Please Click Here for my planning bio.

My husband and I are incredibly blessed. 51 of our closest family and friends joined us in paradise at the GORGEOUS Compass Point Beach resort to watch us say our vows overlooking turquoise waters. We had an amazing day full of sunshine, laughter, friends, family and love.

To top it off, we hit the photography jackpot. We not only had our amazing photographers, The Art of Light, but one of my closest friends, Emily Jackson, is also an amazing wedding photographer. All photos are from the amazing Art of Light unless otherwise tagged as the incredible Emily Jackson Photography. If you borrow photos, please be courteous and credit me and our unbelievable photographers.

My husband lost his mother to breast cancer in 2000. One of the most challenging aspects of our planning was finding a way to properly honor her memory, while making it a celebration of her life and the contribution to our lives, instead of a mourning event. After a long search, we finally found a way to do this in Chinese Flying Lanterns.

The lanterns are used in Chinese festivals as a way to communicate to the heavens. In addition to being beautiful and meaningful, they are also accelerated biodegradeable.

We kept this aspect of our event a secret from our guests (announced in a card handed out during the first dance). We then took our guests out to a private beach between Compass Point and our ship to launch the lanterns, before returning to the ship for dinner and continuing on to the after-party at Senor Frogs.

Public Service Announcement: The Muster Drill is a very important safety drill and should be treated with the utmost respect. Do as I say, not as I do. ;)

Non-Pro Cruise & Miami Photos

Photos by the INCREDIBLE Shawna Noel.

We spent 8 perfect days at the Royal in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. We laid by the water, drank, ate, slept, dove in the Cenotes, shopped, and watched the Vikings on Monday Night Football. Life was truly grand. :)

Milestones Photography

Paulette Davis, Amour Affairs
Wedding Coordinator
C
It pains me to write this review because I had nothing but the utmost faith in her. Everything actually went pretty well until the last month or so before the wedding, when things got really bumpy. I kept hoping that things would go better on the day of, but things got worse. I actually would have been far LESS stressed had I not hired her on the day of. To be fair, though, I have no idea if there were fires that she was putting out behind the scenes. But, I do know that she CAUSED quite a few fires and a very stressed out bride. (I am extremely thankful for my friend Stacy for picking up the pieces and acting as my DOC!) The vendors that she brought in for us, though, were absolutely amazing and other brides have had rave reviews, so I am going to assume that what happened with us was just a fluke.

Angel’s Accents
Hair Flower
A
Angel is super sweet and super talented. My hair flower came out beautiful, and exactly as I anticipated—a total steal too! Just be aware that at times she can be a little on the slower side (I’ve heard this from other brides as well), so just order with plenty of time, and you have nothing to worry about.

The Art of Light Photography
Wedding Photos

A+
Absolutely our favorite vendor. I really can’t speak highly enough about Kristyn and Stephanie! Our photos speak for themselves, but beyond the amazing work, they are amazing PEOPLE! Best WR decision we made!

Beach Bum Vacations--Hayley
Honeymoon Travel Agent
A+
We ADORE Hayley! She’s wonderfully responsive & got us a great deal! Highly recommend!

Celebrity Transfers
Transfers TO Compass Point
A
Excellent, easy, and friendly dealings with the manager prior to our event. We also got an upgraded vehicle, which was a nice touch. No + after the A just because the driver was a little late, which was no biggie in the end.

Cherished Moments
Dress
A+
I ordered my dress on 11.25.06 after having a WONDERFUL experience here?far better than the experiences I?ve had at the other well-known shop in town. My dress came in earlier than expected and they were wonderful to deal with post-delivery as well. Of course, alterations were insanely expensive, but that was to be expected.

Classic Jewelers
Engagement Ring & Wedding Bands
A+
I cannot say enough wonderful things about this store and the people that work there. Scott, the owner, is willing to work with you on your budget and timeline, and for once in a jewelry store, I didn't feel scammed. ;) Prices are VERY reasonable and the selection is unique?no mass-produced jewelry in sight. We love that place. In fact, we've already brought in a friend to buy an engagement ring for his fiance and my parents to have some goldsmithing done and they have both raved as much as we have. I have no doubt that they will be our life-long jewelers, no matter where we are located.

Compass Point Beach Resort
Wedding/Reception Location

A+
Pictures absolutely do not do this place justice. The grounds, the staff, the food, everything?AMAZING. We also dealt with Linda at Compass Point directly extensively (see review for Paulette Davis), and had an EXCELLENT experience with her. We will absolutely be back as guests and I would not hesitate to tell my best friend to hold her wedding there.

Courtyard by Marriott Miami Beach South Beach
Pre-Cruise Room Block

A+
We had an excellent experience with the Courtyard while dealing with them prior to the wedding, as well as while we were there. The hotel is excellent, well-kept, and clean and the staff was very friendly. You also can?t beat the location! Additionally, our dealings with the general manager prior to the wedding were easy and always friendly.

Ewedding.com
Wedding Website
A
We just built our website, and we are pleased with how it turned out, though we must admit that some of their processes have been a bit bizarre. When I went to put the two year extension on my account, there was only an option for 1 year. After about 30 minutes of frustration, I finally emailed them, and they indicated that they no longer have the two year option on their website, but that I could pay via paypal. I did so, and it took about 24 hours for my account to be updated and my domain to go into effect. Slightly annoying and bizarre, but really not that big of a deal.

Matthew Sweeting
Wedding Officiant

A+
Matthew was INCREDIBLE and an absolutely calming influence on our big day. The ceremony was so fantastic and so personal that our guests thought we had flown him in from home. In fact, I had met him 10 minutes before the ceremony started and my husband met him 30 minutes before the ceremony started. He is a tish more expensive than some other island officiants, but I promise he is worth every penny!

Olio Style
Invite Graphic
A+
I LOVE my graphic, the price was VERY reasonable, and I was very pleased with Olio?s service. Highly Recommend!

Milestones Photography
Engagement Photos
A+
We LOVED Dave from Milestones! He did an amazing job of shooting in a very difficult location?he captured the airplanes and our personalities wonderfully! And to top it off, our photos were delivered via mail in only a week!

Senor Frogs Bahamas
After-Party

A+
Another fantastic experience. All of my dealings with management prior to the event were smooth and friendly. On the night of, our guests had a fantastic time, the bartenders were outstanding, and the live entertainment was amazing. We also felt the rate we paid for the premium open bar was more than fair.

Shawna Noel Photography
Budoir Photos/ND Reception Photos

A+
Shawan is a complete sweetheart and does amazing work! My budoir pictures came out stunning , and we cannot wait to see the final product from our ND reception.

TruPink Designs
First Veil
A+
I ordered my veil at 7:30 am on a Friday. By 8:30 am I had an email back asking how ?poufy? I wanted my veil at the comb (obviously they wanted to make me happy). I sent back a photo of the look I was going for, and by 3:30 that afternoon, my veil had been custom made and shipped. Highly recommend! Update: The Veil ended up being the wrong color (my fault, not theirs) so I sold the first one and ordered another one with scattered rhinestones.

Second Veil
B-
I ordered my veil on February 1. I hadn't heard a peep from them, so on the 16th I emailed them a polite email asking for the status and informing them that I needed the veil for an upcoming photo shoot. Nothing. On the 23rd, I sent them a less polite (though still well mannered) email stating that I couldn't recommend them if I didn't have an update by the end of the day and my veil on time. I finally heard from them, indicating that they had some shipping problems and it would be there that weekend. It did, in fact, arrive that weekend and it was extremely beautiful. The B- comes from the lack of communication & the fact that all of the referrals I had sent them were EXTREMELY upset and some even resulted in credit card charge backs. Would I use them again? Yes. The veil is STUNNING and did arrive before my deadline. Just be prepared for a lack of communication and to be able to wait it out.

All Brides
1) Don't be afraid to step outside the box:
Yes, every man, woman, and child at my wedding was wearing white--I bucked tradition with a Capital B--but, it was beautiful right? Of course we got the "gasps" and people not understanding--"Don't you want to stand out on your wedding day?" and "The bride is the only one that should be wearing white!" But, in the end, it was amazing and, more importantly, memorable. We also had a non-traditional format (wedding, cocktail reception, dinner on the ship, after-party at an island bar) and and these were the things that we got the most compliments on?The after party was the hit of the wedding! (P.S. Just so we are clear--we did not MAKE anyone wear white--we noted that we were having a white-themed party and they were welcome to wear white if they wanted to, and everyone jumped on the bandwagon, had a BLAST, and looked GORGEOUS!)

2) Consider letting go of the reins:
We did not control every aspect of our ceremony. One thing that was particularly special to us was that we asked our readers to select anything that was meaningful to them to read. We heard it for the first time with our guests. It was a wonderful and personal moment.

3) Don't buy too early:
Especially if you are new to the knot, wait until about 10 months out from your wedding. Your vision for the day WILL change, especially after perusing all of these amazing bios. Myself and several other girls ended up with a lot of stuff we did not use. Money wasted that could have been used on something else.

4) BE MINDFUL OF YOUR GUESTS:
Yes, the day is about you and your fiancé, but you INVITED others to share in that, which means YOU are responsible for being a good host. Cut other things out of the budget in order to be kind to your guests (do you REALLY need those amazing flowers when you can't afford to serve a good meal? Do you REALLY need to have over-the top decor, but no open bar?), be considerate, and greet and thank EVERYONE. If you can't afford the time or money to do these things, consider downsizing your guest list. I feel VERY strongly about this. I've attended weddings that were considerate to guests and weddings where the bride and groom didn't see the guests as important. I left the latter of the two feeling like the couple was just looking for a gift from me. NOT a good taste to leave in your guest's mouths. I guess if you want to make your wedding memorable on the cheap, you can do it this way--it just won't be a great type of memorable.

5) BE MINDFUL OF YOUR BRIDAL PARTY:
I think this is SO important. I have been in two weddings at this point in my life. Let me tell you--I learned a LOT! One was truly wonderful--the bride was mindful of our budgets, we were not treated as slave laborers, and she was just genuinely happy to have us with her. The other was, well, much different. I learned SO much from this, and I really really hope that you think long and hard about how you treat these women. They are the people who have supported you through your best and worst times, but I will tell you--you run out of support when you are treated poorly. Relationships truly can be made or broken based on how you treat these women during this time.

Also, please be thoughtful when choosing gifts for them. Don't choose something that was cheap/easy at the time--they will know, and it can be hurtful (it does appear that they, who have devoted the most time and money to this day outside of you and your fiancé were the last people on your mind--not cool). You don't have to spend a lot of $$$ to accomplish this either--a scrapbook of your friendship, a book they have been dying to read, etc.

Bottom line--make sure they FEEL loved & appreciated--tell them, write them handwritten cards, choose gifts that show them, and realize that they have committed large amounts of time, money, and likely vacation time to your day.

6) Don't be THAT bride:
Yes, at times, etiquette appears out-dated, but there is always someone who will remember the rules and expect you to follow them. Please send out thank you cards on time and DO NOT include registry info in your invites. Even before being a bride I DID notice when I didn't receive a thank you card or when I didn?t receive one in a timely manner, and I DID notice and cringe when someone included registry info in their invites (in fact, I remember being a young child and cringing at this). You just end up looking ungrateful and/or rude--even if it is not to everyone (it's a regional thing or whatever), you will to SOMEONE, and that's just not a great way to look. It goes back to the statement I made in "be mindful of your guests"--Yes, it is about you and your fiancé, but once you extend the invite to your guests to share that day, you are responsible for being a good host. Just be gracious--these items are not just a matter of etiquette (I mean, really--if you want to word your invite not 100% according to the rules, I'm ok with that), but a matter of being RUDE.

DW Brides
1) The chances of everyone that is important to you making it to your wedding is really slim to none. It doesn't matter what you expect, or how well you meticulously figured who would be there and who wouldn't, this is the reality for almost everyone who has a destination wedding. The sooner you accept and understand this, the more pleasant your engagement will be. Sure, you will be disappointed at times, but this is the path we chose, and in the end, you still will not regret your decision.

2) Remember that you have to PACK all of that stuff you bought! I ended up leaving lots of little details behind that I spent time and money on because I just couldn't get it all there.

3) Island time is what it is. Again, the sooner you understand and accept this, the more pleasant your engagement will be.

Save vs. Splurge
Save: Useless favors/ Useless OOT items.
As a guest, I would rather receive nothing than something that I honestly will NOT use. Think long and hard about this. Is it obvious that you chose it only because it was cheap? Is it junk that you're using just to fill the OOT bag? Will they REALLY use it? If so (first two questions) or if not (second question), ditch it. Put the money elsewhere (open bar?). Generally I believe that if you're shooting for a small budget on favors, edible is the way to go. If you've got a little larger budget for favors, use your imagination--we did beach towels in lieu of OOT bags and favors and they were a huge hit. We got them on clearance post-season at Target, so they were semi-affordable and of excellent quality. And of course, charity donations are always wonderful & meaningful.

Splurge: Video.
It's insanely overpriced, but honestly--it's worth every penny. Our video is probably the most treasured item we have from that day. If I were to do it again, videography would be a "must have" in our budget--I would have found a way to make it work from the very beginning.

Save: Photographer.
You do NOT have to spend $5K+ to fly in a great photographer. Look and ask around. There are plenty of PHENOMENAL photographers out there who view DWs as a free vacation for them that will do it for very reasonable rates.

Splurge: Photographer.
That being said, you do need to realize that you are going to have to spend SOME money. Expect to pay, at a minimum the travel costs of two people + a reasonable rate. Some photographers will "go it alone", but it is rare, and we are so happy we had a second shooter--it allowed us a lot of shots that we wouldn't get otherwise (Joey and I getting ready simultaneously, his face AND mine while walking down the aisle, etc).

Save: Anything that doesn't really matter to you.
We didn't get the guys bouts (Joey didn't want them) and we didn't have a cake (neither one of us are cake eaters & desserts on a cruise are out of this world!). Roughly $1K saved. Just because the wedding industry says you need it, doesn't mean it has to be at YOUR wedding.

Splurge: AHR.
If you want one, have it. It's worth it. We loved every second and it gave us a chance to thank those who are important in our lives who couldn't make it to the wedding. In addition to us, it also made my parents very happy b/c they were allowed to do as they pleased with the guestlist and celebrate with family and friends who weren't invited due to the small wedding aspect or were unable to make it to the Bahamas.

Save: AHR.
If you want one, have it, but know that it can be done on a budget. We served champagne, beer, wine, and non-alcoholic punch along with apps, all very inexpensively. We ditched the flowers and went with candles (created just the atmosphere I was looking for, cheap, reusable in your home, and resellable if you choose) and it came out amazing!

Splurge: AHR Photographer.
If you have room in the budget, go for it. Again, though--look around--there is almost ALWAYS someone who does great work who doesn't buy into the overpricing philosophy. Our photographer was VERY inexpensive and was phenomenal. We are so happy that all of the hard work we (well, who am I kidding--I) put into that event was captured in photos for us.

Save: Invites.
DIY if you can. If not, partial DIY. We bought our graphic from Olio Style, then designed and printed on our own. We saved the cutting for kinkos, then DIY'd the rhinestones and addresses. It was work, but it was worth it. I LOVED my invites and they were very budget friendly. If you're not into DIY, shop around--remember that in the wedding industry, you rarely have to pay "full" price for anything. Nestie StacyH&BrianC offers HUGE discounts to knotties on invites (contact me for her information).

We were honored to be featured as a WeddingBee bio of the week on December 12, 2007.

We ordered folded Thank You cards from VistaPrint with this design (designed by me). Since we didn?t use a collage on the front, we took advantage of the offer from VistaPrint for free postcards and included them in our thank you?s with our new married name, our wedding date, and our location on the back.

6 brand new spools of polka-dot grosgrain ribbon + 6 brand new spools of striped grosgrain ribbon. $2 each + actual shipping.

3 brand new unused 3 yard packs of super cute trim. Would be great for lots of diy projects (votive holders, bm totebags, invites, edging for table runners, etc). $9 for all.

Brand new, unused high quality kite kit (everything you need for a fully functional kite). Was originally going to paint it and use it as a unique thank you photo or just a cute photo opp with our last names on it. Didn’t happen, as you can see, but would love to see it at your wedding! ;) $10+actual shipping costs.

18 yards+21? of high quality 1? white grosgrain ribbon. I used it for my palm fans as seen in the above picture. The quality is top of the line, so in addition to DIY projects, It would make lovely ribbon for sashes. $20+Actual Shipping Costs.

Please Email Me if you are interested in any of the items and/or have questions about anything at all. :) Don?t forget your Knottie name, please!