REAL WEDDING | VIRGIN ISLANDS

Planner: Michelle Marquis, Weddings by Michelle Marquis, St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, www.weddingsbymichellemarquis.com, michelle@weddingsbymichellemarquis.comYears in industry: 20 Photographer: Kelly Greer PhotographerBusinesses: Red Couch Café, Antilles Lilies Florist, Kiki and The Flaming Gypsies, The Guardians of Culture Moko Jumbies, the Randy Mason Trio, Unlimited Sounds DJ, Frank Robinson Cocktails and Culinary ExperienceWedding date: Nov. 20, 2015Guest count: 48Involvement: Full consulting, design, and executionThe couple: The bride is a world-champion equestrian, Olympiad, and Pan Am Games participant/medalist. Having the wedding ocean-front meant that only one theme would be appropriate—sea horses. The groom was happy to oblige.Wedding planning/style inspiration: At our recommendation, the wedding ceremony and reception took place on a private estate, the Pyramid House, overlooking the ocean. The estate has graced the cover of Architectural Digest and boasts beautiful lawns, sugar mills, and stunning stone work. A rustic, elegant, tented reception was desired.“Aha” moment: Most definitely, it was honing in on the bride’s love for horses.Most unique design element: I had custom wooden tables and benches built to enhance the rustic, elegant vibe the couple wanted. A late-night food truck was desired, but since that wasn't possible to get to the location, we found an old pickup truck in a salvage yard, cut off the bed, painted it, added shelving, and attached it to a local mahogany-crafted pedestal for a "Food Truck Fun Food" station. Color palette: Pinks, creams, greenBudget: $40,000Staff hours: 60Planning time: Three monthsClient meetings: This was a destination wedding, so we emailed a lot, talked on the phone twice, and met once the day before the wedding.Set up/strike details: I secretly asked the maid of honor to bring some of the bride’s horse reigns to use as aisle markers along the insides of the outdoor ceremony “pews.” I also found an old horse trough that we turned upside down to use as a beverage station at the ceremony. We also surprised the bride and groom as well as the entire party with fire dancers and local cultural stilt walkers who bring good luck and protection. There was also a fire pit over a round area rug with lovely chairs and pillows encircling it. Revenue breakdown: 20% planning, 15% rentals, 20% labor, 10% special ordered inventory, and 35% vendorsBiggest challenge: The short, three-month planning period and an extremely windy day were our biggest challenges. Fighting the wind on the wedding day was taxing, but everyone worked together to reinforce everything. And we had to put the napkins in the champagne glasses, which ended up looking really great, to keep them from blowing away. WPM