Congratulations Melissa and Sasha! We now pronounce you husband and wife! Here’s a little bit about the couple and the steps it took to tie the knot!

About Melissa and Sasha
Occupations: Sasha: Assistant Manager at Enterprise, Melissa: Telecommunications Dispatcher at Alcatel-Lucent
How they met:  In college, through a mutual friend
What attracted Sasha to Melissa: She was cute, has a positive attitude and a lot of energy
What attracted Melissa to Sasha: His facial features and style caught my eye
What was the best advice you received as a bride/groom? The day goes by in a blur. Take a moment, look around you, breathe it all in and appreciate everyone and everything there
Engagement story: On the beach at sunset in Nassau, Bahamas

The Wedding Day
Wedding date: Friday, September 13, 2013
Number of guests: 31
Wedding colours: Eggplant Purple and Yellow
Melissa’s most memorable moment: Butterflies flying around us during our vows, blew me away. I couldn’t believe how lucky I was at that moment standing with the man of my dreams, on the beach of my dreams with everyone I love supporting us
Sasha’s most memorable moment: Learning how to do “The Wobble” — a popular dance in the US that another hotel guest offered to come do a demonstration during party time!
Their advice to others: Don’t sweat the small stuff. If you can’t get everything done on your to-do list, no one will notice but you, so all you can do is your best and enjoy every moment of it as it won’t happen again. Once in a lifetime.
Favourite wedding detail: My great grandmother’s pin as the centerpiece to my bouquet
Most unexpected moment: Wasn’t a particular moment, but the whole day was extremely hot. No breeze, even on the beach. Just standing there, felt like a sauna. Over 40. The temperature didn’t drop at night either, we had to keep going inside to the AC to cool down.
Most romantic moment: Our vows
Did you include any traditions in your wedding? Sand ceremony instead of a unity candle. We danced the Tarantella, a traditional Italian song.
Honeymoon: Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia in February
The day in three words: Whimsical, Loving, Fairytale

Wedding Details
Ceremony location: The beach on Jekyll Island
Reception location: The Hampton Inn & Suites grounds under a white tent
Why did you choose this location for your wedding? Pet friendly, on the beach, whimsical trees, Southern charm.
Melissa’s gown: Ella
Melissa’s shoes: Kenneth Cole
Sasha’s outfit: E.R. Fisher Custom dark grey suit with black shirt and eggplant tie
Type of rings: La Maison D’or infinity bands
Jewellery: Double bracelet with matching flower to dress. Starfish ring, custom hairpiece made from my dress material with a real starfish in the middle.
Bridesmaids dresses: Dominique Levesque Bridal. Eggplant. Strapless with a cut-outs on the bottom trim.
Groomsmen attire: Black suits with eggplant shirt and black tie (inverted from groom’s colors) from Mundo Uomo.
Wedding song: More than Anyone by Gavin DeGraw
Signature drink: Whatever you wanted in mason jars
Favours: Gift bags upon check-in to hotel included: Magnetic grocery lists, gum, travel Kleenex, candies and personalized luggage tags. Every guest received a much needed wood fan at the ceremony. Every place setting had purple/yellow/white personalized M &M tins. The take home favour was a mini whisk with a wire heart in the middle (as Melissa LOVES baking and wanted to give a useful favour).
Music: Maid of honour walked down the seashell lined aisle to A Moment Like This by Kelly Clarkson. Bride walked down the aisle to an acoustic version of Bubble by Colbie Caillet, followed by ukulele. Recessional song was the fun and upbeat I Do by Colbie Caillet. Cocktail hour was full of the couple’s favourites acoustic songs such as Phillip Phillips, John Mayer etc. During dinner we had classy Michael Buble mixed in with country love songs. Mother daughter dance was to Mama by Carrie Underwood. The rest of the night we danced away to country, hip hop and pop music!
Flowers: Straton Hall Floral. Yellow daisies and white hydrangeas
Photographer: Brooke and Paul Roberts Photography
Hair: Sally from The Clubhouse on Jekyll Island
Makeup: Bride’s best friend
Stationery/Invitations: Cute magnets to “Save the Date.” Invitation was a plane ticket to “Fall in Love.” Menu was displayed on a vintage window with lace detail. Program was featured on a piece of barn wood. Welcome notes in welcome bags lined with lace
Catering: Straton Hall

Fun Stuff

Astrological signs (Melissa) and (Sasha): Melissa is a Taurus. Sasha is a Cancer.
What was old? My great grandmother’s pin in my bouquet
What was new? My hair piece
What was borrowed? Nothing…
What was blue? My garter
Is there anything else that helps tell the story of the day? Small details such as a glow bar, white lantern bags lining the pathway, a SMORE’S bar, glitter sprinkled in my centerpieces, our dog Rory in a tuxedo as ring bearer, slideshow playing on the roof of our tent. All beautiful pieces to make our wedding a day to remember!

Tell us about your experience working with LUXE Destination Weddings: Working with Luxe over a span of 2 years really helped organized every detail of our wedding day. Using their templates, suggestions, spreadsheets were extremely useful. Wedding chats with Menisha and Alex were always upbeat and fun! Having their support throughout the planning was indispensable. Going through dozens of venue’s, menu’s and vendor’s could be tedious, but Alex and Menisha made the planning even more fun than I thought it could be. In fact, I kept thinking we forgot something important along the planning process as everything went so smoothly!