There’s no question that this year has been a rough one thus far. But in the middle of it all, there are still celebrations of birthdays, anniversaries, births and weddings.
Milestone for marriage officer
If anyone knows about the power of love and the joining of two people in matrimony, it is local officiant Joy Basdeo of Simply Weddings. She, too, has just celebrated an anniversary of her own. On 6 June, she presided over her 3,000th wedding. Apparently, you never tire of a job that is integral to a couple having the best day of their lives.
For Darnell Hanley and Natalia Montoya, it was an unexpected boon to find out that their wedding was such a special one for Basdeo, especially when she announced she would be giving them her services gratis, at a value of $1,200.
The couple was thrilled, particularly as their original plans had been changed radically by the coronavirus. They weren’t even supposed to be on the island. The wedding had been booked for 6 June in Colombia, with friends and family in attendance. It had been two years in the planning.
In the end, they decided to make the best of the circumstances and go ahead with the original date in Cayman, postponing the big event in Colombia to March 2021.
“Everyone was wonderful,” said Hanley, adding that it was a lovely day here and being part of Basdeo’s personal celebration was basically the icing on the cake.
“Over the past 12 years, I have officiated 3,000 weddings, but every wedding has been special,” Basdeo said. “I try to capture some aspect of the couple’s relationship and their personalities and work it into their ceremony.”
In addition to customised ceremonies, she said she has written Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim and Shinto ones, but her favourite was one written by her father, the late Vernon Jackson.
Simply Weddings has always been a family business. It started as Cayman Weddings when Basdeo’s parents, Francine and Vernon, were marriage officers in the early 1980s.
“When they owned and operated [the business], they did more than 8,000 ceremonies between them,” said Basdeo. “My mother, now in her 90s, still officiates weddings.”
Basdeo’s husband, Sam, runs the office in George Town, and their son Brett is Basdeo’s deputy. She someday hopes to turn over the business to their daughter, Samantha Paul.
“My most romantic ceremony wasn’t a wedding at all, but a 25th wedding anniversary vow renewal,” Basdeo recalled. “As in many cases with vow renewals, the whole thing – down to cueing the music – was arranged by the husband. The wife was completely surprised.
“A special ceremony like a vow renewal is the mark of a pretty solid marriage, since you are saying to each other, ‘I would do it all over again’. I particularly enjoy planning vow renewals where there are children involved in the ceremony.”
Basdeo has seen it all, from ceremonies that have gone off without a hitch, to weddings threatened by bad weather or other issues out of their control, but rarely is a problem not fixable.
She admitted that at least 50% of her business has disappeared since the COVID-19 crisis closed Cayman’s borders to visitors, but a solid reputation in the local market has yielded a steady stream of resident weddings. It seems it will take more than a virus to stand in the path of true love.
Basdeo has no intention of retiring anytime soon.
“I have officiated weddings for couples from all over the globe,” she said. “Dozens of these couples still stay in touch with me, and many come back to Cayman and visit with us.”
You might say her parents named her Joy for a reason.
Simple and fabulous
When Brooke Nowak and Daniel Fitzgerald decided to tie the knot, it was about one week before the big date of 30 May. They wanted something simple by the water, and that’s just what they got.
The venue was the old location of her family home, destroyed by Ivan, and they decorated the patio themselves. Nowak’s sister brought food and it was a small gathering of family and friends.
Their officiant was also Basdeo. “I think we missed her 3,000th wedding by about four,” Nowak laughed.
As extended family could not visit the island for the nuptials, they instead attempted to watch everything via Zoom from their various locations. Unfortunately, the laptop set up here for the occasion had other notions. Turns out that technology and the noonday sun don’t mix and the computer had a meltdown not long into the ceremony. “It crashed in the heat,” Nowak said.
A mad scramble and grab for devices allowed for the wedding to be videoed and it was shared with everyone after the fact.
“We just went with the flow,” said Nowak. “It was different, but wonderful.”
Wedding planners
Companies that plan weddings, provide décor and generally take such events from the vision to the reality, have been blindsided by the effects of the coronavirus on the industry. Yet, despite some serious setbacks, they are positive about the future.
Jo-Anne Brown, CEO and creative director at Celebrations said in all her years of being in business, she has never faced a challenge like this one.
“We went through Hurricane Ivan and had the trauma of destruction to facilities and business, as well as the fact that couples could not travel here for a few months, but this is so completely different,” Brown said. “It’s hard to [grasp] that even though everything looks so absolutely normal – no damage, everything working – that the whole world has essentially been put on hold due to this virus.”
Juliette Ebanks of Five Star Events echoed those sentiments.
“Not only have I never faced a challenge like this,” she said, “but I would have never thought something like this could happen without almost any warning, leaving no time to prepare. This really is a unique situation.
“Our industry has been hit extremely hard. I had so many beautiful weddings fully planned for March through October and, being a small business, basically lost my income due to the restrictions. That being said, despite very little income, we have still continued working and keeping up with our couples who have all been amazing.”
Many overseas clients have postponed, rather than cancelled, their nuptials, much to Brown’s relief.
“Our planners and I worked with all our couples and assured them that fees would not be charged, whichever way they went,” she said. “We encouraged them not to cancel their dreams, but simply to postpone and have an even more special day at a later time.”
Ebanks has had the same experience, with many of her clients postponing, but local customers have been reducing the number of people attending so they could still get married on their chosen date during the restrictions.
“Some of those who chose to do this still plan for a big celebration once restrictions are fully lifted, but others are just settling for a smaller wedding,” Ebanks said.
For the local weddings Celebrations has organised over the last couple of months, it has been interesting getting used to the new normal.
“We have simply followed regulations and made sure we complied,” Brown said. “It’s not easy, for sure, but very necessary. There is extra preparation and we have to make sure that our clients fully understand what will happen and how it will happen on the day.”
Ebanks noted, “The weddings we have arranged have been extremely small. We have only had three so far since the lockdown.
“One was a couple who will still be having a big celebration at a later date. I was unable to attend, but helped them plan the details and gifted a few décor items for them to use on the day. The bride blew me away, she had dreamed of her perfect wedding for so long and yet took everything in her stride. In the end, the love for her husband was all that mattered.”
Brown feels very optimistic about the future, largely because she recognises that Cayman is such a draw as a wedding destination. When the borders open back up, she’ll be ready.
“I do think we need to really stick to what we know we can manage, and what we are best at,” she said. “We are a small, luxury destination and we need to make the right decisions. We need to train and engage much more Caymanians and have Caymanians in the tourism industry to make us even better than we were before.”
Ebanks has a siimlar upbeat outlook. “For local couples, I think the turnaround will be instantaneous once restrictions are lifted,” she said. “I know many of them who can’t wait to be able to set or re-set their date and we are all eagerly awaiting the reopening of the island to local business. I am also extremely optimistic that once tourism returns, the destination wedding industry will be booming in Cayman.”
Photographers
For many professional photographers on the island, weddings represent a big chunk of their bookings each year. Rebecca Davidson and Maggie Jackson are just two from the industry who have really felt the hit from the pandemic.
“I went from being almost fully booked to nothing for the last few months,” said Jackson. “Most of my overseas clients have cancelled, but a few hope to reschedule once the island opens up.
“Several of my local clients have rescheduled, but rather than booking a three- or four-hour shoot to cover [all elements], many are opting for a simple ceremony with just themselves and their witnesses.”
“In the many years I have been photographing on this island, I have never experienced anything like COVID,” said Davidson. The closest was Hurricane Ivan, but even then, we started working after six weeks. This has been surreal.”
Both have had a few local assignments, and they have found them to be uplifting.
“It has been so lovely to have positive, happy events to celebrate after all the stress during lockdown,” Jackson said. “The images are so much more important these days and it feels great to be able to document the couple’s special moment so they can share with family and friends who are not able to attend.”
Davidson added, “Everyone has been in great spirits, even if they have a COVID wedding, because all of them are gonna party again. Who doesn’t want two parties?”
Getting used to the social distancing and wearing masks has been an adjustment, she admitted.
“The masks are hard to breathe with and they are very hot,” she said. “Plus, I smile a lot. That smile usually helps them loosen up and gets them having fun.
“As a photographer, I never realised how we interact and help so much, so that has been hard.”
Regardless of the challenges that both photographers have faced (Davidson had 38 weddings affected, with five cancelled and the remainder postponed until next year), they are optimistic about the future of weddings in Cayman.
“I know for a fact that Cayman will bounce back,” said Davidson. “I am super-confident.
“We have been doing so well and the government has been keeping the rules strict for the best results. I have brides rebooking and new weddings booking and really, after being locked away for all this time, who would not want to escape to the Cayman Islands and get married?”
Jackson is also looking forward to life and business after lockdown.“As restrictions over the number of people gathering are eased, I am sure that our local wedding business will pick up,” she said. “The Cayman Islands are such a beautiful location for weddings and many stayover visitors are eager to return as soon as they are permitted.
“Who knows? Maybe all the lockdowns will lead to more weddings.”
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