Carolina Barreto-Soares was working as a waitress at a local Portuguese restaurant when she first met Fernando Pires. “He was always so polite and kind,” she recalls. “While the food was good, something told me he was coming a little too often for it to be coincidental. We soon became friends and the rest is history."
The couple loves going to the beach and watching the sunset together, so Fernando figured that would be the perfect setting for a proposal. While they were at the Ritz Sarasota Beach Club, he led Carolina to the water, got down on one knee, and popped the question.
“I CAN’T FIND THE WORDS TO DESCRIBE THE FEELING OF PURE JOY I FELT TO BE MARRYING MY BEST FRIEND.”
At first, the only vision Carolina and Fernando had for their big day was that they wanted to get married on the beach. The rest of the details were still a mystery. As they perused various wedding packages at different resorts and hotels, they soon discovered they were not “package people” and would require something more bespoke. Fortunately, they enlisted the help of wedding planning firm, A Good Affair, and their planner Natalie made sure each element was the perfect fit.
“When we went for our taste testing in January at the Rosewood Baha Mar for the wedding, it really started to sink in,” Carolina describes. “Rosewood did an amazing job with the food selection. We had a hard time picking because everything that we tried was so delicious; the chefs were so wonderful and accommodating to our taste. It was so exciting to see all the things we had picked start to come together.”
Carolina and Fernando’s destination wedding in the Bahamas included four blissful days of events, and the wedding day was a fairytale in itself. From the atmosphere to the décor details, it was a truly romantic Bahamian wedding celebration.
“To this day, I can’t find the words to describe the feeling of pure joy I felt to be marrying my best friend,” says the bride. “We were nervous everything wouldn’t get done on time. However, they were just unbelievable, and not a minute late. The backdrop of the ocean was something that I had never seen before and it was exactly what we wanted as a couple.
I don’t think anyone else could’ve pulled off what we wanted like AGA did. It was the perfect shade of blue throughout the whole wedding, from the tablecloths to the cups. It matched the clear blue sky and the beautiful ocean as if it were photoshopped. AGA created this romantic, airy, dreamy scenery like no other. One of our favorite parts of it all was having the junkanoo band come out and get the whole party started, which was a complete surprise for all of our guests. Overall, it was an amazing experience.”
Two weeks later, the newlyweds set off for a honeymoon in Greece, where they stayed at the Blue Palace in Crete.
WEDDING TALENT
Location: Rosewood Baha Mar, Nassau, Bahama; Planner, Floral & Event Design: A Good Affair, Tustin, CA; Honeymoon Location: Blue Palace Crete
