Location: Turks and Caicos Islands
Date: May
Destination Wedding here we come! Not our own, so even better! An invitation arrives in the mail. Wedding and celebration in Turks and Caicos, May. Are you in or are you out? First words when thinking of Turks and Caicos. Expensive. Our thought: go to celebrate our beloved friends and get to experience all the luxuries of the island, who could ask for more?
I have been to many spectacular beaches in my 31 year old lifetime, so I was not sure what to expect with Turks. We were told that the wedding party was to stay at Beaches, an all inclusive resort directly on the beach. I have never done an all inclusive stay before this, but I must say, it was great never worrying about bringing out a wallet. Turks and Caicos is surely a relaxation over adventure type of trip, so a week of scuba diving and beach yoga, yes please!
Beach Wedding, Turks and Caicos
Weddings directly on the beach are tricky. What type of shoes do you wear? Or is it rude to be barefoot? Whats the proper etiquette? After a little research, I opted for a loose vibrant yellow gown by one of my favorite designers, Rolando Santana, and a pair of jeweled Stuart Weitzman sandals. The wedding ceremony was roped off and private with only about 60 guests being shaded from the beating sun by a few palm trees. Congratulations to a beautiful couple who couldn't have picked a lovelier beach destination to start their lives together as a married couple!
*Twirling around pre wedding reception. If you have ever seen the video of the "Instagram Husband" you will laugh at this series of photos and I am totally making fun of myself but my husband must have at least 50 photos of me in a yellow dress twirling around like an idiot so that I could have my "perfect" photo. If you haven't seen the video, click here and prepare to laugh, at me, and all girls like me.
Activities:
Beach Yoga
As part of the resort, there are plenty of included activities that I ended up partaking in. My husband spent a lot of time Scuba Diving, which I did not do since I am not yet certified and I was occupied with mimosas and yoga on the beach. Not in that particular order, but even if that were true, don't judge me, I am on vacation! I signed up for sunrise beach yoga which was great since nobody wanted to get up that early so it was always a private class. I can't recall my instructors name, but it was a lovely way to wake up every morning.
Beach Yoga
Tennis
Tennis play was included as well, but not tennis instruction. JP and I hired a tennis pro to play with us and clean up our technique. Alex was fantastic and really whipped us into shape. He was about $100 an hour and doesn't mess around when it comes to form and running drills. He sure gave us a workout!
Tennis lessons at Beaches
Activities
You can sign up for unique activities around the property and JP surprise signed me up for DJ mixing classes. I laughed so hard when I saw he had signed us up because let me tell you, I have the worst taste in music, let alone knowing beats to mix it with. I have a massive girl crush on Hannah Bronfman, who is a DJ, so naturally, I wanted to learn too. Massive fail on my end but sweet gesture on JPs part. We opted for a private class which was about $50 more per person, but we got an instructor and a room with all the equipment for ourselves to play around with for an hour. At the end, the instructor puts your "mix" onto a CD for you to take away. I burned mine because it was THAT bad.
DJ Mixing class at Beaches
Beach Time
The rest of the time at Beaches, was spent relaxing on property and walking around to the different parts of the resort. Some areas are more upscale and other areas more kid friendly. There were too many kids around for my taste, which is my only negative opinion about this resort, but since it was for a wedding, I can't really complain. Almost anywhere you pick to eat has an ocean view and there are plenty or private cabanas and hammocks you can park your stuff at and relax to the sound of the ocean.
Also, don't try blowing up your own inflatable, especially in the heat. You'll just end up with a headache and a limp doughnut inflatable.
Overall, I'd say Turks and Caicos is currently on my top 10 for beach destinations. I wouldn't say my #1, but there is definitely a natural beauty that remains here. This is a truly relaxing destination so soak in all of the diving and sun you can. Let me know if you have other places you loved to stay in Turks, I'd love to hear them!
As always, JETSETAWAY!