– Peter & Jen –

Jen and Peter were married in St. John on May 26th at Annaberg Ruins in the Virgin Island National Park overlooking the gorgeous teal waters of the Caribbean. These two had an amazing week and were joined by friends and family who traveled down to the island to celebrate with them.

Jen and Peter knew they wanted to do a destination wedding. Since everyone was scattered throughout the United States they figured if their family and friends were going to buy a plane ticket it might as well be to somewhere beautiful!  After looking into a few places they saw photos of St. John, fell in love with the island and the decision was made. They worked closely with Mary of Island Style Weddings who planned their special day and all of the events throughout the week.

I had met Peter and Jen a few times before as Peter’s sister, Amanda is a good friend of  mine on Nantucket. When we talked about their destination wedding there was no question that I was on board to come along as their photographer for the week not just the weekend, so I could tell their whole story. The adventure started at 5 am when we left Boston the Wednesday before the wedding. Jen was glowing as we went through the security line at Boston Logan Airport holding her wedding dress garment bag and everyone asked her “are you going to get married?” Needless to say it’s absolutely wonderful to spend time photographing the entire journey. The week in St. John was filled with snorkeling adventures, beach days, and lots of laughter. Destination weddings are very special, in St. John everyone was on ‘island time’ and cell phones rarely worked, thus everyone was fully present and truly in the moment. I was so grateful to be part of their week and to photograph all of their adventures.

Jen and Peter are such a wonderful, kind and happy couple. They also laugh constantly! They have endless funny stories and I found myself laughing with them all week! Jen and Peter have an incredible group of family and friends. Everyone helped out during the week and we coined our term “it takes a villa” to make it all happen! Denise kept track of time, made lists and was sure that everyone was on time during the wedding day. Brian drove everyone around all the time. Each and every person who came to the wedding played a special role in Jen & Peter’s wedding festivities.

Jen and Peter also have a fun story about how they met….Peter is a talented story teller, so I asked him to tell us about how they met…..”On an absolutely FREEZING Boston night in January 2010, I received a phone call from my friend, Adam Metropoulis “I’m at Samurai, my favorite sushi spot, with my friend Jen. She’s awesome, you’ll like her. Come meet us”. It was around midnight and I had been daydreaming of being home, warm and curled up with Enzo (one of my 2 soulmates). Geographically speaking, I was at an inconvenient distance from where they were. The subway line closest to where I was did not run anywhere near where they were. Getting a cab in Boston on a saturday night; let’s just say I could probably finish a rubix cube on the sidewalk before finding an available cab. The circumstances were not promising. To this day, I can’t pinpoint why; but something intangible, mysterious and convincing seeped into my grey matter, turned my sensors off and drove me to conclude that I would walk 25 minutes in a frigid, wind ridden New England winter night to meet them. After 30 minutes of piercing wind, I arrived motivated, hypothermic and curious. Little did I know that in 30 seconds I’d be shaking hands with my new, eternal best friend. I saw Adam sitting with a beautiful, blonde, blue eyed girl in a green sweater. I walked over;  “Hi, I’m Peter. You and I are gonna get to know each other, laugh,cry, spend every holiday together, meet each others families and start our own family someday.You want kids? What are you drinking?” That’s not exactly how my introduction went-but I was thinking it!”

From there Jen and Peter exchanged numbers, began dating and eventually decided to get married in paradise.

On the wedding day the skies were gorgeous and the light was perfect. Jen and Peter were married by Peter’s cousin, Jonathan. They also had two little cuties in the wedding party, Hunter was the ring bearer and Seton was the flower girl (she also had a great time at the reception and even wore Jen’s veil out on the dance floor). Jen and Peter added a personal touch to their ceremony as they tied a fisherman’s knot to represent unity. As they tied the knot Jonathan read….”The fisherman’s knot is the strongest there is; it will not break and will only become stronger when under pressure…..As you intertwine your pieces, you are joining your two lives into one….the finished knot symbolizes your future and how your love and marriage will continue to be strong. Let this knot be a symbol of the strength of your love for each other now and forever.”

After the ceremony we took photos at Annaberg National Park and Trunk Bay. From there the reception was in full swing at The Waterfront Bistro. DJ Adonis had everyone dancing all night and the party never stopped. I have photographed a lot of amazing dance moves but I must say this group deserves an award for their Gangnam Style and Congo Line around the restaurant. It was a spectacular evening!

Congratulations Jen and Peter!

To see more of the trip you can look at the Maho Bay Post and Jen & Peter’s Rehearsal Dinner Sunset Cruise.

Wedding Coordinator & Wedding Design: Island Style Weddings, Photographer: Katie Kaizer Photography, Floral Design: Rose Too, DJ: Adonis Morton, Transportation: Love City Limo Service & James Penn Taxi, Ceremony: Annaberg Ruins in the VI National Park, Reception: The Waterfront Bistro,

Enjoy! – Katie K.

The journey began on a very early morning in Boston….