Sacha is the fabulous wedding planner at the Grand Cayman Beach Suites and I was thrilled when she asked me to photograph her Cayman engagement session. Sacha and Gareth recently swapped on island for another moving from Jersey to Grand Cayman. Sacha tells their story:
“Growing up on a small island, it was inevitable that we found out we had seen each other around before we actually met. We didn’t actually meet until we were 18. I was in my first year at university and he was completing an apprenticeship at home. I was determined to be single and enjoy a party lifestyle at university but we spent a lot of time together during my first summer break. I was still determined to be single (and rebuffed numerous advances from him…he will kill me for saying that!) even when he flew back to the UK with me at the start of second year to help me move into my new house! He asked me one final time before he got on the plane home…I still said no! Then about two hours later, I realised how much I was going to miss him so sent him a text message asking him out and here we are almost 8 years later!”
“We both came to Cayman with the aim of progressing our careers, spending a couple of years lapping up the sunshine, diving as often as we could then moving onto the next adventure. We celebrated our seven year anniversary with dinner at Seven at the Ritz Carlton and we felt anything but the cliché of the seven year itch. Because of our plans to concentrate on careers and travel, I was certainly not in the ‘marriage frame of mind’. We are both in hospitality, we both have to work Christmas day, but with plans to go to a friend’s beachfront condo for an evening of drinks and party games on boxing day, that was going to be our ‘island christmas’. I was busy chatting with a friend on the deck (ironically about the fact that we had been together so long and had so many other plans that I really wasn’t fussed about getting engaged!) when Gareth and a friend arrived back from a drinks run and I was quickly whisked off down the beach under the pretence that we might be able to get one selfie in before the sun goes down! Busying myself with my camera to see if a photo was even possible, I turn back around to find him on bended knee and producing the most beautifully unique engagement ring! I was in absolute shock and I think I even asked if we had to get married right away! Of course I said yes and there were a lot of tears (just from me!). We headed back up to the beach under rapturous cheers, applause, well wishes and the champagne already popped with all of our friends gathered round! It turned out that all the boys had known for months it was going to happen and was supposed to have happened on our anniversary but the ring wasn’t ready. He had been all that time away from the party collecting the ring and sinking some Dutch courage at the nearest bar!”
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