The Tribune

SOCIAL media has showcased the Exumas as a thrilling wedding and honeymoon destination through the much-publicised 34th wedding of Alex Pelling and Lisa Gant.

The UK couple has been making headlines and providing blog fodder for a year and a half by travelling around the world and exchanging wedding vows in ways that feature various cultures. They enjoyed a whirlwind trek through the Exumas that culminated in a 12-12-12 wedding on Stocking Island.

Petherina Hanna, general manage of the Exuma Tourist Office, said the couple’s wedding adventure in the Bahamas will benefit the Exumas for years to come since it has stirred up awareness of the island chain.

“There are literally thousands of people who are following Alex and Lisa on twitter, on facebook and their blog,” she said. “So when they start to write about their experience in the Exumas, it is going to be countless, the kind of benefit that this destination is going to receive from the one week that Alex and Lisa spend in Exuma, when they talk about the swimming pigs or feeding the sharks or feeding the iguanas or just sitting on the sandbar (in the Exuma Cays).”

Ms Hanna said people around the world followed the couple online as they took part in the various activities.

Alex and Lisa visited Exuma at the invitation of Kwanza Clay Bowe, the Exuma wedding planner who learned about them from one of their television appearances. She proposed a Bahamian wedding on the beach at Chat ‘n Chill, the popular restaurant and hang out that she operates with her husband, Kenneth Bowe.

“We really got to show them how fun Exuma is,” she said. “People come here to get away from it all, to just kick back and relax. We wanted to show them every aspect of that when they came to Exuma, that they are away from the crowds. We have no traffic lights. We have no fast foods and they can just relax and have fun while they are here.”

Ms Bowe rallied the Exuma community to host the couple, which allowed them to enjoy a tour of the Exuma Cays aboard Four Cs Adventure tours and dine at hidden gems such as Ty’s Beach Bar and Grill on Farmer’s Cay and St Francis on Stocking Island.

The couple also stayed at luxury accommodations at Grand Isle Resort.

“We were happy to host them, to give them a little taste of the isle and also to be a great home base for them to check out all the other beautiful amenities that Exuma has to offer,” said Claudine Williams, hotel manager at Grand Isle.

They took walks along the beach and relaxed around the pool, where they enjoyed the music of a Bahamian band while dining at Grand Island restaurants.

The quiet moments prepared Alex and Lisa for their authentically Bahamian wedding. The ceremony included a natural straw aisle way for Lisa’s procession, carved sea horses as part of a welcome sign and a junkanoo crown and headpiece for the bride and groom.

“From head to toe, they were adorned in junkanoo-spirited outfits,” said Ms Bowe.

“It was awesome,” the bride said. “We didn’t expect any of this. We just thought it would be the two of us on a beach.”

Reflecting on their time in the Exumas, the couple said they thoroughly enjoyed the island.

“It’s like we’re on a completely different planet,” said Lisa. “This place is unbelievable and we have seen so much in the few days that we’ve been here, but how long will it take to explore? Months and months and months.”

“The water, I think, is the most spectacular,” Alex added. “On the way over in the plane, we were just like kids in a sweet shop, just leaning out the window. This is just a phenomenal place and it’s got such a relaxed atmosphere. We’ve been to a lot of places and you just instantly feel relaxed here I think. That’s the beauty of this place. You can just breathe.”

The couple has teamed up with wedding registry, 30weddings.com, to raise money for the United Nations Children’s Fund.

UNICEF is the leading international organisation for the protection of children.

“So we are trying to do some good out of the trip as well as sharing with the world all these great cultures and traditions,” aid Alex. “It is kind of evolving into something more every day and we don’t plan too far ahead. We just go with the flow and wait and see what’s happening.”

The Bahamas wedding was the couple’s last for the year. After their Exuma stay, they will return to England for the Christmas, where they will see their family and friends for the first time in a year and a half.

After Christmas, they have a vague plan of heading out on their adventure again. Their first stop will likely be South Africa and eventually they will drive through Europe in early spring.

Then they will move on to Asia before travelling to Australia, where they plan to settle down and decide where to stage their legal wedding.