Not Always Easy, But Always Beautiful: Designing a Bahamas Wedding

Aug 31

When asked to design a wedding at the Pink Sands Resort in Harbour Island, Bahamas my first answer was YES. Then came the questions of how this is going to come together started. I am comfortable designing at my studio in Chicago because all the comforts of design are around me. If I need anything extra, I can easily go and get it from local sources. That was not going to be the case on an Island. I knew I needed strong designers to travel with me to work with the amazing local talent on the island

All the product (floral, foliage, hardgoods) needed to be shipped to the island ahead of our arrival in a large temperature-controlled trailer. To get the 6,000 stems of roses, 6,500 stems of foliage and assorted flowers, assorted vases, hardgoods and dried materials we needed months of preparation. It was a huge undertaking that involved many people to successfully complete the task.

The journey begins

Working away from home brings many surprises. My team (Tina Davis AIFD & Michelle O’Neal-Babicky AIFD) and I took two planes to get to the Eleuthera, one bus to get to the dock, one boat to cross the waters to arrive at Harbour Island, and a golf cart to bring us to the venue. It was a day excitement and we hit the ground running.

We arrived on Monday for a Saturday wedding and each of those moments were needed to create the final masterpiece. We began setting up our work room and working through all the beautiful product. There were guest homes to decorate, lobbies to adorn with floral, welcome receptions to decorate, and the final masterpiece the wedding!

Not everything was sunny and bright. As we moved from our work room to the beach to begin setting up the tent a surprise storm came in and had other plans for us. We laughed and took shelter on the beach as the storm passed and back to work we went.

As the storm passed, we had to reset and install the focal piece for the reception. It was to be a hanging garden consisting of smilax, cases of Knud Nielsen bleached gyp, fresh gyp and hundreds of hanging glass Accent Décor orbs with candles. It was simply breathtaking when completed and the party danced under the garden all night long.

Transporting the floral was done via golf cart—we smiled and laughed the whole way. Island life at its best!

Now was time to set-up the ceremony. We had a fabulous arbor to decorate and 190 feet of pathway that was to have floral on each side to complete in time for the bride to make her entrance!

Next was to complete the teepees, entrance to reception tent, guest tables, dessert station, beverage stations and so much more. Once completed, we stepped back and realized this is what dreams are made of.