ResortHatch

It’s been a few weeks since Alex and Brett’s wedding at Sandals Bahamas Nassau. They never know when a memento will appear and make their day much, much better. A few days ago, Brett found sand in the shorts he’d worn on the purest beach he’s ever seen. Alex re-discovered a handful of seashells. The two of them can open their closet and escape on the celebratory scent of the Sandals pool in their wedding clothes.

“You could say we totally immersed ourselves in the Bahamas,” Alex says. “I couldn’t imagine our week being more flawless.”

Photography by Avery Amstutz

The week had a lot to live up to when you consider Brett’s proposal. He’d taken Alex to the mountains in Washington state. There were sleigh rides and eagles flying among giant snowflakes, a sappy Hallmark scene that brings Brett, the Army veteran, to admit, “Love was in the air.”

A reality hit shortly after Alex said “yes”: they had to come up with a better-than-Hallmark wedding plan.

“It needed to be unique, unlike any other destination wedding,” Alex says. “We didn’t want it in Chicago [40 minutes from home] or back in the mountains. It had to be a place where guests could dive into a vacation — with our wedding woven into it.”

Friends who had been to Sandals couldn’t say enough about it.

“So, we sent an inquiry,” Brett says, “just to have an option.”

Turns out, he and Alex wouldn’t need any other options.

Photography by Avery Amstutz

Perfection can be Effortless

The inquiry to Sandals was followed the same day by a phone call from Sandals. On that call Alex, who admits to “fixating on details,” had an unusual change of heart. She gave up control.

“We could tell the people at Sandals genuinely cared, that we could trust them,” says Brett. “Our wedding wouldn’t be a transaction to them. It would be a relationship.”

The purpose of every subsequent conversation and email never changed. Even during Alex and Brett’s Test Drive to Sandals Bahamas Nassau and into their arrival on site three days before the wedding, they heard the same question: What can we do to make your week better?

Better? They had no response. They’d flown into Nassau and been transported to the resort. They changed into swimsuits and strolled toward the turquoise ocean. Alex was handed a piña colada. Brett grabbed a Sands beer. Together, they melted into the island’s five-sense comfort.

“I had this feeling that everything was meant to be,” Alex says. “I wasn’t sure how it could have been any better.”

The Sandals team showed them how. While Alex and Brett ordered another round of drinks without moving from the pool, the team picked up the items Alex and Brett brought for the welcome party, wedding, and reception. When they cruised out to the private island to beachcomb where the wedding would be later in the week, the team stayed on site to set up the welcome event in the overwater chapel. For all they know, the Sandals team planned the double rainbow that appeared over the ocean and left everyone in a trance-like stare.

“Speechless,” is all Alex can say.

Photography by Avery Amstutz

The Ride of Their Lives

Whereas brides might finally find it possible to finally relax after saying, “I do,” Alex was able to shed her type-A tendencies and enjoy the weeklong ride. Nothing could break her serenity.

When a button popped off her dress an hour before the wedding ceremony, she said two words: “Oh well.”

When her veil got snagged on her mother’s shoe, she repeated, “Oh well.”

“On the biggest day of my life, I had this uncommon sense of peace,” Alex says.

The peacefulness grew during a tranquil boat ride to the private island, a venue that characterized the wedding and its star couple: fun, easy, and bright.

“I kept thinking, ‘Everything good that can possibly happen is happening,” Brett says. “We’re on an island with friends and family. The background is beautiful. And the foreground is even more beautiful: My bride. She looks calm and happy about taking our next big steps.’”

Photography by Avery Amstutz

Their literal steps following the vows took them to the other side of the island, where the aptly-named “Island Vibe” buffet had been set up for the reception. Friends would say they’d never experienced anything like it. A lonely tropical island at dusk. Fresh seafood and local rum drinks. A fire dancer lighting up the evening. And then here came Brett, the carefree groom, leading the way to the dance floor on the sand.

“Everyone came out of their seats,” Alex says. “Being on an island has that effect on people.”

Photography by Avery Amstutz

Time … Slows … Down

The night didn’t want to end. It simply changed locations, from the private island to the main island. During the walk along the pier toward the English-themed Queen’s Pearl pub, someone suggested they all change into swimsuits for a leap into the pool. Someone else edited the suggestion.

“I’m not changing.”

One by one, the entire wedding party jumped into the water, bride and groom included. Wearing damp dresses and suits, they continued to the pub.

“That moment reminds me of why we were attracted to each other in the first place,” Alex says. “We can be ourselves.”

Photography by Avery Amstutz

There would be no abrupt changes or departures the following day. Instead, there would be a bar crawl. There would be more sunshine, laughter, and be-you-tiful moments. When family and friends did leave Sandals, Alex and Brett offered warm hugs and profound thank you’s.

And then they retreated into honeymoon mode.

Coffee on the balcony. Walks on the beach. Snorkeling in the sea. Lounging at the pool. Meals next to the sea. That covered half a day. As the two of them learned, time slows down when stress is absent and grains of heavenly sand find their way into your pockets.

“I hear people say after their weddings that ‘the time was special, but I’m glad it’s over,” Alex says, looking at one of her seashells. “We don’t feel that way at all. We’d do it a million times over.”