Heather & Dan: Bermuda Wedding

Heather and Dan had a gorgeous day for their wedding, the sun shone bright, the breeze blew gently and they were happy. It was an honour to capture your happiness, so thank you both for a fabulous afternoon.

"We were born in New Jersey a month apart - around the age of three we both moved to Florida. Dan moved back to NJ around age five and I moved back to NJ around age ten. We lived in the same small town (it is one square mile) about three blocks away from each other, but we never had any friends in common or ran into each other which was so odd as our town was the place where "everyone knew everyone". "

"But when we were 18 we ended up working in the same place, we were introduced by a mutual friend and co-worker and soon me, Dan, Chris and Randy and I became inseparable (well the three of them already were just now i was included). Dan and I dated on and off for a little but we were mostly just best friends. About six years ago in March Dan and I started dating without ever being "off" again - we kept it a secret from our friends because we didn't want them to be upset in case it didn't work out and it would hurt our group but eventually we told everyone and it was all ok. 

On New Year's Eve 2012 Dan proposed to me at The 101 Pub. It is like a second home to us, we spent most of our weekends there for over 10 years. We are not big drinkers - it's more about the people that go there and work there. Our town is so small that we all know almost everyone so this is a place where we all go. When he asked me to marry him everyone was cheering and flickering the lights - the bartenders even brought out bottles of champagne for everyone in the bar to celebrate. "

"We decided on a cruise to Bermuda because we went on a cruise together a few years ago and loved it! Dan had come to Bermuda when he was very little but we had both heard beautiful things about it. Then we researched different wedding planners and decided on Bermuda Bride. We love Bermuda - the scenery, the beaches, the water, the people were all very nice and friendly. We love that the bus and taxi drivers beep and wave to each other and the fact that they are so proud to live in Bermuda and that they all tell the passengers so many amazing facts about Bermuda. It was so nice to listen to everyone talk about their home with pride and excitement.  

 On the wedding day we got ready separately - me with the bridesmaids and Dan with the groomsmen. Dan and I wrote each other a letter and read them while getting ready. I met Dan, my dad and the groomsmen on this blue staircase on the ship so my friend could take pictures of us before we left for the ceremony."

 We wrote our own vows - kind of. We used vows from television shows. Dan's was from Grey's Anatomy and mine was from One Tree Hill. We did this for two reasons 1. we love watching TV - we watch so many shows that it's crazy. 2. we got legally married in Massachusetts on our six year anniversary in March - we wrote our own vows for that and wanted to keep them to ourselves.

"After the ceremony we went back onto the ship to the dining room called The Manhattan Room. The DJ allowed us to bring an ipod with songs we picked so we could dance. Dan and I danced to "I don't want to miss a thing" by Aerosmith. Dan also danced with his mom and sister. I also danced with my dad and brother. My brother and I recently lost our mom so we danced to her favorite song "Lady in Red" it made everyone cry. Dan's sister and dad danced as well as my brother and our stepmom. The restaurant closed at 9:30pm so we couldn't have the wedding party give speeches but we all huddled around outside the restaurant so they could give their speeches. All eight of the wedding party gave a speech - the two things to remember from this was Jenna's speech (Dan's sister) - she said about 8 or 9 years ago that Dan and I were going to get married when she saw us watching the MTV music awards but her mom said that we were just friends. And Randy got stage fright I guess and gave a super funny speech consisting of "congratulations, thanks for inviting me and I remember when Dan and Heather used to sneak out" Then we hear Dan's mom in the background say WHAT?! The other wedding party members gave great speeches too. We tried to have an after party at one of the clubs on the ship but it was a flop and everyone was tired so that was pretty much the end of the night!"