The celebration of Mitch Lake?s marriage to Keesha Fleming was no ordinary destination wedding. The couple?s history with the Caribbean extended beyond the vacations that typically inspire visitors to return to one of the many magnificent islands to wed.
Mitch and Keesha are natives of the West Indies island of Anguilla. They chose St. John as a wedding locale to celebrate not only the spectacular beauty of the tropical island, but to pay tribute to their Caribbean heritage, and the location that brought the couple together for the first time many years ago.
?We wanted a location that was absolutely beautiful,? says Keesha, ?not far from Anguilla, unique, romantic, and definitely in the Caribbean. The island presented the perfect atmosphere for romance and to host a wedding such as ours. Our theme was friendship and happiness using lots of color.?
Friendship was a fitting theme for the couple who met at age thirteen and maintained an intense platonic bond for fifteen years before pursuing a romance. The two met as students and carried on as close friends until the year they graduated from high school in Anguilla. Keesha then departed for England, and eventually landed in the United States, where she lived for several years. Mitch, too settled in the U.S., though the pair kept in close touch, and often returned to their island home for vacations and family visits together.
?Mitch apparently was in love with me from the time we were teenagers but never mentioned a word,? says Keesha. ?I too felt that there was something present, but I never tapped into it as we were such good friends. It was a unique bond that we shared? The pair became close confidants, even while engaged in relationships with others. ?Although Mitch and I had our own relationships with other people, we remained very, very close friends.? Throughout their friendship, Mitch always referred to Keesha as ?my love,? quite possibly an indication of the romance that would eventually blossom.
It took a return to their native Anguilla after fifteen years of living apart for the lifelong friends to finally admit to their feeling for one another. The process occurred slowly, and one night Mitch confessed that his ideal wife would be just like Keesha. ?Mitch told me, as he often did, that the woman he would marry had to be just like me,? says Keesha, ?but it was in that conversation that I realized he had feelings for me.? After several more cautious conversations, the friends who had spend the last fifteen years suppressing their true fondness for one another finally came together as a couple. ?Immediately, our friendship turned into an amazing love relationship,? says Keesha.
The proposal took place about a year later in New York City, where the couple was celebrating Mitch?s birthday. ?Mitch proposed to me in grand style,? says Keesha. ?I thought it was all about his birthday?it turned out to be all about me!? Mitch presented his bride-to-be with an elaborate square-cut diamond ring accented by a diamond-encrusted band. The groom-to-be even enlisted a photographer to snap pictures of the event. Ross Knight was the same photographer who would later capture the couple?s St. John wedding celebration.
Choosing a beautiful wedding locale in the Caribbean was not a particularly difficult task for the couple, though there were several essential requirements for the location. ?Mitch and I wanted a location that represented our life; fun, friendship, and happiness,? explains Keesha. ?[St. John] is intimate and has a feeling of seclusion, yet it has all the vendors for a perfect wedding.? It was important to the couple that they use local vendors for both wedding details and events and guest activities. Wedding planner Mary Bartolucci proved to be the perfect person to help them do so.
?Mary was right on target with each vendor she suggested for us,? says Keesha. She coordinated all aspects of the wedding ceremony and reception including the floral arrangements, d?cor, and live music and entertainment. Going above and beyond the responsibilities of most wedding planners, Mary also organized pre-wedding events including a tour of St. John for all wedding guests, a sailing and snorkeling excursion for the wedding party, a rehearsal dinner at the local Paradiso Restaurant, and a wedding day brunch at the Westin Hotel.
Keesha found Mary through www.islandstyleweddings.com, a comprehensive wedding planning site for destination weddings held on the island of St. John.
?Mary?s attention to detail and experience pulled the whole four-day event together perfectly for us,? says Keesha.
Mitch and Keesha chose Caneel Bay as the site for their wedding ceremony based on its exquisite beauty and festive ambiance. ?Once we chose a location,? explains Mary, ?we worked on Keesha?s vision of the ceremony and reception. Keesha had a very good eye and definitely knew what she liked and didn?t like.? All aspects of the ceremony were intended to reflect the couples? pride in their Caribbean heritage. Keesha chose wedding colors of coral orange, cream, and chocolate brown to evoke the colorful vibrancy of the islands. The menu at the reception, which was held at the popular Turtle Bay Estate House, offered a taste of traditional Caribbean fare, and a local band performed an assortment of Caribbean tunes to complete the fun and festive island dance party. Mary even made sure that the guests could enjoy authentic island entertainment by coordinating a twenty-minute show performed by Caribbean Ritual dancers. The dancers wore intricately beaded costumes in a coral color that perfectly complemented the attire of the wedding party. The costumes were complete with elaborate feathered headdresses.
The ceremony itself took place on the sun-filled ledge overlooking the ocean. ?Caneel Bay was perfect for our wedding,? explains Keesha. ?We wanted a transition when our guests went to the
wedding. The atmosphere was a little different from The Westin, where our guests stayed.? The bride emerged in a strapless ivory wedding gown with beading detail and an oatmeal-colored satin sash to match her groom?s oatmeal suit tied at her waist. Groomsmen wore chocolate brown ensembles accented by a pop of coral orange in their collared shirts. The bridesmaids wore strapless dresses in a coral color that coordinated perfectly with those of the groomsmen. They carried ivory-colored bouquets to offset the vibrancy of their gowns. The bride carried a bouquet of bright orange and yellow blossoms which matched the blooms tied by chocolate colored ribbons to the wedding guests? chairs. The aisle was scattered with a soft sprinkle of ivory and orange petals to complete the tropical floral paradise.
?Mary created each and every dream we had for the day,? concludes Keesha. ?It was exactly what we wanted.?
Leave A Reply