Turks and Caicos Destination Wedding Weekend

My college roommate Hannah had two big dreams for her future that my sorority sisters and I would all kind of giggle and dream about with her: her first big dream was to be a dolphin trainer (check!), and her second big dream was to get married one day in Turks & Caicos (check!!).

Her mom has worked in television production throughout the Caribbean for years, and Hannah grew up visiting the islands with her mom. Turks was where they frequented the most (her mom now lives there full time – amazing, right?!), and we always gushed with her about how incredible an island destination wedding would be one day.

This past weekend her big dream came true (as did ours to be her guests!), and I couldn’t help but freeze and take it all in during the most beautiful reception; we were really in Turks dancing the night away under the stars celebrating Hannah’s marriage to Ryan (who she met while working at Miami Sea Aquarium, so all of her dreams just collided!)

Oh, it was such a memorable weekend. I am usually so ready to come home after a few days away, but instead of being ready to come home yesterday, all I wanted to do was figure out how to get my husband and kiddos to Turks instead. Three nights was far from enough time to explore the island, but alas, reality calls.

There was no way Jamie could be my wedding date since he just started his new job a month ago, so I roomed with a few sorority sisters who weren’t coming with their guys either. Turning it in a little girls trip was super fun!

The trip was a fantastic combination of festivities with the bride and grooms’ families (i.e. Thursday night dinner/bonfire, Friday boat trip, rehearsal dinner, and of course getting ready for the wedding itself Saturday afternoon), but also had a good bit of time to lounge (nap) on the beach (the weather actually could not have been more perfect), wade in the ocean, and sip cocktails.

It felt like a vacation while also feeling like we were there for a wedding at the same time.

The attention to detail that Hannah’s family put into the wedding festivities was beyond impressive. Everything was truly beautiful. We felt so spoiled just being a part of it.

There was a DJ at the rehearsal dinner, Friday’s boat trip, and the actual reception, so we spent several hours throughout the weekend dancing our hearts out. So many laughs. The free-flowing rum punch all weekend didn’t hurt things! Such a ball.

We even got to lay in bed together and have a little royal wedding watch party at the crack of dawn, which was fun. 🙂

Hannah didn’t have bridesmaids, but she did ask us all to wear dresses in a shade of blue so that we could take pictures together. I really liked her decision in this!

The wedding itself was beautiful and sweet, and as far as the reception goes, Hannah’s parent’s pulled out all the stops. It was without a doubt one of the best weddings I’ve ever been to. I stopped counting how many times I teared up through the weekend, but especially at the wedding and reception.

I’m sad that it’s over, but my heart is full today after a truly refreshing trip mentally and physically. Everybody was so easy going, so easy to make decisions with, and we just laughed and laughed and laughed some more. Ah, just typing this makes me sad because I just want to desperately rewind a few days!

A Few Notes about Turks & Caicos

• Flying there was so easy. I used Southwest points and flew from Nashville to Fort Lauderdale to Turks. It was SO FAST! The airport is also within a 15 minute drive of most (all?) resorts. By the way, those who use SW points know that there’s usually a $5 fee each way when you book using points. For this trip, the fee was $5 to get there but $90ish to get home. Must be some kind of international tax/fee.

• The airport was tiny and going through customs was a breeze.

• Taxis are stupidly expensive. They charge $20 for each person, no matter where you’re going or how many people are in the car (at least this was our experience). When we return for another trip (which we will!), we will either stay at an all-inclusive and never leave the resort, or we’ll rent a car (which is super reasonably priced compared to multiple taxi trips).

• Everyone is really, really kind.

• One reason Hannah picked this time of year to get married is because it’s the “off season”, so it’s cheaper. She said that usually people like to come to the islands to escape winter weather. I figured it would be super hot down there, but thanks to the windy climate, it was comfortably breezy the whole time. I wouldn’t hesitate to visit Turks again during May considering how wonderful it was.
• Though Turks and Caicos is an Overseas Territory of the UK, they still use the American dollar.
• It’s a very kid-friendly place to visit. I had a handful of kids on both my flight into Turks and out of it, and there were families vacationing together all over the place. It doesn’t seem like it caters to being a “party island”, if that makes sense. It seemed to be a generally family-friend beach to visit. We’ve been wanting to plan a beach trip for our family maybe down in Destin, and now I’m like “How can we justify going o Turks instead?!” Ha.

More: Beach trips to Panama City (family), Destin (family), and Destin again (bachelorette party)

As seen in this post, if you’re interested:

Blue lace dress