Happy Valentine's Day! With all the flowers, teddy bears and chocolates being given out today we didn't want to be left out! Roses are Red, Violets are Blue; we can't wait to share this romantic Valentine's Day Palette with you! Consider it our gift for being such sweet and loyal fans of Weddingmoons. We picked these perfect blushes of pink from the Weddingmoons interactive online planner, added a splash of red (for passion of course) and voila!

Looking for more Valentine's Wedding day ideas? Perhaps you've started pre-planning for next year already. Let us help! Our Pinterest boards are teeming with tons of lovely, romantic and downright mushy ideas for February weddings! Everything from easy Valentine's Day DIY, cute cupcakes and decor you can find on our "It's Valentine's Day" board. If you love red and/or pink and can't wait to plan your wedding over flowing with red roses and pink ponies (that sounds absolutely lush!) then you'll love our Color Red and our Color Pink themed boards!

In the meantime, we wish all of you future bride and grooms a romantic Valentine's Day and a steamy Valentine's Night (wink wink)!

(Photo Credit: Bacardi)

Just in time for your Valentine's Day wedding, we present to you the lovely English Rose signature drink! This lovely pink-hued, bubbly beauty was created in honor of the wedding of Duchess Kate Middleton to Prince William back in 2011 by Bacardi . Now you can have this royal treat featured at your own wedding! We really love this one for Valentine's Day weddings since it's such a sweet looking (and tasty!) drink. You may want to debut this signature drink at your private candlelight Valentine's evening dinner on Thursday (oh la la!), just  to see if it's something you and your fiance may want to introduce at your wedding. Either way, we know you're going to love this one!

 

What You'll Need (Makes one serving)

1 Sugar Cube
3 drops Orange Bitters
1 oz. DRAMBUIE
4 oz. chilled Blanc de Noirs Champagne (Subsitute with your favorite sparkling wine or Prosecco)
Campari (A splash should do.)
Rosewater
Champagne Flute
Fresh Strawberry Slices (One slice per drink)

Instructions

1.    Place the sugar cube in the bottom of a champagne flute.

2.    Dribble a few drops of orange bitters overtop, then pour in the 1 oz. Drambuie.

3.   Slowly pour 4 oz. chilled champagne, sparkling wine or Prosecco. If you want your English Rose extra pink, try a sparkling Rosé.

4.   Add a splash of Campari and about three drops of rosewater, garnish with a fresh strawberry slice and voila! An English Rose.

If you're getting married at Beaches and you're looking for a kid-friendly version for your special little guests, use ginger ale made pink with a splash of grenadine. Kid-friendly or not, garnish your drink with a fresh strawberry for a sweet effect!

Recipe found at The Family Kitchen.com

Q: "I recently got engaged and would love to get married at one of the Sandals Resorts since my fiance and I and all of our friends have had great experiences at Sandals Resorts! I have seen the wedding packages and wanted to have a reception. How does it work? I would like to have a couple tables for our reception with some appetizers, a dinner, open bar and maybe some music. Are these things possible? If so, how do I arrange them? Thanks so much for your help!"  - From Kara 

See Marsha-Ann's expert reply after the jump. 

(Photo Credit: Japanese Elle Magazine)

Designer Rubin Singer first won us over when he brought our one-of-a-kind wedding designer to life at Say "I Do" to Sandals last year in New York, by designing amazing haute couture gowns featuring our color palette! Now he's wow-ed us again by putting together the super sexy, Valkeyrie inspired number for superstar Beyonce's Super Bowl halftime show. Rubin Singer can just do no wrong in our books! Fast becoming a favorite of celebrity stylists, editors and socialites, Singer's designs are worn by Beyoncé, Solange Knowles, Lucy Liu, Heidi Klum, Alicia Keys, Queen Latifah and of course, Weddingmoons!

(Rubin Singer with model at Say "I Do" to Sandals in NYC.)

With everything from haute couture gowns to sultry costumes, we just had to find out how stunning his wedding gowns were. Singer did not disappoint us! This haute couture gown with a dangerously fierce side bustle, earns Singer's gown a spot as our Weddingmoon's Dress of the Week. We wouldn't change a thing about this look featured in Japanese Elle, including a dramatic head piece and minimal jewellery.

“A woman is most pow­er­ful when she feels beau­ti­ful. Every­thing I do stands for that.”- Rubin Singer.

What would you pair this flooring gown with for your big day? Tell us!

Welcome to the very first installment of "Ask Marsha-Ann"! Two weeks ago we were happy to announce that every week, Sandals Resorts' Director of Romance, (oh la la!) would answer pressing wedding questions that any of you destination wedding brides had. The response we received was absolutely amazing as all of you chimed in to have your questions answered by the expert! Our first question comes from us from Candace Zachary who wanted an expert’s take on wedding locations.

Question: "Ok. So we have our date set but have questions about locations. We want to get married on the beach…where do you recommend the most?"

Make the jump for Marsh-Ann's expert answer!

Last year Sandals Wedding Blog teamed up with an international makeup artist, popular beauty & fashion blogger, (and all around sweetheart) Katie of Beauty and the Boutique to bring you a series of DIY makeup videos made especially with destination brides in mind. Her DIY makeup videos were such a hit with our fans that her second video make it on to our Reader's Choice Top 12 List! In her latest installment, Katie has haute tips for brides looking to beat the hot weather on their wedding day! Watch her video on how to keep your face "shine free" all day long for a glamorous matted look under the Caribbean skies.

If you've missed any of Katie's other totally glam videos you can see then here and here!

Picture this: On a beautifully warm and sunny afternoon, under a flawless sky, bubbly bride Kerri-Ann was escorted down a flowery pathway by her father to meet her groom Andre at a pink, butterfly strewn arch.  Seated in front of the calm waters of the Reflection Pool, their guests looked on the couple as they said their vows with love in their eyes and the turquoise waters of the Caribbean in the background.

This was setting of our first real wedding of the New Year, coming straight to you from the stunning, sunny shores of Exuma, The Bahamas. Everything about this couple was fun and easy-going, a nod to Kerri’s sweet nature and Andre’s laid back style. Kerri and Andre are a true Sandals Love Story! The couple took their first Sandals vacation at Montego Bay in 2009; three years later the couple said "We Do" in front of family and friends at Sandals Emerald Bay. As true Sandals fans, Kerri and Andre graciously accepted our wedding blogger Sunny to be present at one the most special moment of their lives. According to Sunny, "This wedding was so beautiful, it will be sure to give anyone butterflies!”

 

Kerri and Andre Ross

Location: The Reflecting Pool - Sandals Emerald Bay, Great Exuma, Bahamas.
Date: November 17^th, 2012
Number of Guests:  15
Theme: Flutter of Romance
Photography: SnapShots Photography Studio.

 

Continue on to sweet butterfly bliss...

Are you nervous about giving your "thank you for coming" wedding speech? Don’t sweat it; most people are afraid of public speaking, too. So what should you do? Sing it of course!  At least, that's what musician Tom Fletcher did. We received this video on our submission page of UK newlywed, Tom, singing his funny and heartfelt wedding speech at his reception. It's such a creative and a light-heated way to take on your wedding speech AND enjoy yourself. This one is sure to leave tears in your eyes!

We were so inspired by Tom's creative wedding speech that we came up with some tips of our own to help ease the wedding speech jitters and just have fun.

Use Your Talents.
Tom played up his strengths and so can you! If you're not much of a singer but have a knack for theater then give your speech in the form of a fairytale. The point is the find your element and give your speech in a way that makes you feel comfortable - not to mention playing to your strengths lead to wedding speeches that can become a YouTube sensation!

Partner Up.
Marriage is a partnership, so your wedding speech is perfect practice to learn to work together! After all a wedding is a celebration for both of you!

Find Your Inspiration.
Your wedding speech is a time when you can be as emotional as you'd like. Even if you're not that into the emotional stuff - you're getting married! Look to your beautiful bride-to-be or your handsome future husband and explain exactly why this wedding is all you've ever dreamed of.

Don't Sweat It.
Gaze at your wedding list and look at all the family and friends you've included, chances are you've had personal and/or embarrassing experiences with all of them! They're all there to support you as you take one of the biggest steps in your life; they won't care if you fumble with your words or start to cry half way through your "Thank Yous". They are all there to engage in your happiness, not scrutinize your speech. Relax, laugh, love and enjoy the happiest moment of your life!

Practice Makes Perfect.
Whether you're going to sing your speech, write it or act it out, it's always a good idea to practice your speech in front of a mirror. When you're more comfortable, try your speech out on someone you trust and whom you don't mind hearing your speech beforehand.

Planning a destination wedding can be loads of fun but we also know it requires research to make sure you have all your bases covered.  At Sandals Wedding Blog we aim to make your destination wedding research as fun and easy as possible. That’s why we are so excited to host destination wedding expert and romance aficionado, the lovely Marsha-Ann Brown to answer all of your pressing destination wedding questions!  With a title like Director of Romance and Weddings for Sandals Resorts, it’s not hard to guess that she is the woman who makes all of your destination wedding dreams come to life.

Marsha-Ann believes that every couple's wedding should be the beginning to their perfect “Happily Ever After”. Our Director of Romance is truly a wedding industry expert! You may have seen her at the exclusive Engage! 12 or even Say “I Do” to Sandals in New York hosting with “Say Yes to the Dress” wedding expert Randy Fenoli!  She’s so passionate about giving couples all the tools they need to make their wedding an experience they’ll remember forever; that she’s agreed to answer any questions future brides (or grooms) may have about their destination wedding every week. 

If you have a burning question about a destination wedding or about your upcoming wedding, here’s how to ask our wedding expert:

1. Send your question to us on our submit page here. (A photo is not necessary – unless you want to brag about your new engagement ring)!
2. Check sandalsweddingblog.com every Monday to see your question answered by the Director of Romance, Marsha-Ann.

It’s as easy at that! Whether it’s a question about color palette choices, venue suggestions or wedding tips and ideas -- Marsha-Ann will have you covered!

Got a question now? Post it in the comments now for it to be one of the firsts answered by our destination wedding expert!

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