Meg & I had the wonderful opportunity to travel to Jamaica for a fantastic three day wedding weekend this past May. The trip, like so many of our wedding contracts (as my wife continually reminds me), would fall over our very own seven year wedding anniversary. What's a wedding photographer to do?
Well, in this case - the stars all aligned, as I was able to give Meg a fantastic anniversary treat - hopefully making up for several years of lackluster efforts. You see, a year or so ago we were published in a fantastic bridal magazine called Caribbean Bride - they ran a multi-page feature on the Bahamian wedding of Shonna + Harris at the Atlantis Resort that we shot several years ago. In that same issue, there was a feature on a fantastic boutique property in Negril, Jamaica: The Caves. Meg took one look at the photos of this place and went "I'm just putting this out there - if we ever go to Jamaica, I'd really love to splurge on this resort!"
Fast forward to April 2010 when I let my wife in on a little secret - I had booked our Jamaica hotel accommodations at The Caves - which just happened to be a hop, skip, and jump away from the wedding property. To ensure we would have a minute to catch our breath and enjoy ourselves, I even added two nights to the end of our stay.
I'm putting all of this out there because I know we have a lot of clients that are in the early phases of planning for the honeymoon and I wanted to offer up our glowing review of this property. It was the best trip we have ever had - better than our own honeymoon by far - and 100% of the credit goes to the amazing staff at The Caves. We could not have been better cared for here and I am so appreciative of our time spent in Jamaica.
Meg and I like variety and have always thought the idea of returning to the same essential vacation over and over (instead of trying new things with each opportunity) was a bit... well, odd (to us.) BUT after our stay here - we could absolutely see returning. I could go on and on about our experience here* - and I plan to, just as soon as I have a spare hour, over at TripAdvisor (which is a goldmine when planning for international, or even US-based, travel.)
*I guess it is worth noting that we are not affiliated with this property nor are we being compensated for the endorsement - we just figured it was the least we could do, after the staff went so far above and beyond to make our stay so enjoyable.
I'm also adding some of our personal (mostly) point-n-shoot photos taken during our stay. Enjoy the view!
We had breakfast several mornings under this white umbrella overlooking the water.
The Caves is an intimate resort built in, among, and on top of a vast structure of caves (who saw that coming?) The caves themselves are open for snorkeling, kayaking (which you can see later on), swimming, diving, and sunset or starlight private dining. The largest, as I understand it, is also available for intimate weddings.
We managed to squeeze in lunch at this gazebo several times during our stay - but we passed on the blue loungers for some hammocks in the shade.
A small saltwater pool is available to the guests, as well as a jacuzzi deck - though the real attraction is the open water mere steps below.
We stayed in the cozy Two Birds 'hut' - that boasted very high ceilings and an outdoor shower - which sounds a little iffy, but was a daily highlight here. There's nothing quite like looking up and seeing trees, flowering shrubs and open sky overhead while sudsing up.
Our room was one of twelve individual properties at The Caves - which makes for such a wonderful contrast to most other island all-inclusive resorts. We could be as social or private as desired while partaking in the luxury amenities of better-known mega resorts such as guided tours by kayak and spa services - both of which we found time to squeeze in.
Our unit was the smallest on property (hey, we are struggling artists, after all!) - but when the staff so graciously offered to (complimentary) upgrade our accommodations on our second night (after learning of our anniversary) - we actually turned them down, we were so in love with our room!
The following shots were taken after our wedding weekend coverage was complete - I took a few shots while Meg ordered us up two Dirty Bananas at the bar. So, technically it was after 5pm during cocktail hour - but the indulgence was a lot like having dessert before dinner. To even it up, we had another after dinner as well :)
The view from those blue loungers from above...
Ready for my next nap.
We had dinner at this little spot on our first 'night off'
And we had this private waterside cave scheduled for our anniversary dinner. There were probably one hundred votives and blooms dotting the walls...
Surrounded on three sides by the rushing tide, we had to cross small wooden bridges to our candlelit table.
It was a magical trip - I only wish it weren't over.
Can't get enough of the view? See some more in our personal snapshot slideshow:
Tomorrow I'll share the first day of our three-day wedding weekend coverage in Jamaica. See you again soon!
Congratulations to our randomly chosen winners: AMY B., EMILY L., JESS M., LAURA and LIBBYJAMES
You will each receive a copy of our custom 2-disc Halloween Party Mix. Now you can start planning your Monster Mash for next year and don't forget to hit those clearance racks for great inexpensive party finds! ;)
Thanks to everyone for your wonderful comments and congrats again to our winners!!!
We request that our recipients kindly provide their mailing address so that we can get your fabulous prize to you! Email your addys to meg AT megphoto DOT com
Meg really loves a great party and, lucky for us both, so do I! I had no idea when I accepted my position here at Meg Baisden Photography that 'working overtime' would include crafting, baking and decorating into the wee hours. But to me, it's hardly work at all! It was really fun planning this glitterrific Halloween soirée with Meg in her home. Hope you enjoy the pics!
Meg had a collection of Halloween clearance items from last year including plain plastic pumpkins, gourds, skeletons and spiders. We channeled our inner Martha and glittered until everything was covered – including us!
Good Eats...
...and Sweet Treats!
Our devilishly delicious menu included 6 Layers Under Dip, Pumpkin Patch Pinwheels, Mummy Dogs (all pictured), Bucket-o-Bones (hot wings), Rest in PB&J, Frightful Fingers (crudites), Sinfully Sweet Spiderwebs, and Candy Corn Crispies.
Even the outdoors got a little loving...
Meg has a fantastic chalkboard in the dining room, so we utilized it in the decorating, too.
Jones Soda makes fabulous Halloween themed drinks in bottles and mini cans - we picked them up at Target, but also found them at World Market.
No wall decor went without a little spiderweb action!
We had everything in place: glittery-glam decor, Halloween themed appetizers and a friendly game of Texas Hold 'Em. We just needed music to tie it all together. I was unsuccessful when I searched iTunes and other blogs for a modern playlist of today's artists and songs that had a blatant (or slight) Halloween theme. Originally, I kinda wanted to stay away from Monster Mash type songs, but Meg enthusiastically contended that it wouldn't be a party without those classics. We agreed to compromise and the result was this *amazing* playlist that had people tappin' their feet, bobbin' their heads and doing the Time Warp (again!).
If you're having a Halloween get together this weekend, be sure to check out our playlist. We did the legwork for you, but we won't mind if you take the credit! ;)
Note: If you'd like to see the entire list, use the Page arrows at the top of this iMix. It will only display 10 songs at a time - but we have over 50 songs here! Tab through the pages to see them all.
BLOG GIVEAWAY NOTICE!!!!
We have a few CD favors left over from our party the other night - leave us a comment below and we'll randomly select winners to ship our remaining discs out to. You won't have it in time for this Halloween - but there's always next year, right? ;) We'll notify the winners at the end of next week - so get your comments in soon!
UPDATE: Our little soirée is making the rounds of party-planning blogs this week and we couldn't be more excited! A huge thank you to Kelly at The Party Dress - Inspirations from the Well-Heeled Hostess. She was nice enough to post some of our party photos and share some comments over at her blog - check it out: Real Party: A Glittery-Glam Halloween Soiree We can also be seen featured on At Home with Kim Vallee! Check her out. (Thanks so much Kim!) And most recently we were picked up by Kelley withTotally Tabletops. Be sure to check out all of these fantastic and inspirational blogs!
Happy Monday, blog fans. I've been neglecting you recently as I've focused my attention on going 100 miles per hour trying to wrap up a very busy summer before our very busy fall swallows me whole - but no more excuses! Today I am going to try and jump back in and get this place moving again! We have so many great weddings lined up to share - *so much* eye candy coming this way - you might want to grab your shades! (okay, that was super hokey and didn't make sense, but I'm just a little bit excited.)
I have the cutest little engagement session we shot earlier this month in Tallahassee - and threw together a quick little slideshow to share with you here. This session just makes me *so* happy - and I swear it's not just because we got to photograph their a-dorable puppies - including a little 'madison dog' - a Maltese that looks EXACTLY like our own little furbaby Madison. Every time I see those photos I can't help but smile - so here's hoping that it'll make your day a little happier too!
By the time I get around to posting this, my birthday will officially be over... but, for what it's worth, today (08.21.09) I turned 28. And as midnight draws near (and Charles sleeps, smart man!) I am reflecting on my 'Most Favorite Year'
I had looked forward to turning 27 since I was 4 years old. In fact, the first time I can ever recall really being aware of an age (over one digit) was somewhere around my 4 year and 5 month mark. My parents took me skiing during a family vacation that winter and in my little kid daycare/ski-school, I found my first love. I remember him like it was yesterday... red and white jacket, white pants (yes, white!), the coolest looking ski goggles, sandy blonde hair, and green eyes at an oh-so-dreamy 27 years old. I know this because at the end of my last day of class I marched up and asked him how long it would be before I was his age and we could get married. He told me he was 27 and that I would have to wait another 23 years to catch up to him. Thankfully, he did not bother to explain that by the time I reached 27, he would be long past his 20s... letting me down easy, I suppose. But from that winter on, 27 was the age I most looked forward to. When I hit 16 and could finally drive, I still knew I was only part-way to my perfect year... and when I was 21 and getting married, I thought that 6 years would fly by - and they did. And when I was finally 27, I thought - 'this is it - where my life begins.'
I never will search out my ski-love; I've found the guy I want to grow old with ... but I do wonder whatever became of him and if he would even remember the precocious little 4 year old that professed her love many years ago on the bunny slope...
So, of course, the question lingers there - how was 27 after all those years of anticipation? In a word: fantastic. I could never have imagined all of the blessings and travels life would bring me & Charles this past year... I have enjoyed every minute of my 'most favorite year' as I dubbed it almost 23 years ago. Right around my 27th birthday I found out we would be traveling to Santorini, Greece to photograph the intimate wedding of Christina + Ruben - talk about starting off my year with a bang! We also had the enjoyable task of traveling to the Bahamas for the wedding of Danielle + Jon at the One & Only Ocean Club in January, and of course, the wedding of Keke + Chris in Tortola, BVI this past June, rounded off with a trip to Rhode Island for Jackie + Tom at the Blithewold Mansion last month. We've also been introduced to new places throughout the South East and have spent many weekends now exploring the culturally rich state of Louisiana. We have been blessed in business and in our personal lives this past year (but, some things I need to keep private from the world wide web...) We have re-branded, restructured, and rebuilt our company from the inside out, and have launched a new fledgling venture that promises an exciting year ahead. We have forged new friendships and nurtured the old, made time for family - hosted our first Thanksgiving, even! - and been totally present for one another. I have watched my spouse, who has supported my growth in every endeavor, come into his own this year and I could not be prouder of the man I have the privilege of calling 'partner.' I dare say that 27 has, truthfully, been my very best year ever.
Someone asked me just the other day how I felt about getting closer to 30, and I can honestly answer that nothing excites me more. If history is any indication, I suspect each year will be richer than the one before - offering me new lessons and opportunity for personal growth. Am I exactly where I thought I would be all those many years ago? No way. But what I have found in my short 28 years is that life will hand you so much more than you could ever dream for yourself, if you are just open.
In a few months we will be hitting the slopes for a wedding in Park City, Utah and I imagine I will be reminded of that time, many years ago, when the world seemed so big and I had my whole life ahead of me. And I imagine I will feel again much like I did back then... that my future is full of infinite possibility and the very best years are still the ones to come.
(Thank you to our clients, our friends, and our families who inspire and challenge us everyday. I am *so* looking forward to the years ahead - whatever they may hold.)
