The Background…
Lani and Wesley are both south Florida natives: Wes from Plantation and Lani from Hollywood. Wes went on to attend Broward County College before becoming a state certified master electrical contractor and starting his own business. Lani received an AA degree from the University of Central Florida in Orlando and a BS from Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale. She works as an event designer and is the owner of Design Elements.
The Meeting…
Mutual friends introduced Lani and Wes in November 2005, and the couple has been together since. After meeting, the pair discovered they shared many of the same childhood friends. “As chance would have it,” Lani says, “our fathers were business associates and my grandfather and Wesley’s great grandfather were friends.We knew, then, it was meant to be. One way or another, we would have ended up together!”
The Proposal…
Wesley surprised Lani with a proposal and a customdesigned engagement ring on Christmas Eve, 2006. “Wes was too excited to wait until Christmas Day, so he knelt down and proposed,” Lani says. “It was perfect—the engagement and the ring, of course!”
Wedding Destination…
Wesley’s family owns a home in North Bimini, Bahamas and Lani’s family spent many family vacations on the island, so when the time came for the couple to choose their wedding destination, Bimini was the natural choice. Wesley and Lani also chose the island as a way to honour Wesley’s step-father, Tracy Doetsch, who considered Bimini an island paradise, and who passed away months before the wedding. Bimini Bay Resort hosted the couple and their guests for the intimate, relaxed beachside nuptials.
And the Bride wore… Lani radiated in a Diamond White Allure strapless mermaid-style bridal gown with white patent leather sandals adorned with a rhinestone starfish by Juicy Couture, and carried a Stuart Weitzman Swarovski clutch.
The Groom sported…
Wesley wore a linen Alfani suit with a white long-sleeve Tommy Bahamas linen shirt and brown leather Reef sandals. Bridal Party… Natalie Rubino Krysti Macneir Katie Driscoll Matt Jones Rusty Akins Justin Calvert Aaron Lee Justin Levine
The Feast…
Bimini Bay catered the reception with a delectable baby field greens salad to start and a choice between Caribbean chicken in a sweet pepper Creole sauce, pan-seared local grouper with lemon confit couscous or grilled vegetables in puff pastry with a honey thyme cream. The Ana Paz two-tier wedding cake was transported from Miami, Florida to Bimini by plane. The scrumptious vanilla rum cake was covered in white fondant and decorated with pearlized fondant stripes, pearlized pearl trim and topped with cascading delicate yellow and orange sugar orchids.
Unique Wedding Features…
Though the wedding was not themed, the couple sought to mimic the island’s natural beauty by incorporating orange, yellow and turquoise colours. “We wanted the event to be modern and fresh, but relaxed” Lani says. To that end, the guests were asked to dress in beach-chic attire. “Everyone was comfortable and looking good!” Lani says. The event-filled celebration included a Thanksgiving gathering Thursday at the groom’s family home on the island followed by a poolside welcome party and rehearsal dinner on Friday evening before the romantic Saturday wedding ceremony on a sandy cliff overlooking the ocean. The weekend ended with a gourmet brunch hosted by the mother of the bride. The wedding flowers were all ordered in the USA and brought over by plane; however, all arrangements were cut and assembled on-site by the bride, mother of the bride and bride’s best friends. The group spent the day before each of the three events working on the décor together. “It was a great bonding experience as we laughed and reminisced about the previous day’s events” Lani says. The couple ended their reception with each guest releasing a wish lantern. “It was magical and so much fun!” Lani says.
Advice from the heart: a parting word from the bride…
“Remember to enjoy the process and experience because it all passes so quickly,” Lani says. “And dance! Dance until you can’t dance anymore.” On a practical note, Lani urges brides-to-be to invest in a wedding coordinator to handle the logistics of a destination wedding: “A well-respected coordinator has firsthand knowledge of the location, site, vendors and traditions, and may be able to forecast and eliminate problems, save you money, and handle any last minute problems.”
Congratulations Lani and Wesley!