Returning to Annalise: Island Weddings

On January 1, 2007, I married my island sweetie on St. John. But we spent the early days of our lives together on his home island, St. Croix (where I’d lived for nearly ten years).

Fast forward to July 2019, and his island son received the surprise of a lifetime when he thought he was eloping to St. Croix only to discover his fiancee had arranged for all their family and friends to meet them here. I’ve never seen him smile so big! And what a wedding week we all celebrated together.

First things first. The rehearsal! The wedding! Excursions fishing, and to Buck Island. Adventures to the tidal pools at Annaly Bay and to snorkel at the amazing Issac’s Bay. Cocktails (oh my gosh, detox me) and lovely dinners. And our wonderful extended family and new family. Here are some pictures of the fun:

 

 

Great slideshow with VIDEO of wild horses and the sounds of “Horseshoe Bay” from the Katie books:

 

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7 mile hike down to the tidal pools. Wild horse. “Horseshoe” bay sounds. People I love. #ViNice #usvi #stcroix #annaly

A post shared by Pamela Fagan Hutchins (@pamela_fagan_hutchins) on 

 

BONUS: Eric dancing at the wedding (with me, of course): HERE

But the kicker? We rented “Annalise,” the beautiful rainforest house that we built (whose name in real life is Annaly), and the one that inspired the Katie & Annalise stories. She was almost just as we remembered her, and we felt warm and welcomed. The last night we were there we even through a big “clean out the refrigerator” dinner party. Here’s some video (I took a lot less pictures than I’d planned to, and forgot completely at our party).

The moment of seeing her again

A tour of the main floor

 

Chillaxin by the pool

Drone photo by The Groom 🙂

 

Admission: Eric and I both cried as we drove away…

More stories about the house to follow next week.

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