A Grand Cayman Marriott Wedding photographed by Melissa Wolfe
The Grand Cayman Marriott Beach Resort was the location for My Linh and Paolo’s wedding surrounded by their close family. My Linh looked stunning in her wedding gown perfect for a beach wedding. I especially love the vintage inspired hair wreath she is wearing. Being a true Italian with a smart Italian suit Paolo looked pretty debonair himself. Congratulations to the two of then on their Grand Cayman Marriott Wedding.
Power of the Purse – Erin Brockovich visits Cayman for the Cayman Crisis Centre
I’m grateful for the opportunity to participate with some of Cayman’s top ‘make it happen’ professionals. They joined forces with the incomparable Erin Brockovich to send the message that domestic violence must stop.
Erin Brockovich visits Cayman to speak at the ‘Power of the Purse’ fundraiser held by the Cayman Islands Crisis Centre. She in an US-American environmental activist best know for her part in the a in building a case against the Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) of California in 1993. The case was been portrayed in a Hollywood movie ‘Erin Brockovich’ with Julia Roberts in the main character.
The Cayman Islands Crisis Centre is a Non Government charitable organisation that provides services and programmes focusing on domestic and sexual abuse through the provision of safe temporary shelter for women and their children, community education and assistance to all victims of abuse. The Centre operates a 24hour help line: 943 – CICC (2422).
The luncheon was a sell-out event with meaningful and direct addresses to the supporters by Cayman Island’s Governor, HE Helen Kilpatrick, Hon. Minister of Gender Affairs, Tara Rivers; Chairman of CICC, Len Layman; Host company Scotiabank’s Sloan Muldoon; Sponsor Ernst & Young’s Dan Scott. Brilliant event coordination by a couple of friends of mine…. Jennifer O’Leary of ScotiaBank and Denise Gower of Fountainhead Cayman.
Amazing collaboration. Brilliant work. I can’t wait to hear what they do next.
btw… first photo is me with Erin… she looked at me and said, “come on, let’s do something fun”. and we agreed that a big thumbs up for event, charity and their efforts was fitting. photo credit goes to my friend Claire Kluyver for the shot of Erin and I. many thanks for that.
The “lightbox magic” of an overcast sky…
It was an overcast day, as sometimes happens during Cayman’s rainy season (June 1st – November 30th). It rained lightly before and after the ceremony for this Grand Old House Wedding. Trying to describe overcast light with words is tough, but I am going to give it a try!
The beauty of Cayman’s overcast days is the even light created by white clouds. Mother Nature provides a virtual soft box. The warm sunlight becomes filtered and produces a natural studio with gentle light coming from all directions. It bounces off the sea, the buildings and even the people around. Light is everywhere.
Chantelle & Sean selected the historic plantation home Grand Old House in Grand Cayman to share their vows and commitment to each other. They invited their closest family and friends, who all enjoyed how special and memorable a Cayman Islands wedding can be. The Grand Old House has plenty of covered areas in the event that it does rain too hard to be outside. Thankfully, this was not the case. The advantage to such a historic venue is the traditional architecture, which adds a lovely background of outdoor space.
It also helps to have a sunny disposition with creating wedding portraits. From beginning to end, Chantelle & Sean lit up the Grand Old House. Of course this made my job of capturing the magic a happy and sunny pleasure. The other “light and sunny” part of their day was the enthusiasm and energetic participation of their wedding party. No hurricane or threat could have dampened the spirits of a positive, supportive and outgoing group of friends/family.
The Great Ball of Fire finally did made an appearance at the end of the wedding shoot and sunglasses became necessary instead of the umbrellas. That is one of the many great things about Cayman…. if you don’t like the weather, be patient with Mother Nature, as she always delivers.
Cayman Islands Family Portraits by Melissa Wolfe
Ellen and her family wanted to created lasting memories during their vacation and asked me to capture their Cayman Islands family portraits for them. We chose the hour just before sunset for their Cayman Islands family portrait session as the light is just beautiful around that time of the day. In photography we call it the ‘Golden Hour’ for it’s golden tonality and soft light.
Finding the right location was easy as the family was staying right on Cayman’s famous Seven Mile Beach at the Westin Grand Cayman. Seven Mile is a fantastic location as it is facing the setting sun.
It was a delight to work with Ellen and her family. The children and I had a blast. Especially the little girl and I bonded dancing and twirling down the beach like no-one is watching.
I wish that they will enjoy their Cayman Island Family Portraits for many years to come.
Not every wedding in Grand Cayman takes place on one of our beautiful beaches. Tiffany & David exchanged their vows at St. Ignatius Catholic Church. After the ceremony we drove to a local hangout for some fun images.
The reception took place at a stunning waterfront restaurant ‘The Wharf’. A wonderful place to celebrate Tiffany & David’s wedding. Congratulations to you both!
Gudrun and William met in 2002 at Vanderbilt University where both attended college. They were friends for a couple of years and started dating officially in 2004.
After graduation their careers took them to different locations across the US – Gudrun went off to Boston then Los Angeles then to New Orleans while William found himself in Louisville then Austin, TX and then Milwaukee. Wanting to give their relationship a real chance they both moved to Chicago.
Ten years after they started dating at college they got engaged in 2014 after a weekend away at a beautiful resort in Geneva, IL. Their daughter Sunna Wu was born in January 2015.
For their wedding they eloped to the Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman. Gudrun says: “We choose Grand Cayman for our wedding because we both vacationed there as children and have been returning together for the past 3 years. We visit Grand Cayman once every year and plan to do so for many years into the future. It holds a special place in our hearts as it is where we decided to start trying for a baby and discussed for the first time getting married.”
venue: Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman
I love taking a few minutes with the bride before the wedding ceremony for some bridal portraits. The bride looks stunning with her make up and hair all beautifully done. Carleigh was no exeption and had the most amazing dress for her wedding to go with it all. Just stunning!
I love spending time on the beach around sunset … the best time for family photos. It is especially if I am allowed to hang out with a smiley baby like this one.
Jennifer and Mitch chose the beautiful beach at the Westin Grand Cayman Beach Resort for their wedding. I had such a fun time with those two and their friends. The bridal party was a riot they went along with all the crazy photo ideas. Such fun!
As a family… I doubt we take as many candid photos as most people do. With cell phones, candid has become a whole new storytelling culture that combines silly, performance and sparks creativity. These are a few of the rare ones of my husband David, the perfect husband for me and awesome father to his children.
Happy Father’s Day to all the Dads, Grandpas, Granddaddies, who are such a wonderful part of our lives.
