These spontaneous yurt honeymoon photos on Water Island are like firefly magic

I got a peek at one of the sweetest real life honeymoon photo shoots I've ever seen. It's authentic, romantic, and spur-of-the-moment, which makes is all that much more interesting and special. Here's how the Caribbean yurt photo shoot unfolded from super skilled photographer Kathleen of Parenthesis Photography who just happened to be in the right place at the right time to capture some epic love…

I was staying in a yurt on Water Island, which is a tiny Island off the coast of St. Thomas. It has a population of about 180 or so. I'd found Happy Hippy retreat on AirBnb and knew I had to try to stay there. It's a little community of about five yurts, with little places all around to think and read. All it took to get over from St. Thomas was a 10-minute ferry ride. The owners welcome the wildlife, which isn't as scary as it sounds (yes there are tarantulas, but I didn't see one… they're actually pretty shy!). So the whole place is like a Disney movie of hermit crabs, tortoises, little lizards, and tree frogs. The hermit crabs start clamoring toward the kitchen when they smell food cooking, no joke. And they join you in the outdoor shower.

Ashley and Jacob showed up a couple days after I did, and we started talking and getting to know each other. I found out that they'd just been married and were on their honeymoon, so I offered to do a little photo session with them since there was so much cool stuff around us. We wandered around and even the cats even got involved (the yellow one that likes the rocks overlooking the water is named Lemon, my favorite). Once it got dark, I used some of the lights near the kitchen/common room area for the firefly effect. Did I get an insane amount of mosquito bites that night? Yes. Was it worth it? Yes.

Just the sweetest stuff ever. I am now officially hoping I happen to run into an amazing pro photographer on my honeymoon. Or I could just bring one along! Aw yesss. Let's see the benefits of this in action…