Congratulations to Kristen and Chris who married this past January at the Sanctuary Cap Cana Golf & Spa Resort in Dominican Republic! Here are the details of the Real Wedding of Kristen and Chris!

Occupations: Chris- VP of Revenue of SignPost and Kristen is Talent Acquisition at Indeed.com
How they met:  They grew up in the same town and have been friends since they were kids
What attracted Chris to Kristen: She is beautiful and compassionate
What attracted Kristen to Chris: His blue eyes and sense of humor
Their engagement story (in Kristen’s words): The proposal began with a helicopter ride around Maui – it was so gorgeous seeing the island, the pilot actually took us deep into the mountains which actually ended up being more scary than skydiving lol (it was the opening scene in Jurassic Park). During the entire ride all we kept seeing were rainbows, full ones, round ones, half ones, it was insane! The pilot said he felt like he was on a rainbow tour :). Looking back I feel like I had a lot of people watching over me – it was really cool to see that on the day Chris was going to propose, ya know? Towards the end of the ride the helicopter dipped really close to the shore line and while I was enjoying the scenery, Chris started nudging me to look on the sand because “Kristen, will you marry me?” was written in huge letters! When I turned over to him, he had the ring already in hand, and after I said YES he put it on my finger!!! Obviously I was a mess after that! I was crying and he was lucky he got the ring on my finger because I was actually shaking lol.

When we got off the helicopter Chris had a photographer, white limo with a red carpet, and a man in a tux waiting for us outside!!! When we walked off the helicopter he then got down on one knee and did the proposal the traditional way and said: “It has always been you, you’re my best friend and you will be an amazing wife and mother. Will you marry me?” 🙂

After all that craziness the limo took us to a private dinner on the beach where we had our own personal chef!  There was just a table set for two and nothing else on the beach.  We had an awesome 4-course dinner while watching the sunset.  After dinner we then went back to the hotel where rose petals, Hawaiian flowers and gifts were waiting!

I seriously just lived an episode of the bachelor and I could not have asked for a more amazing proposal! I wish I could live that day over everyday haha! I am so excited!!!

 

The Wedding Day
Wedding date: 1/19/2013
Number of Guests: 90
Wedding Colors: Light purple and white
Kristen’s most memorable moment: Watching him smile as I said my vows
Chris’ most memorable moment: Getting announced as Mr. and Mrs. DePatria for the first time then doing our entrance song and dance
Their advice to others: Regardless of how stressful times can be when planning always enjoy every moment, it goes way too fast! I miss even the stressful of moments J
Favourite wedding detail: Our beach ceremony decor
Most unexpected moment: For our guests, we did Gangnam Style after they announced us as newlyweds
Most romantic moment: The dip after our first dance, didn’t expect it!
Honeymoon: French Polynesia
The day in three words: Unforgettable, Dream Wedding, Flawless

Wedding Details
Ceremony location: Trump Beach
Reception location: Sanctuary, Cap Cana
Bridal gown: Birnbaum and Bullock
Groom’s outfit: Grey Suit
Wedding song: Crazy Love by Van Morrison
Photographer: HDC Photography
Hair & Makeup: KrystieAnn Hair and Makeup
Stationery/Invitations: Etsy!
Catering: The Blue Marlin

Fun Stuff
Astrological Signs (Kristen’s) and (Chris’): Capricorn and Aquarius
What was borrowed? A piece of Kristen’s mom’s wedding gown wrapped around her bouquet
What was new? A bracelet
What was old? Kristen’s Great Aunt’s necklace
What was blue? A piece of the garter
What did you put in gift bags? Advil, wrinkle release, snacks, water, gum, shout wipes, coozies, mugs, etc – all the essentials.

We adore the custom cake topper with all the little details. Super cute!

Tell us about your experience working with LUXE Destination Weddings: Luxe was an amazing experience for both Chris and I. In the beginning of our search we were unsure of whether or not we needed a planner to assist in our destination wedding considering our hotel of choice had already provided one, as I am sure most future brides will be. I cannot express enough how thankful I am that Chris and I decided to hire the help of Luxe and were assigned the magnificent Alexandra Campbell and Anne Borg. What I did not realize at the time is HOW how many details went into planning a wedding in general, but especially in destination! Alexandra was an amazing asset to have right from the beginning. Not only did she assist me with every little thing we needed to plan, but she made sure we did everything in order, in a timely manner and within budget. Chris and I ended up being the couple that sent pictures to Alexandra of what our dream wedding would look like aka the picky couple! We actually took pictures from so many random places during our planning that I remember saying to Chris right before we left for destination “I can’t imagine they are going to pull our vision all together.” Never in my life have my visions not only been brought to light, but even more spectacular that I had imagined. Alexandra delivered us the rehearsal dinner and wedding of our dreams and made sure she went above and beyond to make sure everything we wanted, down to the last detail, was present.  Aside from our wedding being everything we dreamed of and more, Alexandra also made sure she kept everything on budget.  She tracked every little detail we had on an excel spreadsheet that was beyond helpful and insanely organized. If we picked anything that put us over budget, she made sure she found other options to keep us on track. She actually has to be one of the most organized people either of us have had the pleasure to meet. I honestly have to say that if it were not for Alexandra I would not have been the “relaxed, overly calm bride” that everyone noticed I was. On my wedding day I could not think of one thing to worry about and neither could my husband. We owe a flawless wedding and rehearsal dinner to Miss. Campbell – Thank you, we are grateful more than you’ll ever know!

Anne, our travel planner, was a huge part of our wedding success as well.  Trying to get 90 people flights, hotel rooms, and transfers was a daunting task.  Anne was helpful every step of the way.  She even went above and beyond and sent our guests all of the activities on the property and was willing to book them in advance for any of our guests.  She was great with negotiating the wedding block for the rooms and she absolutely got us the best deal possible.  Everything went off without a hitch and her planning was all on point. We owe a HUGE thanks to Anne as well!

The Luxe team is without a doubt the best choice you can make for your wedding – aside from marrying each other!

We wish our very best to Kristen and Kris in their future together! It was a pleasure working with you on your dream wedding in the Dominican Republic.