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Raphael and Heather
Botanical Garden Wedding
Wedding Planner: Sarah Parker | AI Rentals and Bride and her tribe (Mummy Annie Mae, Sisters Kathryn, Gillian & Liesl)
Caker Maker: Island Taste
Officiant: Joy Basdeo | Simply Weddings
Hair and Makeup: Jackie Sorian and Trina Biliti
Ring Designer: Tiffany & Co | Hearts on Fire
Flowers: Del | The Flower Dell did our florals and center pieces. Florals included; Soft Pink Roses, Ivory Roses, White Lisianthus, Babies Breath, Loose Greens and Succulents.
Decor: AI Rentals brought our vision to life with the overhead string lighting, rustic tables, oak cross back chairs and earthy toned linens. They also provided décor for the Groom’s ‘English Harbour Rum Lounge’.
DJ: DJ Lin
Dress Boutique: Boutique: Gown Boutique of Charleston. Designer: Martina Liana
Grooms Suit: Hugo Boss
Bridal Party: Adrianna Papell | BHLDN
We met at the Governor’s House during a function to celebrate the 2014 Commonwealth Games. After some initial small talk, it was revealed that we would be traveling to China together for the Youth Olympic Games later that year. Raph was attending as Sailing Coach and Heather attending as Chef de Mission for the Cayman Islands Team. Throughout the Games, Raph and Heather learned of shared passions for sport, music, Caribbean culture and travel. Raph was consistent in his pursuit to spend time with Heather, making offers to meet for meals or exploring the interactive zones of the Olympic Village together. Heather was consistent in accepting these offers and extending them to other team members and friends – having a third wheel kept all these encounters professional. Thankfully, Raph was not discouraged by the ever present third wheel and on the teams return to Cayman he asked for Heather’s phone number. The rest as they say, is history.
I decided early on that the hunt for the dress would be more of a bridal party trip. There were eight of us total, Mum, Sisters and Besties taking on the Charleston food scene…Sorry, I mean looking for ‘The Dress’. We got the dress from the Gown Boutique of Charleston, it was separate pieces by designer Martina Liana. This was our second boutique of the trip so I had narrowed down the style that I liked. After modelling a few options we had a bit of a debate between two dresses; the one and the almost the one. After trying both on a few times we decided on the one! The dress trip was definitely a highlight of the whole wedding experience, so many great memories and laughs shared over phenomenal meals. Alterations were done locally by Norma at Creative Fashions & Design.
Raph and Jayden picked out their suits while in the UK over the summer. Jayden was a bit apprehensive, he didn’t like the idea of having to wear a jacket or dress shoes. Once the whole ensemble came together he was pleased to be looking so smart. Raph was very thorough in his selection. All and all everyone was suited up in under 3 hours.
In September 2017, Raph and Heather ventured to Cayman Brac together with Brian and Liesl (Heather’s Brother and Sister-In-Law). The 35 minute flight from Grand Cayman to its rocky neighbouring island Cayman Brac was arguably the most nerve wrecking flight of Raph’s life. Seated side-by-side with a curious girlfriend who sensed heightened nerves and an uneasy smile, Raph was certain his plans of a surprise engagement had been revealed by his trusted ring picking assistant, Jennifer. Heather knew nothing of his planned surprise, this didn’t stop her from teasing Raph about his anxious behaviour. The group spent the evening playing cards and preparing for their rock climbing adventure scheduled for the following morning. Raph initially planned to propose while repelling into a cave but exercised caution, given that neither of them had any experience repelling nor rock climbing and he himself is afraid of heights. Shortly after midnight on September 2nd Raphael surprised Heather with a ring and a proposal to share a life together. With little hesitation, though helping Raph down on one knee, Heather said YES!
We did a first look and photos at the wedding venue before the ceremony. The ceremony was late in the afternoon so we didn’t want to risk losing light. Also, neither of us can stand to miss out on a party so it was great to have spent the time earlier in the day together with Rebecca. After the ceremony we did wedding party and family shots and were able to join in with the cocktail hour. I’d defiantly do it all the same. The reveal during the first look was pretty special and it was nice to spend most of the day together leading up to the ceremony.
We had a blast working with Rebecca and her team on the wedding day. Everything was easy going and we were able to enjoy all our time with family and guests. When Rebecca is in her creative space you just do as you’re told and the results are fantastic.
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Make the most of the time you have with your photographer. Spend some time scrolling Pinterest and Instagram for ideas so you have a general idea of the type of shots you want. Relax and have fun with it. Most importantly, hire Rebecca! She makes the magic happen.
I don’t know how to narrow it down! The entire day was like a dream… The definite highlight was having Jayden, Raph’s son, here with us to celebrate. He flew over from the UK with family friends, which as a minor takes quite a bit of paper work and preparation. We can’t say thank you enough to the Allan’s who moved mountains to coordinate travelling from Cardiff to Bristol to London to Cayman…and back!
The bride’s bouquet included the small bible that her Great Grandmother carried on her wedding day – which has been in her sisters’ and cousins’ bouquets as well! The bride also wore Sapphire Earring that her Father gave to her Mother on their wedding day.
All of the emotions burst through to the surface when we queued up to walk down the aisle. We had carefully selected dramatic, heart tugging, music for this moment and it triggered everything for both of us. We had done a first look and photos before the ceremony so the big reveal was behind us, getting the full body rush again was pretty spectacular.
Exquisite! A touch traditional with some non-traditional flare. Our ceremony backdrop was an old Caymanian house from early 1900s and we danced down the aisle with the recessional soca song Hello by Kes the Band. The whole day was so much fun! We’re so happy to have celebrated surrounded by family and friends and with beautiful weather. The Botanic Park was gorgeous, we can’t thank the park and their staff enough for accommodating us.
Make the most of the time you have with your photographer. Spend some time scrolling Pinterest and Instagram for ideas so you have a general idea of the type of shots you want. Relax and have fun with it. Most importantly, hire Rebecca! She makes the magic happen.
The weather!! My Mum was the most anxious about the weather for the 3 months leading up. Understandably, we had not been so lucky with my sister’s wedding earlier in the year. It all worked out despite the threatening clouds early on in the day. We were also worried about mosquitos, we had Pestkil spray the venue the morning of which held them off. Raph was nervous about making his Grooms toast, and likely fearful of what his best man would share about him. There were many late nights the week of the wedding and last minute edits while we watched guests arrive.
First Dance – Crazy Love cover by Juke Ross Father – Daughter Dance- The Prayer by Celine Dion and Andrea Bocelli
