Alexi and Lucas met through work in 2020. Both built careers in sports, Lucas as an NFL agent, Alexi in PR and marketing. While the Caribbean already speaks for itself as a laid-back destination, Alexi and Lucas wanted to bring a touch of luxury and real intention to their wedding week, something that let their guests feel genuinely seen and appreciated while still leaving plenty of room to relax and explore what they call Nature’s Little Secret, the British Virgin Islands.
Location: British Virgin Islands
Style: Tropical, Boho, Luxury
Number of guests: 99
Time of planning: About 1 year
Setting: Beach
Season: Spring
The vibe stayed simple: keep it fun, and keep a real sense of place. The design followed through completely, fire dancers at the welcome party, a ceremony set right in the sand, a custom-built tiki hut doing double duty as the seating chart, and a reception held under the stars and a full moon. Alexi and Lucas let the venue lead the way for everything else. With the celebration centered around The Sunset Bar at Saba Rock, sunset orange became the obvious choice for their color palette, popping beautifully against the island’s sandy whites and lush greens.
Welcome Party & Photography
“We knew our guests would be traveling a long way, which is something we’re incredibly grateful for, so we wanted the destination to feel like an unforgettable experience,” Alexi and Lucas say. Saba felt different from anywhere else they looked, intimate, laid-back, beautiful, fun, and a place most of their guests had never been before. “The second we saw it, we knew it was where we wanted to get married.”
The whole wedding weekend opened with a welcome dinner at Coco Maya on Virgin Gorda. Jillian Blanc was there from the start, shooting on both film and digital to capture the bright, tropical mood that ran through the entire weekend.
Fashion
Alexi’s dress was the Printemps by Rue de Seine, found at Kelly’s Closet in Atlanta. “I loved it the first time I tried it on, but I didn’t buy it right away,” she says. She went to a few more stores and tried on dress after dress, all beautiful, but eventually all blending together. Every comparison kept coming back to the Printemps. “It was the only dress I kept thinking about. It felt different and so perfect for our location.”
She ended up going back to Kelly’s Closet with her sister-in-law for a bit of reassurance, and the moment she put it on again, she knew. “It felt beachy, simple but still unique, and just fit the overall vibe of the wedding perfectly.”
Lucas wore a linen suit from Suit Supply, picked out with help from Alexi’s mom. “It took them like five minutes,” she laughs. They wanted something that felt right for an island wedding, easy, breezy, and no more complicated than the day itself.
Ceremony
Alexi spent a long time researching venues, but nothing quite felt right, so the search expanded. Neither she nor Lucas had ever been to the British Virgin Islands, but they’d heard nothing but great things and had always wanted to visit. Lucas’s growing interest in learning to sail one day made it feel like the right place to explore. While researching venues, they found Alyssa, who helped plan a trip to see everything in person. They loved plenty of places across the BVIs, but Saba stood out immediately. “There’s something so special about it,” Alexi says. “The energy, the people, and the setting all felt magical. Everywhere you look is beautiful, and it’s one of those rare places that doesn’t feel real.”
The ceremony took place right on the beach at Saba Rock, under palm trees with the water just steps away. Guests arrived together by ferry, greeted with custom cocktails, a steel drum band, and plenty of sunshine.
Cocktail Hour & Special Moments
When life gives you oranges, make Aperol Spritz. For Alexi and Lucas, cocktail hour was designed to be more than a transition between the ceremony and reception, it was meant to be an experience of its own. Inspired by their wedding palette, which leaned heavily into sunset orange, the couple built a quintessential guest moment around a custom Aperol Spritz bar.
The entire weekend became a core memory for everyone involved, but one moment stood out above the rest. Right after the ceremony, Alexi and Lucas slipped away for a minute alone, watching from above as their guests walked by below, cheering them on. The happiness on their faces and the love pouring in from everyone around them were impossible to miss. Jillian Blanc caught it all, shooting the day on both digital and Super 8mm film to preserve the warmth of the moment exactly as it felt.
Reception Decor
The sense of place ran through more than just the details and decor at Alexi and Lucas’s wedding, it showed up in the food and drinks too. Rum punches welcomed guests ashore first, followed by conch fritters and spicy tuna canapés circulating over sunset. The menu rolled straight into dinner from there, fresh ceviche, Anegada lobster mac and cheese, jerk chicken, and locally caught grouper. The finishing touch, or should we say the orange on top, was key lime pie served right in real coconuts from the signature-built tiki bar.
The color palette itself was a direct nod to the venue, the Sunset Bar at Saba Rock. What could have easily become a design challenge turned into one of the celebration’s most memorable installations. Faced with a large pool table that couldn’t be removed from the space, Alexi and Lucas saw an opportunity instead, transforming it into a Caribbean-inspired tiki hut serving two purposes: one side for seating guests, the other for dessert and an espresso martini display.
Reception
The reception took place in the bar at Saba Rock, espresso martinis, Aperol Spritz, and painkillers flowing all night long. The energy stayed high from start to finish, music, laughter, and guests fully lost in celebrating the two of them.
Beach Party
The day after the wedding, Alexi and Lucas chartered a boat to Anegada, a beautiful island where the celebration continued with a beach party at Tipsy’s. Everyone soaked up the sun and the drinks by the water, a relaxed final stretch after a wedding weekend that hadn’t slowed down once.
PHOTO, SUPER 8 & FILM Jillian Blanc | SECOND PHOTOGRAPHER Shelby Brion Photo | PLANNING, DESIGN & EXECUTION Quintessential | SIGNATURE BUILDS Quintessential | VENUE Saba Rock Resort | FLORALS & RENTALS Bella Blooms VI | MAKEUP Sayuri La Belle | DRESS Rue de Seine Bridal | ENTERTAINMENT DJ Flava Sounds, Syo the Sax & Dedoc 83 | WELCOME PARTY & REHEARSAL DINNER Coco Maya Virgin Gorda | FIRE DANCER ENTERTAINMENT Island Vibe Destinations | BRIDE & GROOM Alexi Catalfomo & Lucas
