dana and bryan's trash the dress session on grand bahama island and old bahama bay

as promised...conch shells! and once again the rain let up just in time for us to shoot. dana and bryan were so great on this shoot - no matter what we asked them to do, they were up for it! scouting the island, norm and i spotted this wrecked and rusty old barge sitting on the shore, and we knew it would be perfect for dana and bryan's trash the dress shoot. what we didn't realize, was how sketchy it all was. when we really got out on the barge we saw areas in the floor that had rusted all the way through. but dana and bryan were fearless - they never hesitated - they just charged on. i think i may have made them a bit nervous when i balanced myself out there on top of a wobbly old freezer to get a few of the shots posted here. anything for a shot right?!? after the session was done, dana and bryan had a big bonfire for all their guests on the beach - norm and i were stoked to be invited as we enjoyed chilling with everyone and getting wrapped up in conversation. the real treat came when the jonkonnu musicians came parading and dancing, surrounding everyone with some sweet sounds.

dana and bryan's destination wedding at old bahama bay resort on grand bahama island

dana and bryan's wedding at the fabulous old bahama bay resort on grand bahama island was crazy good! crazy because it rained and rained and rained! good because it always seemed to let up at just the right time, and when it did the sky was awesome for photos. norm and i had so much fun over the 5 days we were there with dana and bryan. we felt so welcomed by them, as well as by their friends and family. it was fun to shoot a destination wedding in the bahamas too. most of my destination weddings have been in mexico - which i love! i've been to mexico so many times, that i almost feel like i grew up there. and i'm always looking forward to my next fish taco or huevos rancheros. so, being in the bahamas was a very unique experience for me. i loved learning about the conch! its a way of life there. they take boats out and free dive for it, and there is so much of it everywhere. they serve it at every meal in every way possible. from conch salad (delicious! kind of like ceviche) to conch chowder to conch and chips i loved it all. and the conch shells are everywhere - they line the shoreline, there are jetty's of conch shells (pics coming with the trash the dress post). i asked if they're worried about the conch becoming "fished out." but, the locals assured me that they are careful to only harvest the large conch and let the young ones grow - and that they don't use S.C.U.B.A. gear, to cut down on the number they're able to collect - and that they've been doing it this way for as long as they can remember. ok, probably more information than you wanted. now, on to the pictures. the first two are of the wet rehearsal dinner...

on the day of the wedding, it rained all day - right up until 15 minutes before the wedding started. and, it held off long enough for us to take pictures. then when the reception started, it began to rain cats and dogs again. talk about amazing timing!

this is what it looked like the day we left...

don't forget to check back soon for an insane trash the dress shoot!