A Vow Renewal Destination Where Easy and Spectacular Meet

You can tell Melissa and Anthony recently took a breather far away from the pace of everyday life. Melissa still uses dreamy sighs whenever she mentions a single detail about their five-day family getaway to Beaches Turks and Caicos, which happened to include a vow renewal to celebrate her and Anthony’s 25th anniversary.

Ah. The brief and beautiful ceremony on one of the world’s most stunning beaches.
Ahh. The sailing on the sea and snorkeling all together in the ocean for hours.
Ahhh. Their family of five being together with no stress, no worries, and not one distraction.

“Everyone was just … ah, so relaxed,” Melissa says, before adding a little lesson she learned: “Sometimes you have to force yourself to step away and let go.”
This family had a lot to let go. Anthony works in a stressful finance environment. Melissa’s spinning schedule includes producing events and television segments and running a non-profit dance initiative she co-founded. The two of them are constantly trying to keep up with the busyness of their son and two daughters — internships, jobs, school, before school, after school … wait, where are they now?

Add to all of this the fact Melissa and Anthony live in the busiest city in the world, New York, and the tension rises just thinking about tomorrow.
“Now you understand why we made the time to go away for our twenty-fifth anniversary,” Melissa says. “We needed a fun and beautiful destination, but most of all it had to be easy, so we could think about nothing except enjoying each other.”

Melissa and Anthony remember their wedding 25 years ago as anything but easy. They had six months to plan a big event in her hometown of St. Louis. Looking back now at the wedding, the first words that come to their minds are “stressful,” “rushed,” and “a blur.” The wedding did mark the beginning of a beautiful marriage, though, blessed with three children, a dog, and a home full of love. The first 24 years and 51 weeks flew past with the speed of a montage.

One particular experience, a trip to Beaches Turks and Caicos 15 years ago, stands apart because it accomplished the impossible: it slowed the entire family down. The memories are vivid. “We snorkeled in the ocean together, played in the pool together, even subtle moments like laughing together at dinner are unforgettable,” Melissa says. “That’s what we wanted to do again, except this time Anthony and I would also celebrate our vow renewal and include our kids.”

Normally, Melissa packs her days down to the minute because each one comes and goes so fast. For this vow-renewal vacation, she wanted to release her grip from everything, especially the planning. A few months in advance of the trip, she told the Beaches staff she had three requests for the vow setup: lots of white, lots of green, and very modern. That’s it. And then she and Anthony thought of nothing more than enjoying the impossible again.

“The staff did everything else,” Melissa says.
The family began to slow down during the 3.5 hour flight from New York to Turks and Caicos. Time then ceased to exist when their feet hit the Beaches lobby, and their eyes found the brilliant white sand and extraordinary emerald sea. The arrival signified freedom from responsibilities, freedom from being grownups, and freedom to relax the way they remembered from their first trip to Beaches.

They sipped tropical drinks in the swim-up pool. They explored the bottom of the ocean for sand dollars. They went to yoga, played tennis, took another swim, sipped another tropical drink, slept soundly through the nights, and slowly woke up each morning to share another long, peaceful breakfast to the slow rhythm of the ocean’s gentle surf. The phones made appearances only to take pictures.
“It sounds so simple,” Melissa says, “but the pleasure of being together made my heart sing.”

Melissa enjoyed the rare comfort of being a care-free mom for all but 30 minutes of the trip. That’s the part where she enjoyed being a princess. On the afternoon of the wedding vow, limp from snorkeling and beachcombing, Anthony’s wife of 25 years changed into a casual dress fitting for the tropical scene. Then the Beaches staff rolled up to the suite in an antique golf cart to transport the entire family down to the edge of the ocean. “All we had to do was show up,” Anthony says.

Melissa and Anthony can still barely believe it when they try to describe the scene. It was as if a section of the alluring Grace Bay Beach had been personalized just for them.

“I was literally overwhelmed by the beauty and design,” Melissa says. “The staff took my minimal input — lots of green, lots of white, and modern — and took it over the top. They created the most gorgeous vow renewal I’ve ever seen.”

Melissa and Anthony intentionally kept the ceremony concise: long enough for the five of them to soak up the awesome moment and short enough so the excitement never dimmed. When Melissa and Anthony turned to face their kids at the conclusion, they heard a burst of cheers. Dozens of Beaches guests had stopped whatever they were doing to watch from a distance.

The cheers did not signify an end to the celebration. There would be a special dinner, music from a deejay, a fire show, another great night of sleep, and more vacationing — more swimming, more lounging, more tropical drinks, more laughter, and more togetherness.

For their 25th anniversary, Melissa and Anthony can confidently say they received the greatest, most permanent wedding gift of all.
“We’ll always hold those days and moments at Beaches deep in our hearts,” Melissa says. “To get away to a remote destination together, where we could just relax and just be. I think about it and … ahh … I can still barely believe it.”