Shannon Dufton is a content creator and Jerome Dufton is an engineer. The couple met when they were 16/17 at school. Jerome proposed during a hike through the Scottish hills of Pitlochry in 2019. They spent that weekend in a cabin in the middle of nowhere and sat out and watched a meteor shower. It was like something out of a film. The couple tied the knot in a private ceremony at Sandals Grande St Lucian.
The best part of our day was….
The best part of our day was walking along the beach together after the ceremony and wedding reception at Sandals Grande St Lucian. The location exudes romance and getting the chance to be together and take it all in was unforgettable.
We choose to get married at…
We got married in the Over-the-Water Wedding Chapel at Sandals Grande St Lucian. It was a really last-minute decision to elope; we have a full UK wedding party planned for next year, but we decided that we wanted to have our ceremony privately in Saint Lucia, just us and our witnesses. The location was like heaven on earth, and we’d both never seen anything like it.
I knew I found ‘The One’ when…
I found my wedding dress (top and skirt) via social media. I stumbled across a small business run by one woman. I knew instantly that it’d be perfect for a beachy wedding. I messaged her two weeks before we flew out to Saint Lucia to ask if she could get it made in time for the wedding (the lead time is usually four weeks I think), and somehow she made it happen. I’m very grateful!
The most enjoyable moments of planning were…
The whole process at Sandals is incredible; our personal wedding planner, Monica took care of pretty much everything for us so the whole process was very enjoyable and there wasn’t much planning involved from our side, other than signing dotted lines and picking out our food menus, cake, and décor preferences.
The hardest part of planning was…
We feel extremely lucky because there were no difficult parts of our wedding planning process. Because we eloped, I guess the most difficult thing was keeping it a secret until we got back home!
Our wedding menu highlights were…
Definitely our wedding cake. It was red velvet with coconut cream.
Our first dance song was…
City and Colour – Northern Wind
My top three tips for any couple would be…
Communicate with each other, honestly
Have fun and be friends – a relationship is nothing without a friendship at its core
Make time for you both as a couple, but also be your own people outside of the couple too
If I was able to do it all over again, the one thing I would change is…
I’d have my hair up- it was far too hot to have it down!
List of suppliers
Venue: Over-the-Water Wedding Chapel at Sandals Grande St Lucian, Saint Lucia @sandals_uk
Caterer: Sandals Grande St Lucian @sandals_uk
Dress: Dreaming Of Ivy @dreamingofivy
Florist: Weddings team at Sandals Grande St Lucian @sandals_uk
Tableware: Sandals Grande St Lucian @sandals_uk
Photographer: Epix Professional Imaging by Sandals Resorts @sandals_uk
Videographer: Shannon’s own video reel here
Makeup: @shannonalxndra
Hair: @shannonalxndra
Stylist: @shannonalxndra
Wedding Planners: Lynn and Monica in the Weddings team at Sandals Grande St Lucian @sandals_uk
Related Article: Inside: A Beautiful Destination Wedding At Cobblers Cove, Barbados
