Wedding Day: Behind the Scenes

Like I mentioned before, J had brought his camera with him and either he or his dad were taking pictures along the way. It was kind of neat as it seemed like the professional pictures were like the "movie" and our pictures were like the "behind the scenes" so it was fun to have everything documented.

Just a random selection from our camera:

The wedding coordinator at Tensing Pen had set aside this cottage for us to rest and keep our stuff in. I loved this doorway, it looks like it belongs in a fairytale. J snapped this picture of me before the ceremony started when we had a quiet moment together.

The view of where the ceremony took place. Those black rocks right in front had been completely submerged in water the days before.

Our awesome photographers in action! Punam and her husband Andrew.

The scary bridge that you can see on our video. It was really super scary during the hurricane as the water would be coming up to it but I was brave enough to try it out on the sunny day, even in my wedding dress!

This was taken during the time we were taking these pictures.

Oh goodness, my dress! I had to hold it up or else I would trip. It was so tiring lifting up all those layers. I finally just let go of it at the end of the night and it got completely soaked at the bottom (it had rained at the end of the night). It was gross and dirty when I brought it home but I didn't care, I definitely got good use out of it.

I decided not to do a really long review of all my vendors so here is my quick summary:

I highly recommend Tensing Pen as a venue for a destination wedding. The property is beyond amazing and the staff is fabulous as well. Planning is a bit hard because communication is not the easiest working with them but once you are there, they make sure you are taken care of. Food was awesome and every meal there was fantastic. They took care of every detail that I had asked for even down to the flowers on the cake.

I used Tai Floral (Tensing Pen's recommended florist) and they were a bit hard to work with but in the end I got what I wanted. I was disappointed in my bouquet (if you notice in my pictures, it rarely makes an appearance) but it was probably my fault that I wasn't that clear with them. The reception flowers were beautiful and they did a great job with my direction on them. They were pretty pricey, I certainly wished I hadn't spend a couple hundred for my bouquet that I barely carried but I don't regret using them.

The minister that Tensing Pen hired for us was fabulous! He was kind enough to stand to the side of us while performing the ceremony to keep the focus on just us which I thought was nice of him to think about. We officially got married in September but we wanted to have a nice ceremony while in Jamaica too. It didn't save us that much money as we still had to pay for the minister's services but it was definitely worth it.

photo by Punam Bean

We used Tensing Pen's recommended transportation for all of our trips outside the resort and the drivers were always great and friendly. Just be sure to negotiate the rate before you get in the car. Sometimes they will charge by person which can make it pretty pricey for just a short ride.

For those of you have read through my wedding day posts I think you all know how much I love my pictures so highly recommend Punam Bean Photography for destination weddings. We could not have asked for anyone better to photograph our wedding. Everyone in my family is just in awe of all the great pictures we have of all of us.

Previously on the Wedding Day Series:
Part 1: The Venue
Part 2: The Drama
Part 3: The Morning of
Part 4: The "Day After" Shoot
Part 5: The Damage
Part 6: Family Time
Part 7: The Ceremony
Part 8: The Reception
Part 9: T+J
Part 10: In Motion

all pictures by style-ish unless otherwise noted