I love Barbados, now where do I get married?

Hiiii everyone!! This one was specially requested by the husband-to-be.It was our original plan to do a sort of island guide to Wedding Planning anyway, so here it goes!

Some of the best locations to wed, here on the island are some of the most underrated. You know how it goes, one minute you're a guest at a wedding at a gorgeous spot, the next you're hounding the Bride and Groom for the contact number. Or maybe that's just me LOL. Regardless, because the island is so small it's difficult not to do a double. What do I mean? Well, sometimes, while Barbados is 'just beyond our imagination', we get a little boring and follow pattern. Comfort and finances take precedence over style and appeal sometimes. But I digress. With a little imagination, good saving and spending habits and a wicked decorator, you can take any venue you select from ordinary to FABULOUS!

Here are a few of my favourite venues that are beautiful, chock full of interesting spots for photos and the staff are friendly and almost over the top helpful!

Mayfield Reception Centre : Mayfield's Facebook Page

This one is near and dear to Andy and I. This is the home of our friend Gemma. We love the grounds and the peaceful nature of this venue. The grounds are lush and well kept, and it is clear that a lot of thought and love was put into the design and architecture of the location.

A fully stocked bar and lots of location options for the ceremony are only two of the highlights of Mayfield. 

Their decorations are simple, elegant and affordable. You can arrange for your own decorator or use their services. Have it your way! 

Mayfield also has the capacity to offer a garden wedding.. from 15-150 guests.

Pollard's Mill, St. Philip

A good friend of mine held her wedding at this venue. Rentals are necessary, and as far as I understand catering must be prepped off premises and provided by the Bride and Groom. There are two ceremony sites and of course there is the historic mill, where the couple can take photographs. A deck attached to the mill is ideal for the bouquet toss and first dance. And parking is adequate. Located in the beautiful parish of St. Philip, this one is for lover's how prefer seclusion.

The mill at this facility is one of the key features. Your overseas guests will love the nostalgic feeling they get upon entry, and the photos will be fantastic too! 

BWU Labour College, Mangrove, St. Philip:

Two of my family members held their receptions here. It's a huge hall with lovely well manicured lawns. And a room for the bride and groom to shower and change or even dress if they so desire. I believe that there are discounts available if the couple are members of the union and the staff are pleasant and readily available. You would have to source all rentals, however, tables, chairs, decor etc. But because it is fairly inexpensive, the money you save on the site can go towards those costs. 

Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary: 

I attended two weddings here and at one point I considered discussing it as a potential venue with Andy. The weddings were beautiful but I never envisioned a garden party. In any event, the allure of this place is the tranquility, beauty and lush vegetation. The staff maintain the areas well. The only downsides that I noticed were the natural slope of the land, as well as the very limited parking space. Other than that, LOVELY option for potential Brides and Grooms! 

Next Week: I will feature a few more venues, but first, I have a surprise for youuuuuu!!! 

Thanks for reading and following if you have!! 

xoxo,

Heidi

Can't walk this road alone!

Last week, we had our first meeting about the wedding and site visit. And as I was sitting there with my mum waiting for Andy it hit me. I wasn't scared, nervous or anxious. I was excited and a little emotional. I turned to Mummy and said "Mummy can you believe we're here? It's happening! We're getting married ahhhhhhh!!?!?"

Then Andy came and he said to Mummy "Wow!" and he said to me "This is it 'Boab". Mummy said, "yea she just realised." And we were smiling and happy and comfortable and I said a quick prayer that we would always remember this feeling. Then reality hit and though marriage will NOT be an easy road. I know, we will make it through this journey relatively unscathed. We have the love and support of our family and friends and we have five years of blood, sweat and tears and NUFF prayers backing us. So here we go.
Now I have always said (since adulthood) when I get married, I need a wedding planner. Not only do I NOT want any stress or minimal stress on the day. But having been involved with countless weddings I know how important it is to have an impartial, solid, well connected person who can keep things running smoothly.

Efficiency, love for the job and excellent connections are super important attributes for any good wedding planner.

This movie was the bomb.com. All time fave of mine!

So yyaaaaaaay! We have a wedding coordinator. The reception site liason IS thecoordinator! Wooooohooo! I know what you're thinking, so who's going to handle the main things. Well, let's weigh the options. Deal with two personalities who may differ and not mesh at all, one may get our wedding vision the other may not and want to take over. One may be a pushover the other domineering. NOOO way! Let's circumvent that ish, and move straight to the NOT crazy section.

I strongly advise hiring a PROFESSIONAL wedding co-coordinator to assist you either throughout the process, or for on the day help. There are so many things that could go on. Bridesmaids may be late, the organist might have a touch of the flu. Your family may start acting out. Oh shoot we forgot the programmes in the limo. My garter!! It cost $300.00 and I left it at the hotel where we dressed. Drama.




Who WANTS to deal with all that stress, when you can pay someone (as long as you can afford it), or find a reliable someone to take it for you!

Clearly she is IN the crazy section of the Bridal party!

Now I am a HUGE DQ (drama queen), but I do not do well with stress. I have a business to run, family that needs me, Andy and I have to make time for each other, church commitments. And while I love my life, at the moment I am super glad we started the planning process this early. We know what we want and what we have to do to get it. AWESOME!

So having a planner to keep things in perspective. She will offer advice, and make her connections our vendors which is SUPERB. My mum will have as stress free a time and day as is possible. my maid of honour gets to do what she does best, remain calm. And all of the finer details that we may forget or may find difficult to execute considering we are going to be the ones getting married, my lady will take care of it. Not to mention, we don't have to handle the crashers or party poopers. My lovely, beautiful, trustworthy WC (wedding coordinator) has got some SERIOUS game! Love her to bits already!

Next Week: Family, family, family and their advice...hmmmmmmmm

Red, yellow, blue, green, orange, purple, OH MY!

Another week has passed!  So glad we started early.
Everytime I look at Andy, I get SUPER excited, so you all can not imagine my anticipation for next year! Andy keeps grinning for no reason. I think it's funny, then he says something like, yup when we're married blah. blah. And then I get why he's grinning, cute huh?
Last week I hinted (LOL) that we had cemented some plans and we did.

I'm allowed to divulge two of them... are you ready?

WE finally decided on....

A colour scheme AND...

I have bridesmaids!! wooooohooooo!

Fall  colours are BEAUTIFUL!

PRETTY!!! And not too bright right? 

Like it??

When I thought about the colour scheme, the first thing that popped into my head was black, white and red. And that is NOT typical Heidi. My friend Kevin Butcher calls me the 'Guyanese Gal'. (NO OFFENSE TO MY GUYANESE BABIES). Every time we see each other i'm in some colourful outfit and he cracks right up. I can't help it if I'm a ray of sunshine and love to show it off!

Here's an example (pink tho, but you get the idea):

Courtesy of THE KNOT.com.

So chile, lemme tell you. Deciding on our colour palette was HARD! Andy is basic. But I LOVE colour. At first he reallly wanted black and white. And I wanted black white and red. And then when I thought about it, our photographs came to mind, our videography, people's reactions, the decor of the venue. And I knew we had to allow the beauty of the place to stand out. Otherwise it would be like a kaleidoscope threw up on a rainbow in that joint. WE are NOT gonna be Wedding Decor Fashion Dont's oookkkk???

Tuxedo Cake (bottom right) was made by Andy's Mom Mrs. Andria Bowen. Other cakes decorated by a family friend, Ms. Marlene Sealy.
Cake Stand is Andy's mom's and our cake will probably be on it! 

I LOVE my girlies to pieces!  No , that's not me LOL!

The colours are fresh and inviting. Not at all overpowering, and given that it's a summer wedding, we wanted everything to be cool and breezy. Like the location ;)

I would TOTALLY do this, but the dress costs WAAAAY too much! 

The second hardest thing i've EVER had to do after eating bananas, was select attendants. I have new friends, old friends, acquaintances, peeps, crew, daugs. You name it. Andy has it worse than me. Big Man was in about 15/20 weddings (number keeps growing lol). So how do you choose from such a cool pool of peoples? But we have really understanding folks around us. They know that we love them, but everybody cannot be apart of the Bridal Party.

If I'd done cards, I would've gone for something sassy!

So, we took a step back, and I dived in first. I thought about our experiences mutually with the ladies I wanted. Our relationships, how long we've known each other. Would I still talk to them 5 years from now. Good godparent material? Are they pretty (yes girl you know it's true). Are they reliable, faithful? Will they hold my dress while I take a tinkle, I mean c'mon you know. Didn't you watch 27 dresses?!?!? Hellooo?!??! Some people get grossed out easily.
Anyway, careful consideration was taken in the process. I spoke to my Mummy, Auntie, Andy. I made my decision based on our relationships then and now. And hopefully the future.

Big Birdish dresses (not a fan), but the colour is in our palette! 

I look at photos of weddings I've been to, in and around. Either the relationships deteriorated because of a falling out. Or life just happened, and that closeness, that camaraderie between the Bride and Groom and their attendants fizzled out. Of course this could happen to Andy and I. But let's face it, we decided when we got together we were making it work. And that's how we are with our friends.

We may not call them everyday, BBM, text or email. WE may not visit their houses every week or Skype with them at every turn. Our lives are so busy that sometimes we don't hear or see them for weeks, months or years. But the people that I chose, are lifers. They love us, they love us together, they love us as individuals. They are fun, intelligent, dependable, caring, affectionate and HILARIOUS. And come Wedding Day, i'm gonna need to keep smiling for those pics.

We want people who will celebrate with us!!

So, no BIG reveal of the Bridesmaids. We want that to be a surprise in 2014 as well. But I can tell you that I asked them with a powerpoint presentation. The slideshow featured their photos, and names (since all of them don't know each other). And our wedding song :) WE want them to be comfortable with each other come Wedding Day. And I am determined that our relationships will be like mine and Andy's.... built to last.

DISCLAIMER: ALL PHOTOS TAKEN FROM GOOGLE IMAGES (CREDITS: FLICKR, PIC123)