Wedding/Vacation Pics from St Lucia

[Russian Blue]

Hi guys,

I just came back from the most amazing wedding and I've been asked to post some of the pics here. Sorry I haven't been around (I gave an update in Cat General) but life has been crazy. Rob was in a serious car accident back in March which could have left him dead. He's been in physiotherapy since that time and will continue in this year.

It really shook us up and even though we have been together already for 13 years, we decided to fly down to St Lucia to get married. We got married on January 14, 2010 and the day even started out with a rainbow! The whole vacation felt like a dream and we were very fortunate to have an opportunity to visit wonderful St Lucia and their great hospitality.

So, on with the pictures! I took all the pictures myself. No wedding photographer, except an assistant helped me by taking the one's of Rob and I at the ceremony. She never used an SLR before so I was teaching her. I have the equipment, might as well use it!

We stayed at two places - Sandals Grande in the north of the island for 5 nights then moved to Stonefield Estate in the south end for another 5 nights where we had our wedding. Total dream vacation! Amazing hospitality, the location is too gorgeous and I'm so glad I split my vacation and ended up getting married on the south end.

The north end is the commercial end, more level and touristy - shops, discos, restaurants, bars etc.. The south end is the rainforest/Pitons and very rugged and natural. It's spiritually beautiful there.


When we landed in St Lucia we arranged for a helicopter transfer to the hotel. What a great experience! It was a thrill and a real treat for us. I figured we'll only get married once so why not go all out?





We then took a short taxi ride to Sandals. The resort is very well kept, the hospitality is out of this world and we were treated like a Queen and King while there.


Of course being in the Caribbean offers amazing sunsets!


After 5 nights of sleeping/eating/relaxing in the sun we moved to the south end of the island into the rainforest and next to the Pitons. Here we are driving towards Petit and Gros Piton:


We had reserved a villa at Stonefield Estates. It was a former plantation and it was a slice of heaven....literally. Each villa is way up on the side of the mountain and each comes with its own pool and outside garden shower. Yes, you shower out with nature!

I could go back in a heartbeat and never get tired of the views! And the hospitality is crazy! I felt like I was at home! The St Lucian's have a wonderful spirit and heart. They welcomed us with open arms.

Here is a typical evening view looking out over the pool towards the ocean:


Continued in next post........

[Russian Blue]

Did I say the sunset/sky was amazing? We don't get anything like this in Toronto!


This is how high we were.....the little building you see at the top is the restaurant deck:

And here is the view we had every time we ate at the restaurant - looking towards Petit Piton:


I have zillions of photos but trying to give a brief overview.

My wedding day was perfect! We had breakfast and there was a light shower. After the shower, a rainbow appeared right before us. It was literally amazing! Since we are in the rainforest, it rains, very briefly, about 2 to 3 times a day. And when I say brief, literally it will rain for a few minutes and then totally clear up.

Here we are getting married - on the deck of the restaurant with Petit Piton in the background:



Signing


Cheers!



Continued in next post.....

[Russian Blue]

Bubbly,cake and flowers:


I loved the flowers! Beautiful!


Our rings with the flowers:


We also arranged for a private wedding dinner on our villa deck. Here's my handsome husband enjoying dinner.

[krazyaboutkatz]

Beautiful pictures. I'm so glad that your wedding went smoothly. You both look so happy together. Congrats and I hope you have many happy and healthy years ahead.

I couldn't see some of the pictures so hopefully there'll back up later.

[moosmom]

What a beautiful couple you make!!! You must've had a wonderful time. The pictures from Sandals are awesome.

[CountryWolf07]

Incredible! Congratulations. Beautiful pictures! Thank you for sharing.

[Catty1]

STUNNING! Just beautiful - a perfect setting for a lovely and loving couple!

Congratulations!

How did your furkids react when you got home?

[lvpets2002]

WoW the pics were all just great.. Congrats as Newlyweds..

[Taz_Zoee]

Bruce and I did a Caribbean cruise on our first vacation back in 2003. One of the places we visited was St Lucia. We both loved it more than any other place we went. We said we would come back for our honeymoon (yeah, that's IF we ever get married!) and stay at Sandals.
I was so excited to see your photos of your amazing trip. Thank you so much for sharing with us. And congrats on your wedding.

[Karen]

Beautiful pictures, and it sounds like the perfect day! Thanks for sharing!

[Russian Blue]

I have over 300 pics, so here are a few more to view.

I'm adding this pic so you can see my whole dress here.....I really loved this dress. I actually packed it in the luggage and it arrived fine! And, I purchased it for $99! Deal!

A girl who worked at the resort fell in love with it. I surprised her when I was leaving by giving her the dress! She almost started to cry. The resort is in a very poor part of town and I'm sure she can't make much working at this resort so she can either use it or sell it. I'd rather give the dress to someone who will made use of it rather than have it hang in my closet and collect dust!

The wedding assistant told me to stop in order to take a pic & I was taking a step so my legs look awkward.


The path leading to our villa - you can see how lush the surroundings are in this pic


Now some pics of the villa that we rented. It's called the Frangipani Villa and it really is one of the best one's at the resort. We only had one neighbour to our left and there was a deep ravine on the other side of us.



Our pool lit up at night.


The villa had a series of wooded shutters that had a screen on the outside. So, at night, you could keep all the shutters open to get an amazing breeze. The only problem? The sounds of the rainforest was loud! We brought earplugs but by the second night I loved hearing it.


Continued in next post......

[Russian Blue]

I told you earlier that we are on the side of the mountain....so check out how steep the roads are - driving here is not for the faint of heart and you want to always make sure your brakes are in working order!


Some great pottery was scattered around the pool area


And there were fruit trees everywhere. Here are some new bananas. Did you know that a banana plant can only bear fruit once? Then it is chopped down to let another plant grow from its base. The fruit takes approximately 7-8 months to grow......I didn't know that! The local bananas taste way better than the one's we get at home.



Food was always good and they use all homemade ingredients and garden veggies. Their pancakes were to die for - Banana, Mango or Cinnamon. Rob would always order a double order.


More sunset pics.



Also, we watched some beautiful ships pass by our place.....

[Grace]

Oh WOW !!!

Your photos are spectacular - fantastic - beautiful. What a wonderful wedding you had. And thank you so much for sharing all these photos with us.

[Laura's Babies]

WOW!! What a beautiful place to get married! You are such a handsome couple too! I LOVED the pictures so thanks for sharing them with us!

[Taz_Zoee]

I was hoping you'd post more pictures. That was very sweet of you to give your dress to that girl.

I want to go back now!!! I remember driving over there. We went on tours and it was rather scary. They drive fast and there are no stop signs at most intersections, it was crazy!!

When we got off the boat (or ship, I guess) our tour guide told us it rains 90% of the time. We were lucky and had a beautiful day. Then at 5pm when we were back on the boat it started pouring.

Feel free to share more pictures. I, for one, will not tire of them.