Pre-wedding fun in the sun

So after our disrupted attempt to get to Nevis on Wednesday, we tried again Thursday morning. We were delighted to see our mongoose friends back in the restaurant of the Antigua hotel. Here is a photo of one:
And here he is running along with base of the yellow wall. Actually, there were more than 1 of these little fellows. This guy's buddy was hiding on the other side of the restaurant and actually had the cheek to run under our dining table!
Finally we got on the plane to St. Kitts (along with the other 5 people who were stranded) and were met at the airport by someone from our hotel in Nevis who then drove us across the island to the water taxi.
The channel between St. Kitts and Nevis was very rough on this particular day. They served us drinks before we set off for the 8 minute crossing - thankfully the drinks had lids on top because it was really bumpy and fun!
Then another driver met our water taxi and took us to the luxury accommodation at Montpelier Plantation where we stayed for the wedding. First stop was the pool where Grandma was already in.
We reunited with the rest of the family and a handful of long lost friends and began our 3 days of fun!
This was the view from our living room in the Villa Suite. It was soooo beautiful.
On Friday, the kids stayed at the hotel with Grandma and Grandma Bucky while the rest of the family and friends went on a catamaran adventure. Here is Heidi (Bride to be) with Aunt Judy:
Looking back at Nevis with Eric, Rhodri, Will and Rebecca in the foreground
Here is another view of the pool at the hotel with Aunt Judy slowly getting into the cold water. The weather was warm but not actually that warm, and a constant wind made it feel even cooler at times. It was perfect weather and we tried really hard to not get us (or the kids) sunburnt.
Friday afternoon we had a rehearsal at the beach where the ceremony was going to take place. Rhiannon and Tryfan were busy 'helping' Ryan the photographer with his equipment and here he is taking a picture of them.
The happy couple!
Mandatory self-take
After the rehearsal, we had dinner at Sunshine's beach grill - which turned out to be kind of a sketchy place but we still had a wonderful evening! The last stragglers arrived this evening - cousin Janessa and her husband Forrest, and long lost friend Jason from San Diego days - and it was great to catch up with everybody.
The curdled sky was beautiful at sunset.
There was a very shady character at the bar here who had a pet monkey that was wearing a diaper/ nappy. He was going around letting the monkey climb onto people's tables and take photos of him, then demanding money for the privilege. Well, Rhiannon took some photos of him without knowing this gig and then was really shook up and scared when the guy demanded her to go get money from her parents! Thankfully she didn't experience any nightmares or repercussions after this event. Anyway, here is the monkey in question:
Will, Rebecca, Rhodri and I stayed up late in our Villa playing a really fun [childrens] card game called "Sleeping Queens" and prepared for the big day...