ResortHatch

 
Welcome to Kennedy and Donovan’s wedding celebration at Sandals Jamaica South Coast. Over there, next to the Caribbean Sea, is the couple of honor in real life. And right here on the sand is a framed picture of them with their arms around each other. How cute. It’s a snapshot from early in their relationship.

“I was five and Donovan was six,” Kennedy says. “We look like best buddies.”
Twenty years later, after growing apart and reuniting, the best buddies traveled to Sandals South Coast to become man and wife. They brought the throwback photo as a way of connecting their innocent past to the stunning present.

“The most beautiful spot I could imagine,” Donovan says, referring to the overwater chapel, the view of Jamaica’s lush hills, and the glass floor where he stood, waiting for the little girl he once knew to appear, all grown up, a young woman with a smile and dress as bright as the sun.

Here comes the bride … and a boat

Donovan: When the doors of the chapel opened, everything came together for an incredible moment: the location, blue water, perfect weather, the people in our lives, and Kennedy. I’ll admit that I couldn’t stop crying.
Kennedy: An Island Routes catamaran showed up on the ocean, too. The passengers started cheering for us. That isn’t something you see at many weddings.

Photos by Hannah Kristine Photography

From playdates to serious dates

Donovan: I’ll take responsibility for our first date as adults. We saw each other at my sister’s college volleyball game after we hadn’t seen each other in years. I thought, “Wow, she isn’t little anymore.”
Kennedy: Our relationship goes back to when Donovan’s mom and my mom became best friends in nursing school. Every summer we’d all get together. Donovan and I played at picnics and swam in lakes. We chased chickens around. That’s why we have the picture with our arms around each other.
Donovan: We lost touch until the volleyball game. Our moms wanted to catch up, so Kennedy went with her mom and I went with my mom. At the game I said, “That’s Kennedy? Is she single?” We went out to eat after the game.
Kennedy: He proposed 14 months later.

Photos by Hannah Kristine Photography

Two wedding visions: Perfectly simple and simply perfect

Kennedy: A big wedding never crossed our minds. We live in Iowa, so we wanted to go to a warm destination with a small group of people and make it special for everyone.
Donovan: We looked online and saw everything we needed at Sandals South Coast. Lots of rooms for guests. Restaurants. The beach. Scuba diving. And a wedding staff.
Kennedy: For a good price, too. It was an easy choice. We didn’t need much of a discussion.

Photos by Hannah Kristine Photography

Into the (really) great unknown

Kennedy: Honestly, I was a little nervous about going to a place I’d never been and hoping our wedding would be what we wanted. I knew Jamaica’s natural background would be the main décor, so that took care of itself. But I kept wondering, “Does the wedding team imagine what I imagine?”
Donovan: The excitement started to build once we were on the plane to Jamaica.
Kennedy: I packed a few items to personalize the wedding. Bridesmaid bouquets. Table numbers from Etsy. The picture of us as kids and a picture of my dad. He died four years earlier and I wanted to honor him by putting his picture in the front row of the chapel.
Donovan: When we first saw the resort and the ocean, it was, Wow. We’re in Jamaica. This is where we’re getting married.

Photos by Hannah Kristine Photography

All play and no work

Kennedy: The on-site wedding coordinator eased my nerves right away. I could tell she genuinely cared about bringing to life everything I’d envisioned.
Donovan: We spent our days paddleboarding and snorkeling, hanging out at the food trucks, relaxing in the pools and on swings. The Sandals staff handled the wedding details.
Kennedy: We kept the itinerary to a minimum — a welcome party, the wedding ceremony, reception, and a catamaran cruise the next day. We all got together on New Years Eve, too. Other than that, everyone could do whatever they wanted. On the day of the wedding, the girls went to Red Lane Spa for our hair and makeup and then to my room to sip champagne? and finish getting ready.
Donovan: The guys played volleyball on the beach until 90 minutes before the ceremony. That was fun.
Kennedy: I had no clue what they were doing until I saw the pictures later. The Sandals staff took care of everything, but I did have one little inconvenience. Donovan called my room an hour before the ceremony because the groomsmen didn’t know how to put on their boutonnieres.

Photos by Hannah Kristine Photography

A break from being grown-ups

Kennedy: We chose Sandals South Coast because it fits our personalities. We’re both pretty reserved, although you’d never know it from the wedding pictures.
Donovan: Things got a little crazy during the reception. We went from the overwater chapel to cocktail hour on the beach to dinner and dancing on the beach. I’m not sure how it started, but eventually everyone was in the ocean — an iconic moment that no one will forget. You don’t see that happen at many weddings either.

Photos by Hannah Kristine Photography

They’re talking about us

Donovan: We’ve been to so many weddings and people still talk about ours. They say they’ll never have an experience like that again, celebrating with 45 best friends in Jamaica. It was kind of sad when people left, but only briefly. We were already at our honeymoon destination, with no need for planning, flights, or readjusting. We woke up and here we are. Let’s enjoy another week in Jamaica.
Kennedy: We had massages on the beach. We explored. We did more Scuba diving. And we tried every restaurant. It was everything you could possibly want for a wedding and honeymoon, without the high expense. Beautiful. Memorable. Fun. And our moms were together again, having a great time as best friends, just like us.

Photos by Hannah Kristine Photography