The gorgeous Grace Bay

Here is what we came up with: Turks and Caicos.

Turks and Caicos is located at the Southern end of the Bahamas Island chain known as the British West Indies  and is often overlooked as a vacation destination. If you say “Turks and Caicos,” most people acknowledge they’ve heard of it, but that’s about it.  Interesting, because of all the vacation destinations in the Caribbean, Turks and Caicos has the best website.  All the hotels, condominiums and all-inclusives are listed in alphabetical order, by island and by rating, with great photos of each locale.  Most flights connect through Miami, however American Airlines offers direct flights from New York, US Air from Charlotte and Delta from Atlanta.  All airlines fly into Providenciales, the main Island.

One benefit of selecting Turks and Caicos as a beach destination is that once you clear customs at Providenciales Airport, you can cab to your hotel, check in and be in your lounge chair, on the beach with a fancy umbrella cocktail, in less than 3o minutes.

Most of the big hotels are located on Grace Bay, one of the prettiest and most dramatic beaches I’ve ever seen.  The water is so intensely blue it gives you pause, as you know you’ve never seen a color quite like it.  I booked a room at Le Vele, a small Italian inspired boutique hotel and condominium located smack dab in the middle of Grace Bay.  As we pulled up to the hotel, my husband asked me, “How did you hear about this  place?”  My reply, “I didn’t.  I just liked the look of the place on the website.”  Yikes.  I can tell you from experience those gut decisions can either work for ya’ or against ya’.  Thankfully, this time it was the former.

Le Vele, an Italian inspired boutique hotel

Le Vele was perfect for what we needed.  It was small and intimate with only 22 rooms.  The general manager, Clayton Thomas, and his staff were incredibly accommodating from greeting us upon our arrival with a rum punch to assisting my husband in finding his briefcase left in our cab from the airport.

I love how the rooms are like mini-apartments

In the morning, we awoke to a basket of croissants and fruit left by the staff, then wandered a short way over a dune to the beach with chair and umbrella awaiting us.  After a couple of hours of swimming and sunning, we faced our toughest decision of the day: whether to head out to the right or left down the beach in search of a late lunch.

StyleBlueprint HQ located on Grace Beach

There are some great restaurants on Providenciales, we were told, but for us, the restaurants within walking distance on the beach were perfect.  Grace Bay’s restaurants cater to all types of palates with conch being a staple in the Islands.  Conch is considered a poor man’s lobster and is absolutely delicious.   We ordered conch in all sorts of ways from fritters to chowder, but our absolute favorite were the award-winning conch wontons served at the Bay Bistro located in the Sibonne’ Beach Hotel.

The conch wontons at Bay Bistro are fabulous

Walking down a quiet beach on a starry night on our way to dinner was its own special treat.  There’s nothing like looking up together and seeing the same falling star to make you feel good about where you are.

Turks and Caicos offers wonderful options for massage, facials and therapeutic treatments at several hotels.  We booked a massage at Point Grace Hotel, which has a small spa cottage tucked away from everything which affords you an outdoor massage experience not to be missed.  As you fade away under the masseuses’ hands, a gentle breeze from the ocean lulls you into an altered state. It’s a little bit of heaven.

A view from the veranda at Turks and Caicos

Of course, Turks and Caicos offers every snorkeling and diving experience known to man, I just wasn’t up for moving off of my chaise lounge. The Islands are under British rule so driving can be somewhat precarious as you drive on the left side of the road.  The shopping is fine, but not as sophisticated as St. Thomas or other destinations in the Caribbean.  Turks and Caicos is about the beauty of the place… and it’s astounding.

For more information about Turks and Caicos, the New York Times featured the island in the travel section on Sunday November 15, or pick up last month’s Architectural Digest and read about Donna Karan’s oasis of a resort.

If you decide to book Le Vele, be sure to ask for Clayton.  He’s the unofficial ambassador of the Island and rest assured, all your needs will be taken care of…

Turks and Caicos awaits your weary bones, ready to refresh and inspire!

© 2010 – 2011, StyleBlueprint. All rights reserved.

The first time I met Elizabeth James I knew she was a take charge kind of girl.  She dots the i’s and crosses the t’s with a vengeance; surely her sock drawer is color coded.  Most don’t realize this incredible fact about event planners:  what you see is not really what you’re paying for, as most of the heavy lifting happens under the radar screen.  The beauty of a well planned event is the hours and hours of work before and after the party.  Elizabeth James has stood her ground as one of Nashville’s premiere event planners for over 10 years.  If you’ve ever experienced her magic, you know she is the best.

Please give me a brief description of your background as it relates to your career:

I bought a catering company in Atlanta at age 25.  The night before I was to close on the deal, the two girls I was going into business with, backed out.  My father’s comment was “Good Luck”.  I had no ideas how to cook, but I forged ahead anyway.  It ultimately was a successful venture, but I found myself more interested in planning parties than cooking for them.  After five years, I moved back home and worked for George Sloan and the International Steeplechase Group.  We staged numerous events which eventually led me to opening my own company.  Mary Cain, one of my first clients, gave me the opportunity to plan her daughter’s wedding and taught me so much along the way.  Even though I was somewhat of a novice, she put her faith and belief in me.

What does it take to be a good event planner?

You have to listen the client’s needs and remember one important thing: it is not my event, it is theirs.  The event must reflect their vision and taste.  Patience, above all things, is critical because inevitably something will go wrong.  Events are expensive.  In many cases, weddings and big parties can rival buying a car or a down payment on a house; big investments carry with them a varied range of emotions.

What is your favorite type of event?

Weddings because that’s how I got my start.  You asked me to tell you a funny story and mine involves a wedding.  I was doing a wedding at Belle Meade Country Club and the most important element to the bride and groom was their exit.  They wanted to leave the reception in a horse drawn carriage…sort of Cinderella meets Prince Charming.  You can imagine my look of absolute horror when the horse drawn carriage I hired ended up being two nags driven by, let’s just say, not your most polished groomsmen.  In retrospect, it was pretty humorous.

Name an early mentor in your career:

Absolutely my mother and grandmother.  My mother moved to Nashville in her 30′s and knew no one.  She had small children and proceeded to create a wonderful life for us.  My grandmother gave me a sense of style and beauty about entertaining.  What fits and what doesn’t.   Her table was always beautifully set, her taste exquisite and her manners impeccable.

What is the greatest trend you see in your business?  How has your business changed?

Overall, events have become both more complex and more intimate.  When compared to our parents’ parties, today’s parties have sophisticated themes, elaborate invitations, specialty drinks and favors.  Every detail is thought out and scrutinized  Yet, lately I have seen a move to more intimate and smaller gatherings. People are enjoying entertaining at home.

Give us one of your favorite personal extravagances that just makes you happy:

Anyone that knows me well knows that I love anything to do with skin care:  facials, scrubs, massages, you name it!

Name  3 things you can not live without (excluding family and friends):

• My faith and spirituality
• Black stretch pants by Susana Monaco
• The Sunday New York Times
• Movies, Music, Uggs….why limit it to 3!

Elizabeth James
Event Coordinator
615.356.3930

© 2009 – 2010, StyleBlueprint. All rights reserved.