BAREFOOT WEDDING CEREMONY | DESTINATION WESTIN GRAND CAYMAN | KELLY AND HAHN

June 30, 2016

BAREFOOT WEDDING CEREMONY | DESTINATION WESTIN GRAND CAYMAN | KELLY AND HAHN

overlooking caribbean ocean on the westin beach

Venue : Westin Grand Cayman

Officiant : Steve Balach 

Flowers : White Hydrangeas, orange Asiatic Lillies, Roses

DJ : DJ Craig | Oneworld Entertainment

Hair and makeup : Jackie Soriano

Brides shoes : Kate Spade

SLIDESHOW

westin resort grand cayman

At the beginning of 3rd year of undergrad, Kelly was looking for new activities to both learn something new and meet new people. She went to a meeting of the computer science club (Hahn was also at the meeting since he was on the student council). Although the club didn’t appeal to her tastes, she happened to see Hahn again at a house party hosted by mutual friends (Ryan and Gabe) who they knew from Molson Hall, the dormitory where they lived during their 1st year. Kelly and Hahn struck up conversation at the party and ended up walking home together (they lived down the street from each other). Hahn asked Kelly if she wanted to hang out sometime, though she didn’t clue in to the fact that he was trying to ask her out! The next time they met up, Kelly realized that she had been asked out on a double date!

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palm trees black and white

blue caribbean building for wedding

Kelly and Hahn were on vacation in NYC. Hahn had received celestial advice that he needed to pop the question during the morning instead of at night. They had been staying in a suite in the St. Regis Hotel (Hahn used his sister’s hotel points for a room upgrade) and ordered room service for breakfast while Kelly was sleeping. Kelly was awoken by the door opening and room service delivery and got out of bed to see what was going on. It was then that Hahn started saying things that sounded like he was about to pop the question. After a brief intermission Hahn popped the question.

groom walking down road by old cayman house

What photography related advice would you offer to a couple?
We were initially considering using a photographer from where we live and flying her to the Cayman Islands, but we chose Rebecca instead (and are glad we did!). A local photographer like Rebecca will know where the best spots are on the island to take photos and will have experience finding the best lighting conditions for taking photos in the sun and on the beach.
Other photography advice: We downloaded an app called WedPics and encouraged our guests to upload their photos to it. This was a great way for everyone to share the photos they took. We have now collected about 400 photos as a result!

west bay cayman wedding portraits

I looked for wedding dresses around Cleveland and even went to NYC for a weekend and didn’t like the selection. All I found was a JCrew wedding dress that I was having second thoughts about. I also did not want to spend a lot of money on a dress that I was only going to wear once. My parents came to visit me for Thanksgiving weekend and my mom suggested looking in other stores around town “just to see” what was out there. I found a bridal store in Rocky River, OH that was having a Black Friday sale with dresses selected from the previous year’s floor samples. My dress was on the sale rack for only $250! My mom chose the dress because of the beautiful silver beading on the bodice as well as the flowy skirt. I tried it on and it looked more elegant and special than the JCrew dress (which we ended up returning). My mom (who prides herself on her good fashion sense) was excited that she was able to pick out a dress for me. It meant a lot to her. For the grooms outfit: Hahn was shopping with his mom at Saks Fifth Avenue in Washington, DC and the jacket stood out to him among the other tuxedo jackets.

peeking around bride and groomwedding orange colour

It’s kind of hard to not feel overcome with emotion when everyone looks at you and stands up. I almost cried!

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I was surprisingly not nervous at all, probably because I was so relaxed from being on vacation all week!

bridal party on beach

This advice is specifically for those in the medical field: it is really hard to plan a wedding during residency due to our crazy schedules and long hours. Be prepared to ask for a lot of family support with the planning!

orange bridesmaidsyellow lays on beachfamily photos on beach

A destination wedding is a great idea if most of your wedding guests need to travel to get to the wedding anyway.
It is probably good to stick with a major resort (such as the Westin) so that they will help out with the planning. The choice of resort will depend on how much planning you are willing to do. It will range from little planning at a place such as a Beaches or Sandals resort to having to find most services (flowers, music, etc) a la carte like we did at the Westin,to planning every detail if you rent a house.

groom in all white suit with yellow layfun bridal party shots on beach

gazebo shots at sunset
sunset on the beach

Amazing. It went perfectly. I could not have asked for anything different other than I wish the day could have gone on longer. I was so afraid that I would have forgotten to plan something, but it all somehow came together in the end.

westin resort grand caymanfirst dancing

westin resort grand cayman

 
It was great. You are so professional. I really enjoyed the locations you took us to for our first look photos before the ceremony.

Yes, we saw each other beforehand and I really enjoyed having that”first look” with photos of the moment we saw each other.

 

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