Donya and Joel's Romantic Island Wedding in Grand Cayman -Munaluchi Bride

A chance encounter, or brought together by fate…? Regardless of how you look at it, Donya and Joel’s love story feels meant to be. On a seemingly random outing, Donya and Joel bumped into each other at a local department store – eyes brightening as the sparks immediately ignited between them. After twenty minutes of small talk, and the vibes continuing to grow, they exchanged numbers and never looked back. Over the next few years their love continued to strengthen the belief that they had indeed found “the one”…

Continue reading all about Donya & Joel’s love story, sweet proposal, and experiences in their romantic island wedding in Grand Cayman.

Bride & Groom: Donya & Joel
Occupations: Senior Financial Reporting Analyst & Fleet Technician
Wedding date: May 26th , 2018
Wedding location: Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands

How did you meet? Our story began August 2012 at Best Buy in Sunrise, Florida. We ran into each other and somehow ended up talking for about 20 minutes. It was clear to us both that we sparked each other’s interest and decided to exchange phone numbers.

Tell us about the proposal. On December 15, 2016, Joel made dinner reservations for Truluck’s on Brickell to celebrate my birthday. The night was filled with laughter as we chatted away about the memories we’ve made together. It was time for dessert and I left it up to him to choose. Once dessert was served, there was a note on the plate written in chocolate swirl, which read “Will You Marry Me?” I immediately gazed at him because in my eyes I saw “Happy Birthday, Mary!” Looking at him, I’m thinking “Mary, who’s Mary?!” Seeing my puzzled look, he in his wisdom, asked me to take a look again. So I did and finally realized what was happening. I started to cry tears of joy, he placed the ring on the table and looked me in my eyes and asked “Will You Marry Me, Donya?” I said YES over and over! We embraced each other and celebrated with champagne, then shared the good news with close friends and family. The feeling I had was indescribable, it was one of my happiest moments to date and the best birthday surprise!

Describe your wedding attire. My wedding dress style was an elegant yet sexy fit & flare lace dress with a sweetheart neckline, the top corset had no underline to show off my lace design which was perfect for my beach ceremony.

What was the wedding shopping experience like for you? I’ve dreamt about this moment ever since I was a little girl. I was so elated to begin my wedding dress shopping. Let me take you back to how it all started. As a bride, planning a wedding with most of your family & friends living overseas has many challenges but I found a way to have my mom, aunts, friend and maid of honor to all assist me with the process. They all traveled to see me at different times to help me throughout the process, and of course my mom visited multiple times because I needed her opinion to make a final decision. I visited several bridal stores in Coral Gables, Winter Park, Ft-Lauderdale and Boca Raton. I literally tried on over fifteen wedding dresses during a three month period. I was always finding a flaw as to why it was not the perfect dress. The moment I tried on the Essence of Australia wedding dress sample at Boca Raton Bridal, I knew it was the perfect dress for me, the lace was so elegant and to top it off the color and style was everything I wanted.

Wedding party gifts: Bridesmaids: Bridesmaids dresses, robes, champagne flutes, oriental fans & personalized goody bag. Groomsmen: statement socks & personalized goody bag.
Gifts for each other: Groom to Bride: A dozen roses delivered to my room. Bride to Groom: cufflinks.
Ceremony entrance song: “Fall For You” by Leela James
First dance song: “Bless the Broken Road” by Rascal Flatts

What is your best memory from your wedding? Wedding vows exchange with my then husband-to-be…

What is the best wedding advice you can give to engaged couples? Planning a wedding is filled with many highs and lows; try to enjoy each planning stage and don’t stress about the things that don’t matter because before you know it, the big day will be here.