J Andrew Photographic Design » Wedding Photojournalist ~ Contemporary Portrait Arts ~ Columbia Kansas City St Louis

I am sooo excited to post photos from Patrick + Nicole’s destination wedding. We left on December 9th and once we got back I was so busy with Christmas and the end of the year that I finally was able to begin editing their photos. I have a feeling this post will be LONG – so consider yourself warned

Nicole contacted me about a year ago and asked if I would photograph only her reception as she had seen my work in other places. We got to talking and I asked why she only needed reception coverage and she mentioned that she and Patrick were going to have a destination wedding in St. Vincent as this is where he proposed. I asked if she had considered hiring a photographer who style she liked and having that photographer travel for the wedding. I think she thought I was joking at first We continued to discuss some options and Nicole checked with the resort photographer and the resort was only going to give her 24 photos included with her wedding package and there was no guarantee that she would like what she got. After that she was sold on having us come down for the wedding and I am so glad she did! Aside from the obvious benefit of being in 85 degree weather in December when it was like 5 degrees here in Mid-Missouri; having such a beautiful place as a backdrop for Nicole + Patrick’s wedding was SO awesome. St. Vincent is truly a photographer’s dream!

Here is a picture I took of Young Island at sunset which is 200 yards off the coast of the main Island of St. Vincent.

So we had a couple days to unwind before the wedding day and it was spent hanging around the Coconut swim up bar and with Patrick + Nicole’s family that traveled for the wedding. The evening before the wedding we all dined by the beach and had the chance to have a couple drinks in the bar. Here are a few of my favorites from that night.

All the guys had to smoke the cigars before calling it a night…

(This next one is my favorite – all natural light in a dark room)

Then we move to the wedding day. I will say that it was a first for me to spend the morning of a wedding day on the beach working on my tan as we didn’t get started to get ready for the wedding until the afternoon. I could get used to that

Here are a few favs of the preparations.

The bracelet belonged to Nicole’s grandmother so I definitely wanted to photograph it.

Here is Nicole getting ready…

Patrick hanging with the guys.

We did two really cool First Moments right on the beach. The first is when Patrick got to see Nicole for the first time and the second was when Nicole’s dad Roger got to see Nicole for the first time.

The ceremony got underway around 4:30 but before Nicole could walk down the beach for the Ceremony to start this group of European tourists invaded the beach – speedos and all – it was hilarious!

Once we were able to secure the area the ceremony as able to take place – with the Pope! Okay so it really wasnt THE Pope but the minister’s last name was Pope – we thought it was funny A few favs from the ceremony.

I can honestly say that Patrick + Nicole’s wedding is the only wedding where I saw the bride and groom skip out during their exit – too funny!

I almost forgot about photos that we did just before the ceremony. Nicole and Patrick were chilling in the hammock then the awesome staff at Young Island took them out to the Coconut Bar for a photo op! How cool is that?

Fast forward back to after the wedding – we then headed to sunset point as we were only about 30 minutes away from sunset and captured this next series of images.

The Young Island staff prepared a reception area with a delicious cake and appetizers. I was able to catch a few moments of the toasts – especially where Nicole and her dad got a little emotional during her dad’s toast.

The rest of the evening was a fantastic time just hanging out with the new married couple (by the bar – my kind of people ) We then geared up for our Day After Session the next day.

The Day After session is where we take advantage of the fact that we are in a really cool location and get some photos that we simply cannot get around Central Missouri. We headed into Kingstown which is the capital of St. Vincent and roamed the streets and open markets which provided for some fantastic photo opportunities!

Love the colors of this downtown…

Our taxi driver, Ricky, took us to all these great local spots. This is a historic church in downtown and the photos we were able to get outside and inside.

Ricky took us to the Botanical Gardens which is a gorgeous place.

Finally it was back to downtown as we headed back towards the island. I just love the contrast of these two against the wall.

See I told you this would be a long post but I hope you are enjoying the photos

Nicole + Patrick decided (maybe I talked them into it, whatever ) to do another sunset session where we could focus more on the beach and go around the entire island. I am so glad that they did because the images were amazing. check them out!

We then went to the back side of Young Island and got to catch the sunset there.

I got this bright idea that I should jump down by the rocks and get a better angle of Patrick + Nicole. Yep that’s me about to fall into the ocean Thanks to my wife Krista for taking this photo (an even bigger thanks for all her help during this wedding – she was my assistant and did a great job second shooting for me).

The rocks were SHARP but it enabled us to get photos such as this…

And here is the final image of the day

Patrick + Nicole, I cannot thank you enough for trusting me to document your destination wedding. Krista and I had a fantastic time getting to know you both and your families. I am so happy to show these images to you and I hope all enjoy the photos. Looking foward to the reception in January and designing your album – it is gonna rock!!!

All the best,

Johnny