"Grow old along with me, the best is yet to be." ~Robert Browning
It all started with a blind date, a slice of pizza, and a glass of wine. That's the perfect recipe for a happy life, or at least it was in our case. Yves and I met three years ago to the date of our wedding. Our adventures over the past three years have taken us to Paris, Puerto Rico, Vietnam, San Francisco, Duluth, Calgary, Los Angeles, Wisconsin, Montreal, and Glacier National Park.
One of those adventures was in Paris in October 2013, where Yves proposed. It was my first trip to Paris and I had casually mentioned how I wanted to see the Eiffel Tower from across the Seine River. I had seen a picture in a guide book and it looked so beautiful. One afternoon, after spending the morning at Musee d'Orsay, Yves was noticeably nervous as we walked to the Eiffel Tower to enjoy a picnic lunch. He was having difficulties remembering his right from his left, he was so nervous. But not long after that, from across the Seine river, he asked and I said yes.
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| Engaged in Paris |
A year and a half later, we found ourselves planning a wedding, or actually two. We wanted to vacation with our family in Mexico and have a little ceremony there. However, the government offices in Riviera Maya were closed during the week of Christmas so it would be a symbolic wedding. That gave us the opportunity to have a little ceremony in Minnesota at our church with a few friends and family in attendance for our legal wedding.
Our "winter" wedding was on December 4th, 2014, in Minnesota. The ceremony was on a Thursday at 4pm. You may think that Thursday at 4 pm is an unusual time to get married, and you'd be right! But, it worked well for us and our family and friends. The ceremony was very personalized. The boys read scriptures at the wedding, my sister played a Christmas song on the piano, our friend took pictures (even outside in the snow!), and our family and friends sat next to us as we said our vows. We had a nice dinner and a Christmas lights tour through town on the Holly Jolly Trolley.
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| Minnesota wedding |
Our "summer" wedding was on December 23rd, 2014 at the Iberostar Quetzal, near Playa Del Carmen, Mexico. The resort was actually two resorts, Quetzal and Tucan, and the restaurants and activities were open for guests at both hotels. We had spent a wonderful week with family and had plenty of warm weather and activities to keep everyone entertained for the week. The beach was soft sand and the sea had a sandbar a ways out which was perfect for the kids when swimming. The resort also had a lot of tropical tress and animals. We saw peacocks, parrots, monkeys, tucans, iguanas, and flamingos. We went on a day excursion to Xel Ha for snorkeling and hiking. The wedding was at 4 pm on the beach. We scheduled it for 4 pm so Zumba would be done by then. Turns out that Zumba wasn't quite done by 4 pm and I walked down the aisle to "All the Single Ladies," which we all thought was hilarious. The ceremony was planned by the wedding coordinator at Iberostar, which made for a very easy and stress-free day. After all, that's exactly what we wanted... a family trip that we happened to get married on, instead of a week focused on the wedding.
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| Wedding at Iberostar |
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| Wedding on the beach |
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| 7-year-old boys think kissing is just plain gross. Keep thinking that, buddy! |
- Plan the vacation, not the wedding. Hire a wedding coordinator for that so you can focus on having fun for the other 95% of the time.
- Go to an all-inclusive resort. Meals, drinks, and a lot of entertainment are included. There is plenty to do for any activity level and age. It was really fun to get together at the end of the day for dinner with the whole group. There are plenty of activities like soccer, swimming, and Zumba during the day. Or, you can just sit under a cabana and read a good book. The nighttime entertainment was also included.
- Plan an excursion for your guests. Give people the option to spend a day away from the resort if they want. Xel Ha was a great place for all ages since there was everything from snorkeling to strolling. You could spend the day at Hammock Island, hike around the island, snorkel, tube, or swim with dolphins. Another good option is Tulum. It was within a days trip to bus there and tour the ancient ruins.
- We made personalized tote bags for our guests and included a note from us and some fun and practical gifts inside. The gifts were things like sunscreen, books, candies, and a personalized Christmas ornament.
Marriage is an adventure in itself. We are both excited to be starting our life together and making more wonderful memories. On to the next adventure!
