A Chic Destination Wedding At Antiguo Casino de Puerto Rico in San Juan, Puerto Rico

In March of 2006, Staff Sargent Lance Woods had recently returned from a 14-month deployment to Iraq. Shortly after, he was introduced to Camille Davidson through a mutual friend, marking the beginning of an entire summer spent together filled with horseback riding, bowling, golfing, and spending time with friends and family.

After spending her first year in college at USC in Los Angeles, Camille returned to Pittsburgh to be closer to Lance and her family. The couple were both attending the University of Pittsburgh together, studying political science, when they received some shocking news during their junior year – Lance had been “activated” again, and his unit was to deploy to Afghanistan in October, 2008.

While Lance was in Afghanistan, Camille decided to occupy her time by studying abroad in Cape Town, South Africa. She kept in touch with her boyfriend through Skype until he returned home at the end of 2009. Their relationship was a whirlwind of work, study, and travel, as Camille had moved to New Haven and was pursuing her Master’s degree at Yale University while also conducting occasional research in Cape Town. Lance moved to New Haven as well, but left to begin his law degree at the College of William and Mary in 2012.

Eventually, the pair found themselves back in Pittsburgh – Camille beginning law school, and Lance beginning work as an attorney. After a full day of kayaking, Lance executed what he called, “Operation Bub Down.” (“Bub” is a pet name the two use interchangeably for each other.) With a detailed power-point presentation for 25 of their closest friends and family, Lance gave specific directions and plans for a proposal. After Camille accepted, the newly-engaged couple traveled to Santorini for an engagement photoshoot before beginning the wedding planning process.

After ten years, two deployments, and five degrees, Camille and Lance tied the knot with a destination wedding in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico. The ceremony was held at the Castillo San Cristobal, which was built in 1783 and used as inspiration for the welcome bags and invitation designs. A guest list of 170 people was in attendance as the bride and groom said “I do” – the bride, wearing a mermaid-style wedding gown by Mark Zunino.

The wedding reception took place at the Antiguo Casino de Puerto Rico, and the bride highlighted her Puerto Rican heritage by hiring local talent for the celebration, including a traditional cigar roller and coffee bean wedding favors from Hacienda Isabel.