The ultimate Caribbean wedding guide: Preston Bailey for Bride Villa in Antigua!

August 21, 2012 (St. John's, Antigua) – Caribbean Bride Magazine is pleased to announce that international, award-winning event and wedding designer Preston Bailey will be the special guest at Bride Villa, the ultimate Caribbean destination wedding planning event. Over the course of his 30-year career, Preston Bailey has elevated the concept of destination weddings. His appearance at Bride Villa marks a continuation of his pioneering efforts, beginning in 2005, to offer wedding couples a way to realize their dream of a destination wedding, especially in the Caribbean.

Bride Villa is open to event planners and the general public and is scheduled for October 12-14, 2012. The Bride Villa event will be held for the first time in Antigua.

Details and tickets are available at www.caribbeanbridevilla.com.

Erica Henry-Jackman, who represents the Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Office in Canada explains that “Antigua and Barbuda has long been synonymous with romance. Its perfect weather and totally tropical flavor makes it the perfect wedding and honeymoon destination. We are delighted to welcome Bride Villa to our island.”

Caribbean Bride Magazine has partnered with the Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority to produce a weekend of activities that includes a welcome reception on Friday, October 12, a seminar entitled “Love in Antigua” on Saturday, October 13 and Bride Villa, the consumer expo, on Sunday, 14 October. Show director and Caribbean Bride Magazine publisher Dave Cox explains that the new format is meant to introduce an educational component to the annual showcase of vendors.

“Love in Antigua” features an impressive line-up of key industry professionals. The seminar includes training and educational presentations on Social Media Marketing by wedding marketing specialist Andrea Lowon from Smart Bride Boutique; Mike Zoumberos from Limelight Photography on Keys to Great Wedding Pictures; Wedding Trends and Marketing by wedding trends expert Meredith Bullock and Bride Villa’s headliner, Preston Bailey who will speak on the artistry of event design.

Preston Bailey’s international career brings his wedding and event designs to numerous locations around the world. A specialty over the years has become working with wedding couples to create their destination wedding. Beginning in 2005, Preston married the concept of a destination wedding with a specific destination partner to design a selection of exceptional wedding packages offered exclusively to Sandals and Beaches Resorts WeddingMoon(TM) guests. The five-year partnership with Sandals raised the bar on luxury experiences for Caribbean destinations.

Preston continues to work with wedding couples around the world to design and plan their most memorable event. The interest in destination weddings has increased and evolved over the years and a new partnership was announced in December 2011 with Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong to offer the exclusive “Dream Wedding Package”. The wedding couple is flown first class to meet Preston in his studio in New York to discuss details of their one-of-a-kind wedding in the Ritz Carlton Hong Kong Ballroom.

The inclusion of Preston Bailey in this year’s Bride Villa event signals a significant commitment to bringing the most experienced experts in destination wedding planning to the Caribbean. Derede Whitlock, who represents the Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Office in the United States explains that “The events with the industry experts will help authenticate and strengthen Antigua and Barbuda's tourism product.”

On Sunday, October 14, guests are invited to attend Bride Villa’s cocktail wedding party, which showcases all wedding and honeymoon essentials from bridal gowns, jewelry, cakes and romantic getaways. They are then treated to a spectacular fashion show and live beauty demonstrations by Adrian Carew of Hair 2 Inc. in Toronto.

Colin James, CEO of Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority commented, “As a wedding and honeymoon destination, we feel truly honored that people from around the world choose Antigua and Barbuda as that special place to create such a timeless memory and we are very excited to host these events with Preston Bailey and Caribbean Bride Magazine.”

Preston Bailey and Preston Bailey Designs
Preston Bailey is recognized as the premiere event and wedding designer with more than 30 years of experience under the auspices of his namesake company, Preston Bailey Designs, Inc. He is best known for his ability to completely transform generic (sometimes no more than a shell) spaces, into opulent, theatrical environments, translating his clients’ fantasies into awe-inspiring reality.

In August 2010, Preston partnered with Lovegevity’s Wedding Planning Institute to create the first-of-its-kind course offered online and in college classrooms. Preston Bailey’s Signature Wedding & Event Design certificate training program offers students the opportunity to learn the step-by-step process and techniques utilized by this industry pioneer. As an extension of the exiting courses, Preston launched a Floral Design Course series in August 2012.

Recently announced is a new, signature collection of event and wedding reception tabletop accessories to be launched in 2013 with Weddingstar.

As an author, Preston has written five bestselling books: Design for Entertaining, Fantasy Weddings, Inspirations, Celebrations and Flowers, which was published by Rizzoli in September 2011 and is already in its second printing. Headquartered in New York City, Preston Bailey Designs is a privately held company and maintains international offices in Indonesia and the Middle East.

For more information please visit www.prestonbailey.com. Follow Preston Bailey on Facebook and on Twitter @prestonrbailey.

Caribbean Bride is a destination wedding media company comprising of Caribbean Bride Magazine, Caribbeanbride.com and Bride Villa events. Our platforms offer information on everything to do with weddings in the Caribbean from tips on choosing the right dress to finding the perfect venue. Our audience is couples actively looking for information to plan their destination wedding and/or honeymoon, wedding professionals and travel enthusiasts.

Caribbean Bride Magazine is published once a year in January and distributed across the Caribbean at bookstores, resorts and travel companies. In North America it is distributed through Chapter and Indigo bookstores in Canada as well as at Caribbean tourism offices. It is also available for download at iTunes.

Caribbean Bride is a privately held company headquartered in Toronto. Follow us online on Twitter @cbmagazine and on Facebook at caribbeanbridemagazine.