I can't believe its already been over two weeks since we returned home from paradise! If your even considering going to Jamaica, GO!! The land was beautiful and the people were even sweeter! This trip took us about a year to plan and it was worth every bit of planning that went into it. When we got the news thats Suzanne (my husbands sister) and future husband were planning a destination wedding I got all giddy like a little kid! In my mind this meant a vacation, relaxation and kid free time!! And this was all before she asked me to capture their special day for them! So you can imagine my excitement when they asked if I would mind traveling to Jamaica to photograph their beach/ destination wedding! Of course we said yes and the planning started! We decided that since we hadn't been a true vacation just the two of us in over 9 years that this was the perfect time to splurge and go all out. The couple choose Secrets Resort located at Monetgo Bay! Again this place was fit for a princess! I was swooning over all the details and gorgeous craftsman's ship as soon as we stepped foot onto the resort!

Our adventure started Sunday April 24th (unfortunately we had to leave on moms 60th birthday, but we threw her an amazing surprise party before we left! Blog coming on that soon) and we headed to Richmond airport to catch our 5:45am flight!! Im not normally a morning person or flight person but when you know your flying to paradise, all of a sudden you spring up out of bed no problem lol! With one layover in Charlotte NC and some minor turbulence ( we hate flying) we landed in Jamaica around 10:45am!! We flew over their island and it was so cool to see the whole island from a planes view before we landed! I had no idea the island had such pretty and lush mountains! I got a few pictures from the plane but my window fogged up pretty bad due to the humidity there. We sat in the emergency exit seats the whole trip (were both 6 feet tall and need the extra leg room) which allowed me to get some neat wing shots!

After going through customs and a 30 minute bus ride we arrived at our new home for the next week! I seriously was speechless!! I could see the palm trees and the aqua water peeking through cracks in the walls and I couldn't wait to put my toes in the white sand and aqua waters! We checked into our room shortly after arriving and we officially started to unwind and relax! We were finally in paradise!!! The next few days we enjoyed the beaches the delicous food and company of a pretty awesome couple from the UK we meet. Since we were there for relaxation and "work" (if you can call a desination wedding work) we got there a few days early before the family and friends started rolling in on Wednesday afternoon. By that time we were in complete relaxation mode! We had gotten a couples massage, snorkeled every morning and spent countless hours at the infinity pools and beaches.

Thursday was spent prepping for the big day on friday, but mostly another day of total relaxation and one or two to many pina coladas! Friday came and it was time to celebrate and capture my sister in law becoming a wife and marrying her best friend in a tropical location that only looks like it does in your dreams!! We started off at the beach getting a hour or two of sun before we headed to their 5 star spa (where we had our couples massage earlier that week) to get our hair done and have girl chat while sipping on champange! The day flew by as I captured all the details and patiently awaited the ceremony! At 4:00 it was show time! All the girls hoped onto a golf cart and we were driven down the paths of the resort where we were dropped off at the end of the gazebo path! I got some last minute shots of the stunning bride before she headed down the isle to meet her future husband! The ceremony was gorgeous and everything went down without a hitch! After the ceremony we enjoyed a family dinner back at the Italian restaurant for the evening.

The next few days after the wedding seemed sorta like a blur! We were trying to take in every once of Gods glorious creations, but the time just seemed to fly by! Before you knew it we were saying our goodbyes to the amazing staff and friends we had made there as well as our family and friends! Ive always hated goodbyes, no matter how long or how far away some one is going. I most always cry ( I know big baby right) well you can imagine how I felt leaving this tropical oasis! Yup I cried! I didn't want to go back to reality just yet! I was enjoying the time I got to connect with my husband again as a spouse and not just another person in the house, I was enjoying my time being Stephanie Tignor not Stephanie Tignor mom, photographer,wife.... you get the picture! But we had to leave so we boarded our shuttle and headed to the airport waving goodbye and promising ourselves that we will be back if its Gods will! We Flew off the island and landed in Richmond safely around 7:00pm and headed to my moms to pick up the girls! I can't leave out one if not the biggest contributor to this trip... My mom! This trip would have never even have been possible if she didn't so graciously agree to watch our two little munchkins for 9 days! We Thank You from the bottom of our hearts Mom! I may have to do a part two of images from my big girl camera but enjoy the ones from my cell phone for now!

one good thing about early flights! Being able to see Gods wonders as the sun rises up over the clouds

Ever been in an Airplane traffic jam? We have!!!

were smiling but we were super scared of the flight!

Flying over the island! Were coming in for a landing!

This peacock would scream every morning right about 6am! it sounded like he was saying "Help me" pretty funny.

the flowers were gorgeous! wish id taken more pictures of them!

this pool was hoping in the afternoon! We called it the party pool!

they even had a little casino there named JAY VEGAS!!! I actually won $250 on a $2 slot!!!!!

checking out all the cool fish hanging around the rocks

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Jamaica! Yeh Mon!! | Fredericksburg, Va Photographer