had the most amazing week with Leslie & David, who traveled from Canada down to Montego Bay for their destination wedding at Iberostar Rose Hall Beach! It was a week full of memories, including celebrating with the newlyweds at a beach bonfire with a steel drum band to the entire wedding party jumping in the pool for the Trash The Dress session! It was AWESOME! We can’t wait to share the photos, but we’re actually in Orlando today celebrating our own anniversary (happy 4 years Matt!!). But I always like to post a sneak peek! Here’s one of Leslie & Dave by the gorgeous infinty pool at night! : )

It’s so hard to keep a secret, especially one this amazing, but now we can finally share the great news! Our super hot couple Lisa & Omar had their destination wedding at Moon Dance Cliffs in Negril, Jamaica featured in the Jan/Feb 2012 issue of Destination Weddings & Honeymoons magazine!!! I remember when I called Lisa to tell her the good news. I reached her voicemail, and I thought I was going to burst because I was soooo anxious to tell her that their dream of having their wedding in a magazine was coming true. When she called back, she couldn’t believe it! She even admitted that she wasn’t having the best day, but everything turned around when she heard the news!

Lisa & Omar had an intimate and very stylish wedding at Moon Dance Cliffs overlooking the ocean. Their wedding was personalized with handcrafted items found on Etsy, and everything tied together so beautifully! You can view more of their wedding photos in our previous blog posts:

Part I: The Ceremony at Moon Dance Cliffs
Part II: Sunset at the Cliffs and the Reception

It’s hard to choose a favorite part of the day, but I was particularly in awe of the fire dancer. It was such a special surprise that Lisa & Omar presented to their guests, who had traveled so far to celebrate with them!

Destination Weddings & Honeymoons is such a great resource for anyone planning a destination wedding (or, better yet, a honeymoon!)! Make sure to check out their recommendations for the Best Honeymoon Destinations for 2012!

It definitely was a source of inspiration when we planned our destination wedding! It also has a special place in our hearts because Destination Weddings & Honeymoons was the first magazine to ever feature one of our weddings! Last year, they featured Stacey & Mike’s Nassau destination wedding at Old Fort Bay in their October 2010 issue! We are so honored to have another wedding featured in this inspiring publication!

We’re excited about the destination weddings we’ll have to share with you in 2012, but this year is certainly one that we will never forget! We can’t wait to see Lisa & Omar over the holidays so we can give them a copy of the magazine (and see their gorgeous faces)! : )

Here’s a peek at the magazine (LOVE the cover with the cute little burro):

We’ve been looking forward to Leigh Anne and Patrick’s wedding for so long, and we think you’ll agree that this special day was worth the wait! They are the absolute sweetest people you will ever meet and so head over heels in love with each other!

The best way to tell their story is to actually borrow from Patrick’s sister, Natalie, who introduced them. As she told everyone during her toast, growing up with brothers, she always wondered what kind of women would become her sister-in-laws. And now she can’t be any more thrilled than to have her best friend, Leigh Anne, officially become a part of her family (to which Patrick said “Thanks for that!”).

Leigh Anne and her bridesmaids got ready at the gorgeous Westcott House. Leigh Anne’s purple heels were incredibly stylish, her jewelry elegant and tasteful, and her dress so incredibly beautiful. But our favorite detail was her grandmother’s garter! While she and her ladies were getting ready, Patrick and the guys were a few miles away. Patrick wanted a classic “James Bond” look and had a very elegant tuxedo with a bowtie and purple socks that matched Leigh Anne’s shoes.

They decided to do a first look at the Lightner Museum. As Patrick waited on a gorgeous stone bridge overlooking the koi pond, Leigh Anne slowly walked up behind him, finally tapping his shoulder for him to turn around. They both had a complete look of joy and happiness as they looked each other up and down. It was a perfect moment!

Traveling from North Carolina for their nuptials, they chose a wedding location that highlighted all the charm of The Oldest City. They held their wedding at the White Room on the rooftop overlooking the marina and the Bridge of Lions. The ceremony was beautiful and heartfelt, with many tears and smiles. As Leigh Anne and Patrick’s ceremony ended, a gorgeous rainbow appeared in the sky. Leigh Anne’s grandmother had passed away this year, so everyone said that the rainbow was a sign that her grandmother was smiling down upon Leigh Anne and her wedding. (Feel free to pause to get tissues!)

The reception was the perfect mixture of relaxation and party. When the night finally came to a close, Leigh Anne and Patrick boarded a carriage to take them for a ride around downtown St. Augustine and the thousands of white lights that were on display for the holidays. Luckily for us, they made a quick stop back at the Lightner Museum to do a few more evening photos with all of the twinkling lights (and some sparklers!).

Now that they’re back from their honeymoon, we’re so excited to share some of their wedding photos! I hope you’ll forgive us for posting a few more than usual, but we are big LA & Pat fans and it was such a gorgeous wedding! Leigh Anne and Patrick, you are a special couple and we wish you many long years of joy and happiness!

Every wedding and every couple is special to us, but this particular one is special for a different reason. The bride, Melissa, happens to be my cousin! We were so excited to hear that she and her fiance Brian had chosen to do a destination wedding in Bonita Springs. Everyone came down to Florida from Pittsburgh to celebrate their wedding at The Club at Barefoot Beach just before sunset. As everyone processed down the aisle to live music by Bill Beck, the tears started to fall. The tears turned into giggles when Lexie, the most adorable “flower girl” ever, came running down the aisle. As Missy & Brian held hands and spoke their vows to one another, their voices choked a little, and they could no longer stop the tears from falling.

While everyone went inside the Club for the cocktail hour, Missy & Brian walked along the beach and enjoyed a brilliant sunset. As the sun started to fade past the horizon of the Gulf, the sky grew brighter and bolder with pops of orange and pink. You couldn’t ask for a better sunset!

The reception was full of laughter and fun times, and even though the wedding was in Florida it was definitely a Pittsburgh reception! Toward the end of the night everyone danced to the Steelers Polka (I had to sneak a little video clip on my phone – see below their slideshow). It was a fun time. At one point Matt turned to me and said “We really need to make another trip up there.” He’s not even from there and I think he’s homesick! : )

It was so great seeing everyone and being part of Missy’s wedding! I promised (or threatened?) Missy that I was going to post a pic of us when we were babies:

Some things never change… you were always the pretty one! You looked stunning on your wedding day, and it’s clear that you and Brian are perfect together! Matt and I wish you both much love and happiness ALWAYS! Congratulations! : )

We’re really excited about sharing the wedding of Missy & Brian with you later this week, but first we had to post a sneak peek for the newlyweds! Missy & Brian were married on Friday at the Club at Barefoot Beach on Florida’s west coast. This wedding was extra special for us because Missy is also my cousin! It was such an honor to be part of this special day and we planned to share all the highlights from their wedding on Tuesday, but here’s a quick peak at what to expect! : )

Jessica & Thomas (known better as Jess & Bubba) chose to do a destination wedding in the beautiful beaches of Alabama. But this was more than just a destination. Both the wedding date and location had very special place in Jess’s heart. Sept 10, 2011 was the anniversary of the passing of her grandmother, and the Caribe Resort overlooked Orange Beach, a place where Jessica shared so many special moments with her grandmother.

It was a perfect sunny day for an Orange Beach wedding. While Jess and her girls went to the Davis White Salon for their hair, Bubba was getting dressed in an amazing white tuxedo, complete with a pair of tractor cuff links that Jess bought for him on Etsy. Bubba and all the guys started in white tuxedos, with the groomsmen wearing colorful ties and vests (yellow for the Best Man and coral for the Groomsmen).

Jess & Bubba decided to do a first look so they could enjoy some time together before the ceremony. As Bubba anxiously awaited at the end of a dock, Jessi walked up next to him. For a few seconds, they just stood next to each other, both looking out, before they finally turned towards each other.Bubba almost immediately started getting tears in his eyes as he looked at his bride for the first time! It was priceless!

Jess & Bubba’s wedding ended up being quite an attraction at the Caribe resort, with guests lining up and tubers in the lazy river piling up to watch the bride walk down the aisle. With promises and sweet words, they pledged themselves to a new life together and shared the perfect first kiss as husband and wife!

Jessi & Thomas then hosted 60 of their closest friends and family in a seaside-themed reception, complete with lighthouse-styled lanterns, seashells, and other nautical centerpieces. And it wouldn’t be an Alabama wedding without Shrimp & Grits at the reception! Mmmmmm!!!

Orange Beach enjoys some fantastic sunsets, and we were lucky to steal the newlyweds away for a few minutes to get a few last-minute photos of them in front of the brilliant orange and yellow skies.

We are so honored that Jess & Bubba chose us to share their wedding day with them. And it was also great seeing one of our 2010 couples, Stacie & Tim, at the wedding! We had to take an opportunity to get a picture with them all!

Jess & Bubba are spending the week in New Orleans (and making us so jealous with all of their photos on Facebook of beignets and gumbo). We hope that you are both having a great time! : )

The weather was perfect this past weekend for Jess & Bubba’s wedding in Orange Beach, AL! We also had the most AMAZING sunset, which we had to share in this sneak peek! More to come later this week! : )

We love intimate weddings, so we were thrilled when Monika & Jonathan contacted us about their destination wedding at Cinnamon Beach! They traveled from Pennsylvania with their family and friends to the sunny shores of Florida to say “I do” with the sand between their toes! Their wedding had so many personal touches. Instead of carrying a bouquet, Monika walked down the aisle with a candle inside a beautiful lantern. She said, “This will symbolize light and warmth for my husband that I’m bringing to his life and will be a direction for him and a way to always find me if he ever gets lost.” Jonathan held a bag of Starbucks coffee, which was a reminder of that special first date they had drinking coffee and getting to know one another. The sweetest part was that their kids made up the wedding party! Such a cute idea and special way to include them in the ceremony!

I think it’s pretty obvious in these photos how much Monika & Jonathan adore each other, but just to let you know just how excited they were about getting married, Monika ended up RUNNING down the aisle toward Jonathan and threw her arms around him! She just couldn’t contain herself! I think it’s safe to say that these two were meant to be! : )

After the ceremony and some photos, everyone went up to St. Augustine for dinner at 95 Cordova at the Casa Monica Hotel. We took a few photos around the hotel before leaving them to spend the evening laughing over great food and cocktails!

We hope that this sweet wedding leaves you feeling romantic and carefree! That’s what destination weddings are all about! : )

We hope that you’ve enjoyed Part I of Alexis & Matt’s destination wedding in Telluride! It’s funny to read the comments on the blog and on our Facebook page saying how the setting is so beautiful that it doesn’t even look real! We always hope that a wedding day turns out perfect, but this really was the perfect wedding. Alexis & Matt deserve it so much, because they really are amazing people!

And they are surrounded by wonderful people, too! We first met Matt when he was part of Stephanie & Dave’s St. Augustine wedding last year! We were so excited to see them again, and we took the opportunity to get a pic with Alexis, Matt, Stephanie, and Dave at the end of the night (see below)!

There were so many great moments from Alexis and Matt’s reception at Allred’s. From heartfelt and funny speeches to the party atmosphere created by Denver-based live band Deja Blu, the whole evening was filled with moments to remember! One thing we’ll never forget is the cake cutting. Instead of having a single wedding cake that they cut, Alexis decided to have 18 unique mini-cakes from Telluride Truffle spread amongst all the tables, including one on their own. Each cake had a cake cutting set and the cakes were cut during a communal cake cutting. Afterwards, guests could move from table to table, sampling the other cakes and starting up conversations. What an amazing idea and a great way to involve everyone at the reception!

It was bittersweet to see the evening come to an end, but it was a day that will not be forgotten! Kudos to Soiree Telluride for making Alexis & Matt’s vision a reality and for making the day run so seamlessly! And a HUGE thank you to Alexis & Matt for choosing us to capture their amazing wedding! It was an honor to be part of your day, and we wish you both all the best! : )

Whenever people ask what has been our favorite place to shoot, we’re never sure what to say. There are so many venues and cities that we love, and we have wonderful memories of them all. But now when people ask, we will say Telluride – hands down!

It’s easy to see why Alexis & Matt chose to have their destination wedding in Telluride. The town is historic, charming, and the people are friendly. It’s surrounded by mountains, perfect for hiking and bike riding in the summer and skiing in the winter. It’s the kind of place that you look around, in awe of its beauty, and you know that God must have smiled after it was created! It’s a natural work of art!

There’s something very sacred about saying your vows from 10,000 feet. Like you are literally proclaiming from the mountaintops for all the world to hear – “I do!”

Alexis and Matt’s wedding was one of those events where everything just seemed to come together. The decor was amazing, the 18 miniature cakes were so unique and special, the planner was fantastic, and best of all, the threat of rain never materialized, allowing the wedding to proceed outside at the St. Sophia overlook, maybe one of the most majestic views anyone will ever see.

The best part, though, was the people. Everyone had a great time helping celebrate Alexis and Matt’s union. They enjoyed fine food, drinks, and dancing to the sounds of Deja Blu at the rustic-chic Allred’s Restaurant, which itself had a great view of the mountains and Telluride.

When Alexis and Matt finally disembarked from the gondola back at the base of the mountain, everyone was waiting to give them one last cheer and a rousing send-off to finish off a spectacular day.

With Alexis and Matt back from their surprise honeymoon (Matt didn’t tell Alexis where he was taking her!), we know they’re anxious to see their photos! So please enjoy Part I of their amazing destination wedding and be sure to come back for Part II tomorrow!