The Wedding Library

Terracotta Tropical

Ladera, St. Lucia

Photography: Mel Barlow

This far-flung Caribbean destination with gorgeous native crafts, food, flora, landscape and colors provides the vocabulary for a party that fits seamlessly into its environment. Finding inspiration in the beauty of your surroundings is a lesson well learned here. By keeping it clean and minimal it’s unexpectedly chic.

When we work at a destination locale, getting our beautiful props and the couple’s wedding items shipped and delivered can be a challenge. Here we sourced a great deal on island beforehand, and brought with us light and compact décor items that would make a big impact.

The breathtaking ceremony backdrop is the island’s famous volcanic “Piton”. Nothing could compete with it, but a bit of tropical color added to the drama.

The umbrellas I had made were light and easy to carry but are very effective.

It is always fun to fashion bouquets from local flowers. The ribbon matches the locally woven, traditional fabric pattern. Tissue poms and paper garlands create a festive backdrop for photos and provide a sense of “place”. They are also easy to transport and assemble, pretty when installed and provide great impact.

The bright colors of the island are easily spotted and influenced the color scheme; these cheerful fishing boats are everywhere.

A bright invitation packet is a welcome hint at the fun to come.

I couldn’t resist a few bright cocktail napkins that I kept from blowing away with these pretty boxes.

For cocktails I assembled the island’s best rum – the property’s bartender came up with a few specialty cocktails that no one could resist.

I had drink stirrers and skewers fashioned that paired well with these hand-made, island platters.

I found these extraordinary frog dishes for the appetizer. They made a charming and memorable presentation. Locally crafted platters made for beautiful presentation plates. The centerpieces are all greens and blooms from the property.

Three dimensional table numbers add a bit of polish to the rustic table. A main course served in the local tagine cooking pot was impressive.

Adding a few tissue poms and pashminas in shades of pink created a festive atmosphere. The Piton at night – the perfect ending to a flawless event.