With everything winding down for Christmas, I was so excited to find that our Caribbean alternative beach photoshoot has made the front and inside cover of Brides Abroad winter edition. Not normally one to blow our own trumpet but it’s so nice to see all our hard work from earlier this year paying off. I’m especially pleased for all those who helped make the shoot a success (see last week for full credit list).
Just look out for the magazine on the stands very soon.
As so many people think of the beach whenever they think of a destination wedding, I couldn’t do a photo shoot without including it. However I wanted to show that a beach wedding doesn’t have to be a casual affair, and with the photo shoot in question kindly featured on Bride and Chic here I felt it was a good time to share some more images with you.
Inspired by Vera Wang’s blush pink wedding dresses that were part of the trends for 2012. I chose to go completely couture with a beautiful duschesse silk organza dress with ruching by designer Britta Kjerkegaard from the Couture Gallery and the groom in a navy tuxedo instead of the ususal black by Room ten, to compliment the surroundings.
Using flowers not associated with the tropics white roses and hydrangeas I wanted to show that even with a destination wedding you don’t have to settle for local or plastic flowers if that’s not what you want.
With colours of blush pink, blue and cream the stationery incorporated the blue in a nautical way. Whilst the straw palm fans were one of many details added to highlight the beach favours that are possible.
Finally with the formality of the attire I still made sure that our couple enjoyed the benefits a beach wedding would bring by introducing the hammock and enabling them to go bare foot to enjoy the beach.
My thanks to the following suppliers who spared their time to help with this shoot.
Credits: Location: Round Hill Hotel & Villas, Photographer: Mark Anthony Chen Photography, Stylist: Pierre Carr, Wedding & Event Design, Flowers: Grande Garden, Hair: Hair by Chellz, Make Up: Loni Jones Makeup, Stationery: White Knot, Wedding Dress: The Couture Gallery, Jewellery: Luella’s Boudoir, Groom Attire: Room ten, Parasol: Paradise Parasols
I’m so excited that our whimisical rustic Caribbean shoot was featured this week on wedding blog Bridal Musings (which you can see here), as it ties in nicely with showing you part 2 of the shoot – the reception shots.
Taking advantage of the acres of fields surrounding the plantation house to showcase the reception the grand oak dining table was taken outside. Having a Caribbean wedding just wouldn’t be the same if you weren’t enjoying the great outdoors with its warm weather and beautiful surroundings.
Using items from the magnificent eighteenth century plantation house we were able to add candelabras and green bottles to our own vintage glass vases for the flowers, wicker balls and green ribbon which set of the menu whose ink was also green.
The cake fitted in perfectly with the surroundings and was totally edible.
Not forgetting that your wedding day is also suppose to be fun, we took some quirky pictures too and loved it. What do you think?
Well I hope you enjoyed our Rustic photoshoot and can take some inspiration for your destination wedding. The possibilites when you decide to marry abroad are indeed endless.
Credits: Location: Bellefield Great House, St James, Montego Bay, Jamaica, Photographer: Mark Anthony Chen Photography, Stylist: Pierre Carr, Wedding & Event Design, Cake: Nyla D’ Andrea Cakes, Flowers: Grande Garden, Hair: Hair by Chellz, Make Up: Loni Jones Makeup, Stationery: Paper Lily Stationery, Wedding Dress: Charlotte Casedejus, Jewellery: Luella’s Boudoir, Shoes: Freya Rose,
Hello readers,
Just to let you know we have finally launched our new redesigned website (www.pierrecarr.com) and I have to say I am super excited to finally be able to show all to you.
It’s been a real labour of love, but the new site has so much more. With imagery that will inspire you and content that finally includes all the services we offer with specific pages dedicated to destination weddings, worldwide honeymoons, renewal of vows and our new UK based services.
So take a look, I hope you enjoy?
Its just a couple of weeks until Valentine’s Day! But ladies did you know that this year is a leap year? If your man hasn’t popped the question there is no reason why YOU can’t this time around. Just remember to make it as memorable as possible just like you would like it to be if it was the other way round.
Check our mood board below for ideas. It can be as simple as going for a romantic walk in one of his favourite places or jetting him off somewhere. Good luck and let us know how you get on.
Credits: Top L to R - Boys Girls Mystery Blogspot, Wedding By Color, Penelope Oasis- Middle Row: – IFood TV, Angela Pereira, Manola Brides, Bottom L to R – Glamour, Cellar Tours, The Heart Bandits
If you are still unsure about taking the decision to marry abroad let our mood board below move you. Its not just about the sun and sand (that obviously helps) but its a great opportunity to move the boundaries. If you want sofas outside why not, your options and colours are endless.
In the final part of our tips for a destination wedding – always decide on a wedding destination that you love.
And to make sure your ceremony and reception goes to plan,
Tip 1: Pick a team/wedding planner who knows the destination, which is well worth the cost in saving you time and hassle.
Tip 2: Pick venues that only have one wedding a day – as you want your day to be special
Tip 3: Once you have picked your destination and venue, get your invitations out as early as possible we suggest eight months prior to your wedding which will give guests enough time to budget for your wedding, put it in their schedule and sort out flights.
Deciding on your wedding venue is indeed one of the most important decisions you will make for your wedding. Whether you are getting married at home or abroad the location you choose will set the mood and the tone for your whole wedding, and will be the focus of your pictures and videos for years to come.
This is where I believe a good wedding planner can come into their own, as they not only get to know you both but will know what you are like and what you are looking for. They therefore should be able to provide you with a number of properties that hopefully you will not only fall in love with but will also accommodate your guest numbers and fit your budget.
As the owner of Pierre Carr, Exclusive Tropical Weddings I am always on the look out for unique wedding locations, so for this month I wanted to give you a little insight into some of the places I have discovered and why they are unique.
Focusing on the Caribbean first, in the sixth episode of The Butterfly Journal I speak to William Gordon, owner of Fustic House a private estate on the West coast of Barbados, whose property is described by the national trust as the ‘Jewel of the Caribbean’.
Set in 11 acres of land, which dates back to 700 ad, William explains in the episode about the beauty of the property. With designs by Oliver Messel, the discovery of the Arawak caves and the very private and personal service that you would receive when you are on property all which helps to make it unique.
To give you an idea of the property see a couple of the pictures below.
For another option there is the Half Moon resort in Jamaica, which has long, been the destination of choice for the world’s elite. Set on 400 acres of land bordered by an idyllic two-mile white sand beach, Half Moon has everything, including a dolphin lagoon, which in our podcast Myrtle Dwyer, Director of Sales and Marketing explains how Bruno (the Dolphin) can participate in your nuptials.
With a combination of 30 unique locations to get married as well as the dolphins, Half Moon again offers something quite unique. See below for a couple of pictures.
To hear the full interviews by William Gordon & Myrtle Dwyer on the Butterfly Journal podcast go to www.pierrecarr.com/podcast.
As always I would love to receive your comments about your wedding locations and why you chose them. So please do leave a comment and let me know how you are finding the blog.
Next week we look at tips to help choose your wedding location. Until then, Happy Planning
With a large majority of couples now paying for their own weddings, the decision to get married somewhere exotic with close friends and family looking on, now means that destination weddings has become increasingly popular.
According to Mintel one in six, that’s 16% of British weddings now takes place abroad. That equates to an estimated 51,300 overseas weddings, a massive 43% increase since 2003.
By mixing great weather with high standards of service, UK couples now realise that an overseas wedding really can be the way to go. However, whilst many brides dream of a wedding abroad there are a number of reasons why many back out.
Thats why in the fifth episode of The Butterfly Journal podcast, I try to dispel some of these reasons by discussing tips with experts who help to make dream destination weddings a reality in the Caribbean.
To give you an idea of what we discuss – the first major concern for any couple wishing to get married abroad is the Cost, but it doesn’t need to be. With the average wedding in the UK costing £20,000 pounds, your money can go a lot further (depending on the exchange rate) abroad. How?
Well as most Caribbean islands work in dollars £10,000 pounds = $30,000 Barbados dollars therefore you can get so much more for your money and you’ll also have those great sunset shots to show for it as just one example.
Cedric Lynch and Devon Chase from the Barbados Tourist Board understands this fact as they often have queries on destination weddings to answer. So in the fifth episode of The Butterfly Journal: An Inspiring Wedding Guide, we discuss the different options that are available in order to stretch those pounds.
The second major concern for couples is often the Guests, as deciding on having a wedding abroad is always exciting for the couple but a lot of consideration has to be made for guests as they are investing more for your wedding.
In this situation I believe it’s important for guests to see this as an opportunity for a holiday and not just your wedding day. I suggest giving guests as much notice as possible so that they are able to attend and have the time to save and book flights and hotels as early as possible. 
Carla Risha-Wright from the Ritz Carlton, Jamaica agrees with this point offering sound advice in the Butterfly Journal for occupying guests time before and after the wedding.
Legalities are another major concern as the holiday island you love may not be recognised by UK law should you wish to marry there. I suggest you always check with your destination’s embassy for the exact details or hire a wedding planner like Pierre Carr to sort out the details for you. However, where ever you choose to get married its very important to understand the legal requirements.
Peter Meyer from The Rose Hall Resort and Spa, Jamaica discusses this with me in the podcast referring to the amount of days you need to be in Jamaica before you can tie the knot and the paperwork required.
You can hear more tips on What’s stopping you from having a wedding abroad’ by going to The Butterfly Journal podcast.
And if this post or the podcast has inspired you please leave a comment or send an email to press@pierrecarr.com. As ultimately this podcast is to help inform you!
Next month, we look at ‘Unique Wedding Locations’.
Until then, Happy Planning
