We are in love with nature and each other, and we love traveling to beach destinations, so marrying in St. John was perfect. Matthew is an arborist from Southampton, New York, and I’m a teacher from Shanghai, China. We met through mutual friends, and Matt proposed three years later. We searched for a planner online, and Mary Bartolucci of Island Style Weddings won us over.
We set the date August 22, 2015 and chose the beach at Trunk Bay, with its white-powder sand, for our ceremony. We booked Waterfront Bistro in Cruz Bay for the reception and reserved St. John’s Villa Infi nity, where Matt and I stayed with our families. Most of our 40 guests stayed at TheWestin St. John Resort, a 10-minute drive from our venues.
We arranged rides for them through Penn Taxi, and our families traveled in a safari truck from Mr. Piper’s Jeeps. In Cruz Bay, we hosted a welcome party at Joe’s Rum Hut and a rehearsal dinner at Rhumb Lines Bar & Restaurant. On Saturday at sunset, everyone gathered at Trunk Bay to hear us exchange personal vows, accompanied by steel-pan player Albion Sewer and followed by cocktail hour at Waterfront Bistro. At the reception, guests chose ahi tuna, fi let mignon or mahimahi, followed by desserts, toasts and dancing with DJ Adonis. I have many cherished memories of the day, but Matt’s favorite memory is when I said my vows, fi rst in English and then in Chinese.
