ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA HOST 2009 CELEBRITY DESTINATION WEDDING

Inn at English Harbor hosts this year's Celebrity Destination Wedding

(St. John's, Antigua, June 7, 2009)  As Antigua and Barbuda continue to celebrate June as the Month of Romance, love was in the air at the Inn at English Harbor, the site of this year's Celebrity Destination Wedding, held last Saturday.

Winners of the Destination Wedding Sweepstakes, Adrienne Scales and Myreon Smith from Atlanta, GA, exchanged nuptials at sunset, at a romantic sand ceremony organized by the Ministry of Tourism in collaboration with other key industry stakeholders.  The unity sand theme that incorporated white sand harvested from south shores of Antigua with pink sand from Barbuda was designed to showcase some of the unique romantic assets that the destination has to offer.

Celebrity stylist and fashion designer Indashio, winner of the first series of the VHI show “Glam God” was the “celebrity guest of honor” at this year’s Destination Wedding.  Stylist to a host of celebrities including: Kim Kardashian, Kathy Lee Gifford, Lil' Kim, and Tyra Banks, Indashio brought his creative talents to “style” the bridal party and helped to bring a grand finale to the wedding celebration with a fashion show that showcased his 2009 collection. Over the weekend, Indashio also known as the "Humanitarian Designer," made several local appearances at Columbian Emeralds, and at a charitable “Spa and Tea Party” at the Inn at English Harbor where he engaged in a motivational exercise with a group of young women from the Sunshine Home for Girls. 

Derede Samuel Whitlock, Director of Tourism for the United States, believes that the promotion was very successful.  “Despite the economic downturn, the wedding market is still thriving and we want to continue to promote some of the unique assets that the destination has to offer in the romance category.  We are one of the only Caribbean islands with the ability to facilitate “same day” weddings, and this promotion allowed us to highlight this as a competitive advantage.”

Demonstrating the destination's commitment to this romance promotion, CEO of the Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority (ABTA) was the “Best Man” at the destination wedding and a signatory on the couple's marriage certificate. Among the guests that attended the destination wedding, were ten travel agents from the United States. The agents were on island as part of the Score 100 Familiarization Initiative which aims to spur business during the summer months by bringing 100 top producers to the destination to gain firsthand knowledge of the tourism product.

As in previous years, the wedding attire was provided by the internationally acclaimed fashion line, Demetrios’ Brides and wedding bands by Colombian Emeralds. Most of the wedding resources where donated by local suppliers including Photography by Photo Fantasy, Flowers by Exotic Floral, Wedding Cake by Olvana and music by Lacu Samuel. Ms. Carol Anne Skepple was the officiating marriage officer and prayers of thanksgiving were offered by Rev. J. Martin.

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