Meg & I had the wonderful opportunity to travel to Jamaica for a fantastic three day wedding weekend this past May. The trip, like so many of our wedding contracts (as my wife continually reminds me), would fall over our very own seven year wedding anniversary. What's a wedding photographer to do?
Well, in this case - the stars all aligned, as I was able to give Meg a fantastic anniversary treat - hopefully making up for several years of lackluster efforts. You see, a year or so ago we were published in a fantastic bridal magazine called Caribbean Bride - they ran a multi-page feature on the Bahamian wedding of Shonna + Harris at the Atlantis Resort that we shot several years ago. In that same issue, there was a feature on a fantastic boutique property in Negril, Jamaica: The Caves. Meg took one look at the photos of this place and went "I'm just putting this out there - if we ever go to Jamaica, I'd really love to splurge on this resort!"
Fast forward to April 2010 when I let my wife in on a little secret - I had booked our Jamaica hotel accommodations at The Caves - which just happened to be a hop, skip, and jump away from the wedding property. To ensure we would have a minute to catch our breath and enjoy ourselves, I even added two nights to the end of our stay.
I'm putting all of this out there because I know we have a lot of clients that are in the early phases of planning for the honeymoon and I wanted to offer up our glowing review of this property. It was the best trip we have ever had - better than our own honeymoon by far - and 100% of the credit goes to the amazing staff at The Caves. We could not have been better cared for here and I am so appreciative of our time spent in Jamaica.
Meg and I like variety and have always thought the idea of returning to the same essential vacation over and over (instead of trying new things with each opportunity) was a bit... well, odd (to us.) BUT after our stay here - we could absolutely see returning. I could go on and on about our experience here* - and I plan to, just as soon as I have a spare hour, over at TripAdvisor (which is a goldmine when planning for international, or even US-based, travel.)
*I guess it is worth noting that we are not affiliated with this property nor are we being compensated for the endorsement - we just figured it was the least we could do, after the staff went so far above and beyond to make our stay so enjoyable.
I'm also adding some of our personal (mostly) point-n-shoot photos taken during our stay. Enjoy the view!
We had breakfast several mornings under this white umbrella overlooking the water.
The Caves is an intimate resort built in, among, and on top of a vast structure of caves (who saw that coming?) The caves themselves are open for snorkeling, kayaking (which you can see later on), swimming, diving, and sunset or starlight private dining. The largest, as I understand it, is also available for intimate weddings.
We managed to squeeze in lunch at this gazebo several times during our stay - but we passed on the blue loungers for some hammocks in the shade.
A small saltwater pool is available to the guests, as well as a jacuzzi deck - though the real attraction is the open water mere steps below.
We stayed in the cozy Two Birds 'hut' - that boasted very high ceilings and an outdoor shower - which sounds a little iffy, but was a daily highlight here. There's nothing quite like looking up and seeing trees, flowering shrubs and open sky overhead while sudsing up.
Our room was one of twelve individual properties at The Caves - which makes for such a wonderful contrast to most other island all-inclusive resorts. We could be as social or private as desired while partaking in the luxury amenities of better-known mega resorts such as guided tours by kayak and spa services - both of which we found time to squeeze in.
Our unit was the smallest on property (hey, we are struggling artists, after all!) - but when the staff so graciously offered to (complimentary) upgrade our accommodations on our second night (after learning of our anniversary) - we actually turned them down, we were so in love with our room!
The following shots were taken after our wedding weekend coverage was complete - I took a few shots while Meg ordered us up two Dirty Bananas at the bar. So, technically it was after 5pm during cocktail hour - but the indulgence was a lot like having dessert before dinner. To even it up, we had another after dinner as well :)
The view from those blue loungers from above...
Ready for my next nap.
We had dinner at this little spot on our first 'night off'
And we had this private waterside cave scheduled for our anniversary dinner. There were probably one hundred votives and blooms dotting the walls...
Surrounded on three sides by the rushing tide, we had to cross small wooden bridges to our candlelit table.
It was a magical trip - I only wish it weren't over.
Can't get enough of the view? See some more in our personal snapshot slideshow:
Tomorrow I'll share the first day of our three-day wedding weekend coverage in Jamaica. See you again soon!
