“So where is paradise?”

 *Announcing an “Ask Ashley” FREE conference  call to answer all your questions about destination weddings from a bride who has been there.  Please plan to dial-in Thursday, October 22 at 7 p.m. EST/6 p.m. CST Click here to register!  Already have questions in mind?  Feel free to e-mail your questions beforehand (ashley@suncelebrations.com).

“So where is paradise?”  Hundreds of strangers asked my husband Greg and I as they walked up the driveway  of our moving sale in Texas earlier this year.  “St. Croix!” we happily replied.  

After taking several trips to our paradise and getting married on-island, we thought selling most of our belongings before moving to St. Croix would save on shipping.  So we held a “moving to paradise” garage sale (complete with palms trees on our signs scattered around town), listed our stuff on Craig’s List or eBay and hit consignment stores.

We gave our remaining items to charities.  Our DVDs went to a veteran’s hospital, while my stuffed animal collection went to less fortunate children in Central America.  So far we have yet to need or want a single item we let go of (not even the two-thirds of my shoe collection I swore I couldn’t live without)!

Just as our three-day moving sale sold out in a matter of hours, everything about our move to St. Croix has fallen perfectly into place.  From jobs to living situations, the stars have aligned in our favor!  First and foremost, my new job as marketing /event coordinator of SunCelebrations.

Since my first phone consultation with SunCelebrations owner Cindy Clearwater, I was confident we were two peas in a pod.  She’s a smart, savvy, no-nonsense business woman, which is precisely what a bride wants in a wedding coordinator!  With my background in events,  public relations and marketing, I set a high bar for the job.  After a call and correspondence, I decided SunCelebrations was the right fit to coordinate my wedding.

Cindy’s first in-person activity with our wedding party was the ceremony rehearsal.  She began giving instruction and as some side conversations continued among our large and social group, she stopped to get everyone’s attention in a polite but assertive manner.  Perfect!  Someone else to say the things that need to be said for our wedding to run smoothly, without me being labeled a dreaded “bridezilla!”

To all bride-to-be’s, I cannot tell you how priceless it is to be free of stress on your wedding day.  My husband and I actually got to sit down and eat dinner just like the other guests at our wedding reception (which I have heard from countless brides is a rarity)! 

On my wedding day, my job entailed getting pampered at the Carambola spa and taking in every moment with complete confidence the details were taken care of.  Not by my bridesmaids or family members (they were on vacation too), but by competent and experienced professionals.  Our wedding day was perfect!

So days after the big day, my new hubby and I met Cindy for happy hour at Fort Christian Brew Pub in Christiansted and told her we were considering relocating.  Moving to paradise was something we had talked about since we first started dating!  Cindy mentioned that I may be a good fit for her SunCelebrations team, which was just the jump start we needed to start seriously planning our move.  Ever since, she has been an invaluable resource and friend during our transition. 

Now that we’ve settled into a place on the east end of the island and Greg is also working,  I’m ready to  dive into destination weddings.  I look forward to working with SunCelebrations, a business I truly believe in.  Cindy is an incredibly talented event planner who is only limited by the fact that she can only be in one place at a time.  I am confident my first-hand experience as a destination bride combined with my event planning background will lend itself well to SunCelebrations.