Although I’m an Atlanta wedding photographer, I travel a lot for out of state and destination weddings and even destination engagements! Last month I had the privilege of joining Helen & Jeremy, as well as some of their amazing friends, for their engagement session in St. Croix, Virgin Islands. I guess I don’t really even need to mention how AMAZING it was. Starting out, flying from Atlanta to Puerto Rico, I managed to get upgraded to first class! Awesome! I started chatting with the guy sitting next to me who turned out to be the producer of the T.I. & Tiny show. Extra Awesome! And sitting in the very front was T.I. himself. They were all flying down to Puerto Rico to film an episode of the show with T.I’s family. I didn’t get the opportunity to talk to T.I. but I chatted with the producer for a few hours which really helped pass the time.

Once I arrived in Puerto Rico I had a four hour layover. This time none of my luggage was lost like the last time I was in Puerto Rico for a wedding. I made my way across the street to an Americanized wing type place and got some food while I worked. On my flight to St. Croix I flew in the smallest plane I’ve ever been in, it literally only held a total of six people including myself and two pilots. It was a much smoother ride than I anticipated and it offered some really great views since we flew at a low altitude than other planes. When I arrived on the island we were the only people, including employees, there with the exception of one greeter who served us complementary rum and called taxis for us. On the way to my hotel, it was a little strange getting used to everyone driving on the left side of the road. The taxi driver drove extremely fast through tiny back country type roads ripping palm tree leaves off as we flew past.

I was really exhausted after getting up at 3am and spending thirteen hours flying, so I spent the rest of the evening relaxing at the beach and walking to some of the local sites before going to bed. The next morning I woke up early and met up with Helen and Jeremy at a local makeup studio. It was in walking distance, so it was nice just being able to walk down the boardwalk to meet them. After Helen finished makeup, we walked the streets a little shooting photos in various places while we made our way to their rental car to start exploring the rest of the island.

Our first stop was at an old fort that was being repaired from decay by a group of local school students. Then we met up with Helen and Jeremy’s friends to head to a different smaller island area called Protestant Cay. We took a small ferry to the island and shot some photos before grabbing lunch while we discussed our next location. After taking the ferry back to St. Croix we headed to the other side of the island. We made our way over to one of St. Croix’s famous rum distilleries, Cruzan Rum. From here we went on a small tour of the distillery…..well sort of. While their friends and the rest of the group was on tour, Helen, Jeremy, and I would sneak off to take some photos around the distillery. Then we would hurry back to the group like nothing happened. The tour guide was on to us though and eventually just stopped waiting for us to catch up. 

After the tour we all got to sample tons of rum fresh from the distillery. We tried a ton of varieties and various ages of the rum and I must say, I have a different, more positive, view on rum. After doing some good sampling, we all went back to our hotels to freshen up before meeting again to finish their engagement session. We made our way back to Protestant Cay beach to catch the sunset. In the island areas the sun sets very early, around 6-6:30pm, at least this time of the year. Once we finished up our day it was time to enjoy the rest of the night. The island was having one of it’s biggest parties of the year, Jump Up, in the Christiansted area right were my hotel was located. We walked the big block party taking in the local snacks and watching the performers. We all got some local cuisine at one of the many restaurants and finished our night out with some partying.

The next morning I woke up at 5am to make my trip back to Atlanta. From St. Croix back to Puerto Rico, another four hour layover, then four hours back to Atlanta! I finally made it to the airport where Jessica met me to take me home. It was an awesome trip with some amazing people, but I love being home with my wife! :)

Here are some of my favorite photos from Helen and Jeremy’s engagement session!

My name is Matt Druin and I’m an Atlanta wedding photographer that specializes in unique, offbeat weddings for all awesome people! Not only do I shoot amazing Atlanta weddings, but I also travel frequently for destination weddings, and weddings all over, with no travel fees in the US for amazing wedding photography. I also shoot Atlanta engagement sessions for newly engaged couples. I’ve even been known to travel, and far, for engagement sessions too!

Contact Atlanta Wedding Photographer Matthew Druin

Email [email protected]

Phone 678-551-0115

Address 225 Parkway 575 #66 Woodstock, Georgia 30188

Portfolios www.matthewdruin.com

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