Every young woman hopes that the celebration of her sixteenth birthday will be a joyous and memorable occasion, extraordinary enough to appropriately mark her transition into womanhood. In bygone eras, age sixteen often represented a woman?s eligibility to date and even marry. For Krystal Wheeler, marriage may not have occupied her thoughts as her sixteenth birthday drew near, but love was certainly on the horizon.
In honor of her birthday, Krystal?s cousins decided to play matchmaker, plotting the attendance of a surprise guest to her party. The young women arranged for William (Bill) Grimes, the object of their cousin?s affection, to sweep Krystal off her feet at her Sweet Sixteen party. Little did they know that their innocent scheme would lead to the ultimate romance. The pair spent the evening of Krystal?s birthday party discovering that their affection was mutual, and on the following day, November 19th 2001, Bill officially asked Krystal to ?be his girlfriend.?
As a football player on their high school team, Bill remembers Krystal as his ?number one fan.? Krystal fondly recalls a whirlwind of school dances, proms, and events with Bill at her side.
When Bill decided to play football at the University of Tennessee while Krystal opted for the University of Kennesaw in their home state of Georgia, distance threatened to keep the young couple apart. The night he left for Tennessee, Krystal cried on Bill?s shoulder as he solemnly promised that they would ?always be together.? Four years later, their devotion to one another had indeed proven indestructible. For Bill, a proposal was no longer a question.
?I knew she was the one for me because we had made it through a long distance relationship for four years,? Bill recalls, ?Those were trying times, we saw each other maybe every three to four weeks. This in itself took a lot of work, but when you love someone you don?t expect things to always be easy. The tough times only make the relationship stronger. That?s exactly what it did for Krystal and I.? Upon graduation, Bill says, it wasn?t a matter of if he was going to propose, ?it was a matter of how.?
Bill?s multifaceted proposal took almost as much careful planning as the wedding itself. On November 19th, 2007, under the guise of inviting his beloved girlfriend to a day of royal treatment to celebrate their six-year anniversary, Bill treated Krystal to an indulgent massage, followed by a manicure and pedicure. The pampering sessions were followed by a professional photo shoot featuring Bill and his future bride. Afterward, he and Krystal shared a romantic lobster dinner before Bill went into ?secret agent mode,? escorting his unsuspecting girlfriend to a neighboring restaurant?blindfolded. When the blindfold was removed, Krystal found herself surrounded by a flock of friends and family as Bill dropped to one knee and presented her with a sparkling cathedral-set diamond ring. Six years to the day after Krystal accepted Bill?s request to date exclusively, she tearfully accepted his request for her hand in marriage.
The couple was intent on preserving their original anniversary, so they scheduled their wedding for November 19th, 2008. Both Bill and Krystal have high-pressure careers in the sales industry, and Krystal admits that she ?tends to stress out about things.? A simple destination wedding in a luxurious Caribbean locale proved to be a low-stress option that Krystal could not resist. The bride-to-be and her future groom wanted ?the wedding and the honeymoon all in one,? with friends and family present for all pre-wedding festivities as well as for the aftermath. The couple opted for a luxurious seven-day Royal Caribbean cruise on the Freedom of the Seas cruise ship. The ship would sail through the Caribbean Islands and on the fourth day of the trip, the marriage ceremony would take place on the sun-drenched shores of a St. Thomas beach. The event was organized and executed by Weddings the Island Way, a comprehensive wedding service offering customized Virgin Island ceremonies. The wedding service coordinated every detail of the ceremony, from the flowers and limousine service down to the wedding minister and event photographer.
The wedding rehearsal was an appropriately casual preview of the main event. Twenty five of Bill and Krystal?s closest friends and family members?all cruise passengers for the extended wedding celebration?enjoyed the balmy Caribbean heat while admiring the view of Puerto Rico as the soon-to-be married couple ran through rehearsals for the next day?s ceremony. Other cruise passengers lingered nearby, languishing in the warm afternoon sun.
Wedding planner Erica Hebert, owner of Weddings the Island Way, and her associate Tina Olive were ?extremely welcoming and pleasant,? says Krystal, and carefully planned the casual but exotic celebration down to the last detail. ?Both Erica and Tina played a pivotal part in making the ceremony go exactly like we wanted it to,? says Bill. Erica and Tina?s wedding coordination was complemented by unique personal touches from Krystal, who opted to put her creative skills to good use by designing her own bridesmaid bouquets and wedding programs. She fashioned the bouquets from faux white and orange exotic flowers to match her fresh flower bridal bouquet. Krystal also attached hand-typed cardstock wedding programs to Asian-inspired paper fans she found online at www.asianideas.com. The colorful keepsakes helped guests to endure the tropical heat during the ceremony. Krystal also painted a canvas travel tote for each of her bridesmaids, creating individualized mementos that served a practical purpose for the wedding travel.
On the morning of the wedding, in an effort to uphold the tradition of avoiding face-to-face contact before Krystal?s walk down the aisle, Erica arranged for two limousines to collect the bride and groom from the cruise ship fifteen minutes apart. Krystal recalls sitting alone in the limo, filled with emotion as she admired the ?perfect? weather, the scenery, and the water that would set the stage for her long-awaited marriage. ?All I could do was cry.?
The wedding party consisted of a close-knit blend of family members and friends. Bill chose his father to act as his best man, with his sister?s fianc?, his nephew, and Krystal?s stepbrother acting as groomsmen. Krystal?s cousin Kimberly Wheeler?one of the ladies responsible for the couple?s initial encounter at Krystal?s birthday party?acted as Maid of Honor. Bridesmaids included Bill?s sister, a close friend from high school, and Bill?s niece. Seated guests held the Asian fan wedding programs, which had brightly-hued depictions of flowers and birds set against a white background. The programs perfectly mimicked the contrast of the vivid wedding blossoms against the neutral attire worn by the bridesmaids and groomsmen. The bridal party wore cream-colored halter style dresses, with a pop of color in the form of a deep orange sash at the waist. The groomsmen, dressed in crisp white linen shirts and light khaki slacks, sported orange boutonnieres to complement the bridesmaids? ensembles.
Buoyant Caribbean music was played by Krystal?s stepfather Hannibal Lokumbe, a professional jazz musician, and steel drum players provided by Weddings the Island Way. The music captured the island mood as Krystal?s attendants strolled down the flower-bordered aisle on St. Thomas? Lindquist Beach.
The tone of the celebration subdued as the bride emerged onto the beach, arm and arm with her mother, Sumai Lokumbe, whom she describes as ?my Mommy, my hero.? Krystal wore a strapless gown with a sweetheart neckline and a beaded lace overlay, and carried a bouquet of fresh flowers whose colors perfectly matched those she had created for her attendants. As Sumai escorted her daughter down the aisle, Krystal?s stepfather began to play Stevie Wonder?s ?Ribbon in the Sky? on his trumpet. The enchanting melody wafted through the salty sea air as Krystal caught sight of her groom, dressed head to toe in white linen, waiting for her under a canopy of flowers adorning the wedding arch.
?I wanted to run into his arms,? recalls the buoyant bride. She finally joined her groom under the arch of orange, magenta, and yellow flowers, where the couple exchanged non-conventional vows, themed ?why I love you.? A traditional Christian ceremony followed.
When the ceremony ended, the newlyweds retreated to their ocean-view suite on the cruise ship until dinnertime. Bill and Krystal chose to forego a private reception, but wedding guests were seated together during the ship?s dinner to enjoy the delicious vanilla wedding cake frosted with amaretto cr?me and a champagne toast to honor the bride and groom. Both the cake and champagne were supplied as part of the couple?s Caribbean wedding package provided by Weddings the Island Way.
The spectacular day of celebration concluded with the newly married couple?s participation in a newlywed game, coincidentally held on the ship the evening of the Grimes? wedding. Though they didn?t win, Bill and Krystal agree that it was the perfect conclusion to ?the most memorable day of our lives.
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