Montego Bay Wedding from Closer to Love Photography

Stephanie Weers
August 8, 2013
Categories: Destination, Real Weddings, The Blog, Traditional Elegance

If you ask me, destination “I dos” are where it’s at. Because when you combine the romance of a wedding, the excitement of adventure, and those postcard-perfect views…well, it’s like snagging yourself a one-way ticket to swoonville. And this Jamaica love fest? No exception. With Round Hill Hotel and Villas as their backdrop and the crazy talented Closer to Love duo behind the camera, there’s no doubt this wedding was the ultimate day.

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From the Bride…We were the couple that never thought we would be wed – that progressive couple that thought we didn’t need marriage to define our relationship. But something happened to us ten years later, our hearts changed and we were open to the idea. Aaron popped the question and I had butterflies. It couldn’t have been more perfect of timing.

Needless to say, I’ve never dreamt once before of what my wedding could be and had no expectations other than for it to be intimate and relaxed. And since we’re not the traditional couple, we certainly did not want a traditional ceremony. All of these things led to an easy decision, destination wedding. We fell in love with Montego Bay right away, but trying to find the perfect resort was tricky. With much research, it led us to the most incredible place on Earth (according to us), the Round Hill Hotel and Villas. This former pineapple plantation captured everything we wanted: complete sophistication but with an effortless atmosphere. Grand enough to house the likes of Grace Kelly and the Kennedys but small enough that the entire Round Hill staff knew my guests by name.

Transferring and planning for 40 people was certainly a tall task – someone described it on the trip as to “herding kittens.” However, we were up for the challenge and made it work. We were incredibly fortunate in assembling the best team that made everything incredibly easy for us – from our coordinator, Raquel, to our lovely photographers to the local artist that we used to letterpress our invitations and menus. Everyone went above and beyond and made the planning process equally as enjoyable as the execution was. Each detail was valued as a memory and was tailored to giving our guests the ultimate experience. It was important for our friends and family to feel the gratitude that Aaron and I had for them – that they had traveled so far to witness us say ‘I do’ and that they had patiently waited all these years for our big day to come.

Every day was planned with an event. A chartered sailboat served as our welcome party, where we snorkeled in a nearby lagoon and toured the bay until sunset. The following day, Aaron proudly organized beach games on the shore, which involved tossing mangos into rings and relay races on paddle boats. Later that night, we kicked off our shoes and dined directly on the beach in the sand for our rehearsal dinner. We enjoyed a Jamaican barbeque feast and celebrated with folklore dancers, fire breathing artists and the now-infamous limbo. News traveled quickly, and I was greeted as “Limbo Queen” from there on out.

Our ceremony was held on a shallow cliff overlooking the bay and the cocktail party in a large hut next to the infiniti pool. Candles illuminated the path for our guests which lead them to our sunset reception at the Hanover terrace. Paper lanterns adorned the large tree that pierced through the balcony and shaded our guests below. Candles glistened throughout… That night was perfect and will forever have our hearts. Every second was divine.

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