When Maeve Reilly envisioned her wedding day with Zach Quittman, the first thing she saw was Palm Heights, the Grand Cayman hotel she’d visited with friends. “I thought, I have to get married here,” she says. “We really wanted a destination wedding—all of our favorite people in one place, experiencing an amazing weekend away.”
The couple worked with planner Mindy Weiss and her team, including colleague Andrew Haupt, to put everything together. Maeve, a stylist, worked on Hailey Bieber’s wedding, where she first met Weiss. “I had put together a Pinterest board of inspiration and vibes that I liked. When Zach and I went to do our site visit, it was literally just so seamless,” she says.
“Our guests made up a majority of the hotel, so that tied into the whole intimacy vibes of everyone being together at all times,” says Zach, who is a real estate agent. “Wherever you went, whether it was the gym or the couple of restaurants, you ran into your people. That was a huge thing of just being together all weekend.”
The Location
The hotel is relatively small and massively popular, so booking it isn’t easy. “They’re kind of particular about who does weddings there. I think they just know that it could be a wedding venue every weekend, because it’s so special and they actually don’t want to do that,” Maeve says. “I reached out to Gab [owner Gabriella Khalil] and, thankfully, she was so excited about it and said yes.”
The First Night
There is only one direct flight a day between Los Angeles, where Maeve and Zach live, and the Cayman Islands, which meant that nearly everyone on the plane was heading to the wedding. Unfortunately, the group experienced a delay, which meant that they had to rush to get ready for a family cocktail party they had planned. “The first night was sort of a blur. We hadn’t eaten, we were just trying to see everybody, and we finally sat down to eat dinner and it just kind of all hit us what was about to happen,” she says. Maeve wore a stretchy sheath dress that was part of a bridal capsule from SSENSE.
The Weather
“It was very scary weather leading up to the wedding, which was such a curve ball. I’ve been following the hotel [on Instagram] since I had been there last. They post Stories every day, and I have never seen anything but a blue sky. I have never seen rain. I have never seen a cloud,” Maeve says. “All of a sudden, right before the wedding, there is terrible weather and it’s raining every day. As we landed, the rain cleared. I couldn’t believe it.”
The Welcome Party
Palm Heights hosts a regular Saturday pizza party/karaoke/dance night called Mambo Italiano. Maeve and Zach convinced them to move it to Friday night to serve as their welcome party. “It’s like an outdoor Italian pizzeria with little umbrellas, and then the bar turns into the karaoke booth, basically,” says Zach.
Maeve’s mother and sisters sang “Going to the Chapel,” and her friend Jennifer Meyer gave a toast. “We had the best night. Everyone was like, ‘How are you going to top this? After the first night?’ Some people said that it was the most fun party they’d ever been to in their life,” Maeve says.
Maeve was excited to wear a Wiederhoeft dress. It had the line’s distinct and beautiful corset look, and while it wasn’t ready until 10 days before the wedding, Maeve was confident the look would work out. Zach is a big fan of Aimé Leon Dore and wore a head-to-toe look from the boutique.
Later in the evening, Maeve changed into a silk Vivienne Westwood dress from a 2015 collection.
The Looks
Maeve always knew that she’d wear a Vivienne Westwood gown. “I’m such a Vivienne girl. I love a corset and I love that silhouette and I just know what’s best on my body type,” she says. “I just knew I would end up there. I just didn’t know which dress, and I was looking for the drama and that skirt.” She loved the classic look of the dress and wanted to keep her accessories minimal.
Later in the evening, Maeve changed into an archival Vivienne Westwood style adorned with sequins that she believes had only ever been worn by model Erin Wasson.
For his part, Zach wore a full Dolce & Gabbana suit.
The Ceremony
Maeve and Zach were married by Dr. Habib Sadeghi, their spiritual advisor. “It was definitely the highlight of my life,” Maeve explains. “It was really deep and profound, and just unlike any ceremony I’ve ever seen. I felt really in the moment and really present.” She walked down the aisle to the piano version of “Goodspeed” by Frank Ocean, her favorite song.
“It was a picture-perfect day. Sunshine, aqua-blue water, and the first sunset in two weeks,” Zach says.
The Party
Everyone was thrilled by the food at the reception. “The best bread roll you’ve ever had in your life,” Zach said about the hotel’s signature coconut roll. “All of our guests came up to us saying, ‘That’s the best wedding food we’ve ever had.’” The menu also included a cucumber salad with yogurt, ceviche, vegan curry with naan.
The after-party was held at a Bar Bambi, a club within the hotel. “My little brother’s a DJ, so he controlled the music. He literally crushed it and set the vibe so high,” Zach says. “We went until 3 A.M. and then ended up in the pool.”
Maeve Reilly and Zach Quittman’s Wedding
Adrienne Gaffney is a features editor at ELLE and previously worked at WSJ Magazine and Vanity Fair.
