In May 2010, we said "I do" in paradise. The Bahamas became the backdrop for the most important day of our lives—a wedding ceremony on a pier overlooking turquoise waters, photographs taken barefoot on pristine sand, and a honeymoon on an island so beautiful that even Christopher Columbus himself was moved to poetry. This wasn't just a destination wedding; it was the beginning of our forever in one of the world's most stunning archipelagos.

A Love Story at the Bahamas, with the Bahamas

Choosing the Bahamas for our wedding was choosing perfection. May brought ideal weather—warm sunshine, gentle ocean breezes, and skies of impossible blue. From the moment we arrived at Compass Point to our explorations of Long Island's natural wonders, every detail felt kissed by Caribbean magic. We were following in the footsteps of history, as Christopher Columbus explored these very islands in 1492, becoming the first European to encounter this chain of jewel-like islands scattered across impossibly clear waters.

"The beauty of this island surpasses that of any other, and as much as the day surpasses the night in splendour." — Christopher Columbus

Our Wedding Journey

Every moment of our Bahamian wedding and honeymoon was infused with natural beauty, romance, and the joy of beginning our married life together in paradise.

• Compass Point Wedding Ceremony: Our ceremony at Compass Point was everything we'd dreamed of and more. Standing on the pier with the Atlantic Ocean stretching endlessly before us, we exchanged our vows as waves lapped gently beneath our feet and the sun warmed our shoulders. The setting was intimate and breathtaking—just us, our officiant, and the vast beauty of the Bahamas surrounding us. The colorful cottages of Compass Point dotted the coastline behind us, while ahead, nothing but ocean and sky witnessed our promises to each other. The sound of the waves seemed to bless our union, and the ocean breeze carried our words across the water. It was simple, profound, and absolutely perfect.
• Love Beach Photos: After the ceremony, we headed to Love Beach for our wedding photographs, and we couldn't resist—we kicked off our shoes and felt the soft Bahamian sand between our toes. There was something wonderfully liberating about being barefoot on our wedding day, grounded literally and figuratively on this beautiful beach. The photographer captured us laughing, embracing, and simply being joyfully, authentically ourselves against the backdrop of powder-white sand and crystalline water. The informal, natural feeling of those barefoot photos perfectly captured the spirit of our day—elegant yet relaxed, romantic yet real.
• Cape Santa Maria Beach Resort: We transferred to Long Island for our honeymoon, and Cape Santa Maria Beach Resort exceeded every expectation. The beach at our resort was simply the most spectacular we'd ever seen—three miles of pristine, powdery white sand so fine it squeaked beneath our feet, meeting water that shifted through every shade of blue and turquoise imaginable. We spent lazy days lounging under palm trees, swimming in the bathwater-warm shallows, and watching sunsets that painted the sky in colors so vivid they seemed unreal. This was the paradise we'd always imagined—unspoiled, tranquil, and breathtakingly beautiful.
• Dean's Blue Hole: One of Long Island's most extraordinary natural wonders, Dean's Blue Hole is the world's deepest known saltwater blue hole, plunging over 660 feet into the earth. Swimming at the edge of this circular abyss was both thrilling and slightly unnerving—the water shifts from pale turquoise shallows to an impossibly deep indigo blue that seems bottomless. We floated above this natural wonder, marveling at the clarity of the water and the dramatic drop-off visible beneath us. It felt like swimming at the edge of the world, in a place where nature's power and beauty converge in spectacular fashion.
• Columbus Monument Memorial: Standing at the Columbus Monument on Long Island, we reflected on the explorer's first encounters with these islands in 1492. Columbus landed in the Bahamas during his historic voyage to the New World, and his fleet sailed through these very waters, exploring the archipelago and making first contact with the indigenous Lucayan people. Reading his own words carved into the monument—"The beauty of this island surpasses that of any other, and as much as the day surpasses the night in splendour"—we understood completely. Five centuries later, his observation remained profoundly true. The Bahamas had captured Columbus's heart just as they'd captured ours, and standing there as newlyweds, we felt connected to that long history of wonder and discovery.

Our Bahamas wedding was more than we'd ever hoped for—it was the perfect beginning to our marriage. From saying our vows on a pier over the ocean to barefoot photos on Love Beach, from the spectacular white sands of Cape Santa Maria to the natural wonder of Dean's Blue Hole, and from swimming in impossibly clear waters to standing where Columbus himself once marveled at this paradise, every moment felt blessed. We began our forever in a place of extraordinary beauty, and we carry the magic of those Bahamian days with us always—a reminder that we chose to start our journey together in paradise, and that paradise is wherever we are together.