Hello From Turks and Caicos—Bridesmaids' Party in Paradise

First, I want to send out hugs and kisses to Caroline and Drew on their new life together, and my gratitude to Caroline for picking me as her maid of honor. I am privileged and honored by your faith in my abilities to be with you on your most special day.

That aside, we had a wild and crazy time at Caroline's bridesmaid party, and even the parts that we can write in this piece are not made up.

It only took a moment for me to decide on where to hold this bridesmaid party. During our first spring break at Wellesley College, a group of us went to a private resort in Turks and Caicos. An old family friend owns the resort, which I will keep secret – thanks, Uncle George! I knew Caroline from Towers dorm, often sitting in my pajamas at breakfast with her and other dorm mates, but we became best friends on this freshman trip, so the resort will always have a special place in my heart.

So off to another adventure in Turks and Caicos! We made a three-day weekend of it, and all of us took the day off on Friday to make the earliest flight down to the islands. There is nothing like stepping off a plane and overlooking a sparkling blue coast with your best friends to give you the perspective of how lucky you are.

I worked with the other bridesmaids and Fin to get the most out of our time on the island. For many years, Caroline has talked about taking scuba lessons, which we didn't do on our freshman trip. Of course, time and tide wait for no one, so after we checked into the resort we were off to the scuba shop for ultimate adventure on the world famous reef – and with an extra visual treat.

Kip, the scuba instructor, had wavy golden hair, absolutely no body fat and a six pack that went all the way down to, well, anyhow, he was buff. The other girls and I, and especially Fin, were worried that we would not remember a word Kip had to say about staying alive in the water, but we managed to stay focused even with his beautiful body glowing in the hot Caribbean sun.

Drew, so that you know, Caroline never looked at Kip in his little sun shorts. She was the perfect woman about to be married.

After three hours of instruction, Kip and his buddies took us to a place close to shore that dropped into a massive underwater canyon, full of fish, turtles, reefs, and wrecks. Kip was always professional and a gentleman, damn!

An hour into the dive a extraordinary event occurred that Caroline and I will never forget. Even Kip was excited about it. Caroline and I were passing through a cathedral of kelp with a bright white reef to the right of us when something started to move a few feet below.

Looking down, we saw a manta ray, eight feet across, rising out of the sandy ocean floor and slowly gliding away from us. The manta ray's width was so considerable that both of us were able to hold on to its wings for a moment's ride through the kelp. When we let go of the stingray, it just continued to glide away from us and out to sea. That moment with the ray was one the most exhilarating moments of my life.

After the beautiful day with Kip and the stingray adventure, we were all ready for a party, and the resort did not disappoint. The resort had a disco, not unlike one from the seventies. Glass ball, goofy drinks and everything.

With Kip in our review mirrors, we enjoyed the endless stream of Bahama Mamas, Sex on the Beach, and other fabulous alcoholic drinks while we looked to see who was going to show up on the dance floor.

There are always many rich and famous people at the resort. I danced with an actor who was currently filming a movie with Alec Baldwin; mum's the word. After a few drinks, Caroline was enjoying herself on the dance floor – and can she dance!

At three in the morning, we all retired to our suites, alone, in preparation for another day of indulgence that started off with a massage, facial, and, you know, girls stuff. We even got the thermal mud treatment and avocado facials I have always wanted to try. Fin was happy to scout out Kip again and met up with us for dinner.

After a fabulous lunch of conch and lobster, we went into the town for our bridesmaid shopping spree. My father let me take his gold card down the island with one request – that I don't buy anything that needs to be transported back to the states without customs knowing about it. Thanks, Daddy!

The ten of us stayed in town long into the night, eating street food and dancing native Ripsaw and Wine-Up with locals and beach bums who stayed a little too long on the island.

Just before dawn, we took in an island tradition and went down to the crystal clear beach and watched as the sun rose, and said a little prayer for our souls. Especially because of all the carnage that happened the night before.