Baby #3

Here is our new cover. Look for it in select locations in the Caribbean, the US and Canada.

24 hrs...Caribbean Bride time.

Publisher's Diary,
July 19th, 2009

1 pm
At Heronetta Villa in Barbados in a pair of jeans and slippers and a clip board in hand getting ready for our first ever Bride Villa wedding showcase. The phone rings and it is one of the designers for the fashion show…she just missed her flight and is stuck in Guyana. Phone rings again a vendor had problems with their booth so won’t be attending. Phone rings again two models now can’t make it. I have my third mini blueberry muffin and just smile.

4:17pm
Now changed into my garden chic white jacket and grey slacks but still have the clip board in hand. Mingling with guests and stopping in with vendors to make sure everything is going fine. Need to do a quick run back stage to see how the models are coming along for the fashion show. Pulled in two beautiful friends to be the stand in models. People are sipping champagne and chatting in the Wine World lounge.

7:45pm
I am making my thank you speech and giving away the awesome door prizes. After months of planning the event is now just a blur. Guests were saying all evening what a great show it was so I am pleased. We pulled off a successful show.

11:25pm
Sitting at Café Sol enjoying a Malibu and coke with Mere...well two as it is happy hour. I am really happy that she came to make the presentation and to give me a hand with everything. We are both exhausted but still take the moment to analyze the show and laugh a bit.

2:13am
Dropped Mere back to her hotel and went straight home. As I sit with my eyes closed I am running through the event to see what I could do better next year. I take one more deep breath and I open my eyes. I now have to pack the gowns and camera gear for the big fashion shoot in a few hours in Grenada…tired but excited.

6:03am
We are at the airport begging the café lady to please open so we could have coffee. Meredith is heading back to Atlanta and Adrian, Emma and I are on the way to Grenada for our fashion shoot at Mount Hartman Bay Estate. We have two extra bags and Adrian has a head-piece with a long veil as his carry on. This summons several questions as we go through airport security. We ask two nice business travellers with just carry-ons to check some of the camera gear for us. This saves us $150.

11:oo am
Just met Roger our contact at the Grenada Tourist Board and we are on our way to the Villa. He is really nice and extremely knowledgeable...we privately give him the name Grenada Encyclopedia. It is a beautiful day in Grenada and we make one stop at the bank to get some EC and then we arrive at our spectacular accommodations.

12:57pm
I finally meet Fadia our model and she is even prettier than her pictures…feeling very happy with our talent selection. She has a great personality and a sense of humor...aahhhh...shooting her will be easy. She brings her mum and aunt to interrogate us a bit. We quickly pass their test and everyone is laughing like old friends. We start fittings and deciding on the order for the shoot. I am now in photographer mode and getting really excited about the shoot tomorrow. She tries on a beautiful Anya gown and twirls and say “I feel like a princess”. It makes me smile.

A beautiful thing

Two of the questions we always get in the CB office is if weddings don't get boring after a while, and aren't they all the same?

Quite honestly it doesn't get monotonous as every wedding we go to is unique. There is a different cast, different clothes, venue and characters. Yes there are similarities. There is a beautiful bride and a cake and flowers. Yet they are many things not the same like different dynamics, different dreams and expectations.

For me it is the people that make the memories of each wedding and make every event so special and unique. Last weekend at a beautiful wedding at Tamarind Cove Hotel in Barbados when the bride danced with her father under the stars with the sounds of waves caressing the sandy shore I started to cry. More than the surroundings it was the emotion of the bride and all the family and friends that became so contagious. Uncle Mike, her dads brother had recently passed away and he was supposed to attend the wedding. Yes after over 1000 weddings I still cry at the raw emotion of pure joy between newly weds, and the memories of lost loved ones. The day when I attend wedding number 2000 I am sure the spirit of this sacred day will remain the same. A day filled with love, laughter and tears.

A wedding is a beautiful thing.

Let us explain...

To all our faithful CB blog followers we must apologize for the break since our last posting. To explain everything have a look at the post before this one...Bride Villa. This great idea for a elegant little wedding show has taken every hand, eye and ear of the CB team. There has been sleepless nights and lunch at dinner time but we are almost to show date. The crazy thing is that we are still really excited about this event and we look forward to Sunday to have people experience what we have worked so hard to put together.

We promise to resume our regular look at our many adventures putting together the magazine and great ideas for planning your wedding and honeymoon!