Layla and Gary pledged their eternal love to each other at the romantic
Tucker's Point Hotel. Layla is an artist so one day, when Layla wasn't feeling so hot, Gary announced that it would be fun to have a little painting competition. They each took a canvas and had one hour to complete their "masterpiece". After the hour was up, Layla showed Gary her piece. He seemed only semi-impressed with her work of art and was convinced his painting was much better. Layla, who is known for erring on the competitive side, took this as quite an insult! His easel was facing away from her so when he lead her over to see his "masterpiece", much to Layla's surprise, his canvas was covered with words. He had painted "YOU ARE MY WORLD. OUR LIVES TOGETHER, I WANT FOEVER. MARRY ME." The moment Gary proposed took Layla's breath away and of course, the answer was a beautiful, colourful YES!
Layla's dress was designed by hottest new bridal gown designer,
Jenny Lee.
Vernon and Fannan from
Strands came to the hotel room to do Layla's hair and makeup. They also did the family's hair and makeup, while the maids went to the salon at Tucker's Point.
Layla's gorgeous blooms were designed by
Gimi.
Layla wore her mother's earrings as her something borrowed, her pearl hairpins from her high school graduation were her something old, while her something new was her wedding dress. She had a sweet blue bow on her undergarment to finish off the tradition.
I love a cathedral veil - it is the ultimate in completing a bridie image.
Layla looks so gorgeous here, I think Gary is going to swoon when he sees this photo above.
Hello eyelashes!
Layla was so fun during the photos. She kept glancing back and giggling as her sisters and other bridesmaids looked on. We had loads of time before hand as the boys were being photographed by my sister,
Amanda, and since the two of us were covering the event together, we had the unusual luxury of lots of time before hand to play and make beautiful images - heaven.
Layla's sisters, Neda and Nadia were just so sweet watching her play infront of the camera for me - she really was a vision there on the terrace of their suite.
The bridesmaids shared a gift with the bride before the ceremony. It was a gold pendant necklace with Layla's new monogram engraved and surrounded by a circle of all the initials of her dearest friends who were there with her to celebrate and honour her on her wedding day.
I love how Grecian this terrace looks in these photos.
Amanda finished early with the boys so came to shoot some close ups of the rings and other details. While I was capturing the bridesmaids on terrace, she ran to the pool below to capture them looking down from the terrace - I love it when there is more than one official photographer. My sister and I work especially well together as we are so in synch on so many levels and there is never anything but easy understanding between us both for the benefit of the clients and it allows us to work together to make the most of all the different angles. When I am working on getting a shot, she is capturing the candid moments that occur in between that I would miss and vice versa.
Layla chose coral, navy and white for the wedding palette because coral is her favourite colour, the dark blue reminds her of the deepest ocean and Gary's eyes, and the white had to be incorporated for it is a wedding after all!
I adored the look on Layla's father's face when he saw his daughter dressed up as a bride for the first time.
Layla's mum was just so overwhelmed with emotion at the whole event too - it was beautiful to capture.
We were so ahead of time that we had even more time to do some fun creative images, though we couldn't leave the terrace of their room as they were directly off the location where the ceremony was taking place which was incredibly convenient, though meant we had to stay in one place for all the pre-ceremony photos.
Then the girls all had a little champagne and a few of Layla's maids spoke a few words - there was a huge effort made to not smudge all their fabulous make up but the tears welled nonetheless.
This little love bug is a family member on Gary's side and he was just delicious the entire day.
It was almost time to walk down the aisle so Layla popped in a mint for sweet kissable breath.
The couple chose the croquet lawn at
Tucker's Point for their ceremony as Gary remembered Layla once mentioning that it would be a beautiful site fore a wedding. He had introduced her to the hotel during their first year of dating and they had loved the location ever since so it seemed the perfect place to tie the knot.
Layla's grandfather spoke beautifully at the service.
The couple had chosen to have the ceremony, cocktails and the dinner reception all within 10 metres of each other so that they could make the most of every minute and spend time with those they love, especially those who had traveled half way across the world.
But before they could go enjoy their party, we slipped into a private garden for some alone time for the couple and of course for the formal family and bridal party photos.
The newly weds toasted to each other with the Tucker's Point signature drink of a glass of champagne sweetened with a hibiscus bloom - heaven.
After all the formal photos, Gary was very keen to get to the party but I begged him to give me a few minutes to capture them in their first moments as husband and wife.
The rings were designed by
Manfredi Jewels, which is a 20 year old family business and they are long time friends of Gary's family in Greenwich, Connecticut.
After less than ten minutes with me (I usually request a half hour), the newlyweds headed into their reception to start the celebratory part of their nuptials and where
Alex Masters took over to capture the rest of their big Bermuda event.
Layla and Gary - you two are kids at heart and your deep connection and fun friendship is clearly apparent. I am so happy you were able to share such a special weekend with family and friends and even more happy that you have now returned home from your fabulous honeymoon in Italy to start your new lives together as husband and wife. Thank you for asking me to be a part of your special day. Congratulations and happy days ahead.