Love and Caribbean SunsetsExotic Tropical WeddingsBy Donna YuenLike every sunset is every love. Forever changing, always unique, and symbolized by an innocent beauty. Combine the two for a picturesque wedding at sunset. This love story, started many years ago. She a Canadian, he an American, she a snowboarder and he a skier. On a cold day in Whistler they found a special warmth in each others eyes.
The guests happily move to a jungle location for a cocktail party replete with Mariachi players and sombrero covered trees. Enticing little hors d’oeuvres displayed atop the banquet tables wait to be selected as the friendly staff serve tropical drinks. After a formal dinner with dozens of guests and touching speeches, the couple plan their escape back to their room. They are pleasantly surprised to discover that the hotel has arranged for it to be adorned with trails of rose petals, swans and heart shaped towels. Foreign weddings are steadily growing in popularity throughout the Caribbean and Mediterranean. Many brides worldwide are now choosing to combine their marriage and honeymoon in an exotic tropical location. Instead of the usual complicated wedding plans where brides run from florist to caterer trying to make their special day perfect; many couples are opting to marry at a resort where professional wedding planners customize their event for them.
As a large percentage of the guests would have been required to fly in order to attend the wedding, this exceptional all-inclusive resort offers a leisurely vacation for the guests in addition their attendance at the ceremony. The hotel boasts multiple pools, six restaurants, bars and a disco.{Place Picture 5 here} The numerous activities available (including scuba diving, snorkeling, kayaking, sailing, tennis, and golf) keep the guests occupied enabling the couple to enjoy tender moments alone. The immaculate resort is situated around a jungle along with an ample beachfront area. The tropical surroundings and impeccable service provides a memorable celebration for everyone involved. After an evening of dancing into the wee hours of the night, I slowly make my way along the dimly lit, romantic jungle path. I walk by the deep blue pool to see a couple frolicking in the moonlit water. I pause and wonder if it is my newlywed friends as I duck back towards the jungle unseen. I smile to myself, as I recall their silhouettes on the beach, with the sunset slowly descending in the horizon for yet another day. The groom gazed into his bride’s eyes and knew that the warmth they found there one cold winter day will always survive, like the afterglow of a sunset, seared upon their hearts. Contact info: weddings.playacar@iberostar.com.mx Images by Donna Yuen |
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Years later, I feel privileged to share their special day as I walk onto the golden sand. The sun-drenched beach is being painstakingly decorated for their proclamation of love. The chairs are covered with white drapery and champagne is chilling in a glistening silver container. Palm trees sway in the Caribbean breezes to the sound of the waves breaking across the sand. Wrought iron anchors secure white ivy covered arches, and pillars outline the aisle leading the path to their destiny.
The guests arrive as the groom waits; competing with the sound of the surf is the unsteady rhythm of his heart. As the color of the sky begins to fade and is etched with hues of pink and orange, the music starts to echo along the vast beach and everyone rises to see the vision in white approaching…
Her feet slowly shift the fine sand beneath her as the elegant train of her dress gracefully glides across the sand. Her bare shoulders display her sun-kissed skin and her face glows with delight as she scans the faces of her family and friends. Her father walks beside her with the pride of an adoring parent. My friend has waited a lifetime for this moment, her moment. As they proclaim their eternal love to each other, whispering winds caress her cheeks as tears well in her eyes. She knows that the vows she is speaking are words shared by both their hearts. He lowers his head and gently grazes her lips with his, sealing their lifelong commitment to each other. After the ceremony and a champagne celebration, the newly wed couple sneaks a moment to themselves. They walk away hand in hand along the stretch of white sand beach. I watch as a wave washes over their footprints; they continue along the beach creating new imprints in the sand and in their minds. 
This couple selected the Iberostar Quetzal Hotel in Playa Del Carmen, a tropical jungle paradise located alongside the Caribbean Sea. The experienced on-sight wedding coordinator is capable of addressing all of the couples’ needs, including flowers, music, a photographer and videographer, blood tests, a judge and the catering at a fraction of the cost of a traditional wedding. Without having to focus on the wedding plans the bride was free to enjoy her day with a manicure and pedicure while having her hair styled at the hotel spa. In the meantime, the groom works off his nervous energy with his friends racing barefooted through the white sand in a competitive volleyball game.