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Grand Old House Wedding
Venue: Grand Old House
Wedding Planners: Michelle² | Isla
Officiant: Samantha Paul – Simply Weddings
Videographers: Wild Love Artists
Hairstylist: Sally Scott-Hopkins
Makeup Artist: Christine Valerie Makeup
Flowers: The Flower Dell
Bridal Gown: Lighthouse Bridal
Bridesmaids Dresses: Bay Bridal
Shooting Partner: Shae Leigh Photography
Where are you both from
Nick was born and raised in the Cayman Islands and Tarryn is from South Africa and moved to the Cayman Islands 9 years ago.
The Dress
My dress was bought from Lighthouse Bridal in Fort Lauderdale. A friend of mine had bought her dress there and had told me how lovely the boutique was and being someone who finds it very difficult to make decisions I knew going to a place like Miami would overwhelm me to much with options and so I thought a smaller boutique that came highly recommended and carried a lot of designers whose style I loved was going to be the best choice. I also don’t have my family here with me in Cayman so I thought it would be a lovely gesture to ask my future mother-in-law if she would like to accompany me to go find the dress. She had 4 boys and so never got to have the experience of going to pick a wedding dress so it turned out to be a very special experience for both of us. I had picked out a few that I had seen online and started trying them on. They were all gorgeous in their own way but as soon as I tried my dress on (the 3rd pick) I instantly fell in love with it. It felt romantic, whimsical and incredibly comfortable which I knew would be very important with it being an outdoor wedding in Cayman. I hadn’t gone into the shop thinking I would get a dress with the champagne underskirt like I ended up getting but as soon as I put it on I just felt so incredibly beautiful and I knew it was the one. We had an appointment later that day at another boutique so I didn’t want to get too excited just yet but as soon as we went to the other boutique and I tried on more dresses I kept thinking back to that other one and knew that was my dress. Overall it was such an amazing experience and I felt like a dream on the wedding day. it was PERFECT.
How did you both meet?
Nick and I had both been living in the same apartment complex in South Sound for many years before we got a chance to officially meet. Nick had been there for over 10 years and lived with his little dog Ninja and I had been living there for about 4 years when we met. I would often get up early to go to work and am a huge dog lover so I knew all the dogs in the complex and I would often see Nick walking with Ninja while I was on my way to work and would think how cute they both were. But we never officially got a chance to meet until late in 2020 after the worst of COVID had passed when we finally met up in the complex and got chatting. Nick brought his little dog Ninja over to my apartment because I had told him how much I loved dogs and missed having one and I instantly fell in love with them both. A few days later it was the start of lobster season and Nick had offered to make me lobster that he had caught that day and from then onwards I knew this was the guy for me and the rest is history. Nick always loves to tell people now he literally married the “girl next door”.
How did Nick pop the question?
Nick and I had been dating about a year and a half and we knew how serious we were about each other and so we had had a few discussions about marriage already and he was asking what type of ring I would like one day and I told him we could go and have a look at a few options and see which one would suit me the best so we went off to the jewelry store one Saturday just to get an idea of what I would prefer. After seeing a ring that I absolutely fell in love with I thought I had given sufficient hints at least that that would be something I would want when the time was right but left it up to Nick to decide ultimately what he would want to get too. We were dogsitting for his parents while they were away so we went back to his childhood home where we were staying that he had literally grown up in since he was born and I decided to go lay out by the pool and relax for a bit. Nick had planned on going fishing the next day so told me he needed to go get bait for the fishing trip so I thought nothing of it and carried on enjoying my time. When he came back he came outside with a cooler box and I couldn’t understand why on earth he was coming to show me the bait that he had just bought so I was very confused. That’s when he got down on one knee and produced this box with the ring we had just been looking at earlier that day and asked me to marry him. The cooler had champagne in it and it had all just been an excuse to go back to the store to get the ring so that he could propose because as soon as he saw the ring he knew that was the one and then being able to propose in his garden in his childhood home that means so so much to him was the perfect place and he just didn’t want to wait. It was all very spontaneous and private and just very much fitting for us.
The First Look
I did a first look with my dad and I felt so nervous walking down those stairs because of how long we had been talking about this day. Seeing how emotional he felt and how proud he looked is something I will never forget.
Wedding Planner
We used Isla Weddings and worked with both Michelle Garricks as well as Michelle Peters. Michelle Peters was on hand on the day of the wedding and was amazing to work with! Right from the beginning they both understood our vision (and anxiety about having to plan a wedding when all Tarryn does is work with financial data all day and has zero creativity). They guided us through the process effortlessly whilst also not overwhelming us which made it a much more enjoyable experience. Grand Old House was the perfect place for this day!
The Venue
We chose Grand Old House because its in South Sound close to Nicks childhood home and our current home and has the most beautiful setting on the water. Nick is a big fisherman and so it was absolutely essential for us to be outside near the water on our big day and Grand Old House offers so much in terms of being able to have the ceremony there and the reception too so it really made the organizing of the day a lot easier. Its also very private which was very important for us and close to the beaches of South Sound where we wanted to have our pictures taken. They also have the best staff to work with too.
Decor
The decor was done by Isla Weddings, The Flower Dell and the lighting was done by MCreations. Our vision was for the decor to look very simple yet elegant and I wanted some gold accents to match the champagne underskirt on my dress too. So we kept it very classic with lots of greenery, candles, white flowers and gold accents. I wanted it to feel very romantic like my dress was. Milton at MCreations did a wonderful job stringing fairy lights all across the roof as well to create that very romantic atmosphere over the tables too without it being overly bright. We also went with the hexagonal arch for the ceremony and so we tied in a few smaller details on the tables too to match with the arch such as the clear acrylic hexagon name cards on each place setting with a sprig of eucalyptus to tie in with the decor.
The Aisle
There were so many emotions that I felt walking down the aisle, I was so nervous but also seeing Nick there made me just so incredibly happy and I just couldn’t wait to get to him. I saw all the faces of the people I love and it was just the best feeling I struggle to even find words to describe.
The Kiss
This felt like the symbol for the start of the rest of our lives and was the most eagerly anticipated kiss Nick and I have ever shared. It felt so good to finally kiss as a married couple for the very first time and we both felt so happy and proud to be standing there with each other.
Setup and Grand Old House
How was the day?
We had the absolute best day and wouldn’t have changed a thing. Usually the sea is very calm that side of the island but that day a northwest wind came through which caused waves that side which made for a more unique setting than usual and we were worried that we weren’t going to be able to use the deck but it all worked out in the end.
Taking Portraits
The most fun was getting the pictures on that swing with the most gorgeous sunset happening in the background. The beach we did the photos on was a sentimental place for Nick and so getting to do the pictures there with the most stunning backdrop meant a lot to us. We have never had professional photos done as a couple so it was very daunting but I think we laughed the entire way through because we truly had the best bridal party and photo crew that made us feel so much more at ease. We also loved popping the champagne on the beach after having to wait for the groomsmen to bring it for us after taking our bus to go get it.
The Reception
We had such an amazing reception. We danced until 12pm when we finally had to concede and go home but could have kept on going until much later. We have quite a few South African friends on the island and they kept bombarding the DJ with South African song requests that we had the best time dancing to so that was very fun. Nick had also attempted to open a bottle of champagne with a sword that didn’t quite go as planned!
The covered deck at Grand Old House was perfect and great for lighting and decor
Your TEAM!
I just want to add how amazing the entire team of vendors was for us. Nick is really good at fishing and I am really good at financial data and spreadsheets but neither of us are very creative or had this big idea of what we wanted our wedding to be. But what we did have was a list of the best people that we knew would help us to make our day the most special day it could be and it exceeded any expectations that we could have had. We weren’t stressed on the day at all and were able to really soak in every single minute of the day and that’s hugely down to having the best people there on the day and for that we will be forever grateful. Thank you!
For More weddings at Grand Old House click here