Welcome To

9 A Natural Evolution As I planned Caribbean weddings for more and more couples, I found that my design needs were not being met by the existing vendors or the fact that no one was really and truly offering the complete services needed to pull off an incredible Caribbean wedding. I began designing and importing my own decor—tablecloths, chairs, tables. This played an important role in the evolution of my business, not only for the sake of convenience, but also to set a standard of impeccable taste and design in the Cayman Islands. In my opinion, flowers absolutely make a wedding and are truly the icing on the cake. It doesn't matter how incredible everything else is, once you add spectacular florals, you have everything. Flowers are absolutely the icing on the cake. With this very critical design element in mind, I decided to start up a fresh floral aspect to the business, designing and producing all the florals for our weddings and events. Before we knew it, Celebrations, Ltd. quickly became the go-to for everyday florist needs on the Island. By pure chance, a family from abroad who regularly visited the Islands came by the shop one day because their daughter wanted to get married in the Caymans. This was at a time before destination weddings were popular— couples generally eloped in the islands to get married on the beach. It was also a time before Instagram, Pinterest, cell phones, email, and text messages. Using only fax machines and very sporadic telephone communications, I produced my first destination wedding for this New York bride and groom. The success of that wedding sparked an idea: What if we offered people a full-service wedding experience for couples who wanted to get married in the Caymans? We had the resources to do it, we had the team to do it, but most importantly, we had a genuine passion to create unforgettable experiences. Now, more than 20 years later, we have evolved from a staff of two people to around 45 permanent staff members including designers, planners, carpenters, sculptors, and more. Our 20,000-square-foot warehouse holds our enormous collection of some 250,000 props, set pieces, vases, chairs, tables, linens, and so much more, making us the hub of the destination wedding and events industry here in the Cayman Islands and for the Caribbean. It is my passion and excitement for being in this emotional industry that makes every wedding a new and custom experience. Every time we meet with a couple, a new experience begins. It is an honor to be a part of this incredible day in their lives; designing for the couple, emulating their personalities and tastes, is what makes the real weddings in this book all utterly different from each other. I feel fortunate, as a designer, that I am able to come up with a style for the bride and groom that is custom- created to celebrate not only their union, but also their taste. Let's face it, it's their first day of entertaining and it should be a reflection of them. Making people happy is my motto and I feel so blessed to have fallen into my passion—my destiny, really—by pure chance.

• Cover