Travel Tuesday

Not to take anything away from this post, but I want to wish my cousin, Judy a happy birthday today! She's ___years old (I won't give her away. Let's just say she's getting UP there---way UP!) Love you, Judy!!

Okay, here we go! The wedding week.

We arrived a week ago Saturday. We had a couple of days just enjoying the resort before

Morgan and Olly chartered a day on a catamaran for all their guests. There was lots of food and beachy drinks. The day was beautiful and the water was such a rich turquoise. There was plenty of snorkeling and jumping off the boat (not me or Butch, but we weren't alone. A lot of people stayed on board).

Other than the group picture below, I do not have a picture with Stephanie and Nicky. 

Morgan--the bride! How cute is she? Just precious!

There were about 25-30 of us. People came in on different days. There were 42 guests in total.

The next night, Morgan and Olly hosted a bonfire on the beach. I cannot get the pictures to download--it's so darn frustrating. Just imagine a white sandy beach with the breeze flowing through the palm trees. There were gauzy, white, lighted teepee-type tents set up with comfortable cushions with lots of white pillows. There were people attending to the grill with an assortment of delicious food. The dessert table was laid with dozens of fun choices including a s'mores bar. I roasted my marshmallows, then this happened:

I don't know when or how it happened. Steph was the one to notice! I didn't really like that sticky mess gushing between my toes!

Ahhh, Morgan sent me the pictures so I was able to download them:

The fancy dessert table. That's a lot of desserts for 30-40 people! The resorts presentation of everything was outstanding. The grills were adjacent to this.

Notice Morgan's beaded purse. I gave that to her last Christmas. It's from Etsy and is all beaded "Mrs. Teston." Morgan had a new outfit for every day and every event--so cute! 

I forgot to mention the designs in the sand too! Everything was just so precise! Can you imagine all the work it takes to set this stuff up?

Stephanie and Nicky.

And now for the BIG day!

I wanted a picture as soon as we got off the elevator because within 5 minutes my hair frizzes up and becomes wind-blown!

Mindy, Justin and Robbie before the ceremony. Each guest had a maraca waiting at each seat with a tag that said, "Shake at the kiss!" They also have pictures of palm trees painted on with Mexico written underneath. When brining everything in to Mexico, Stephanie was taxed $57.00. I told her it was because she bought in the US what she could/should have bought in Mexico. Here's the kicker: the maracas have a sticker "Made in Mexico!" I think that's pretty hilarious! Besides the tax she paid, she probably could have gotten them much cheaper in May-hee-ko!

Sandy and Greg

The white roses were spectacular!

I love this picture so much. The dress is absolutely gorgeous! You cannot tell from the picture, but that lace is all beaded. Just stunning as is the bride! They are so happy! We love Olly so much. He fits perfectly in our family!

They went all out for the wedding with every detail. The M & O were lit up when it got dark.

Now we move on to the cocktail hour. 

The reception:

I cannot believe I do not have a picture of the table setting. It was all so beautiful! I'll have to wait for the rest of the professional ones come out. Stephanie and Morgan bought the gold placemats and matching coasters. I'm hoping they'll give me a sent for Christmas (wink wink)! 

Jordan and Morgan--sisters and BFFs. Jordan performed her maid of honor duties perfectly. Well, except for the part where she couldn't tame the blowing veil!

The bride and groom started off the dancing with their own choreographed routine. Apparently they spent quite a bit of time practicing. The last week, Morgan tied a robe around her waist to get the feel of her dress dragging on the floor and making sure she wouldn't trip on it. The other photos I had of the dance would not download. 

But at least I got this sweet shot of the end!

This is how their evening ended---sort of like---ahhhhh....

....and then---you just can't make this stuff up!!

The whole week was so much fun. But I have to say, if you were involved in the wedding, you don't get much time to vacation!! There are lots of duties and appointments. For the rest of us, it was so relaxing. There's nothing like being waited on constantly. We were at the Dreams Riviera in Cancun--an all-inclusive (owned by Hyatt). The resort was so lush and beautiful with flowers everywhere. The grounds were impeccable. 

Morgan and I met early one morning for a walk through the garden. Jordan was supposed to be with us, but she over-slept. Turns out, the garden was actually a dog park. Funny considering we never saw a single dog the entire week! The paw prints on the "Paradise Garden" sign should have been a tip off---I just thought it was referring to wildlife! So we took our walk to the beach and came upon a couple of swings. We spent about an hour just talking. I loved having that special time with her. I gave her some grandmotherly advice and then told her that she didn't have to pay any further attention to me. I had my time, so now she could just focus on everything and everyone else!! 

I cannot imagine how it could have been any better. Morgan and Stephanie did a stellar job taking care of everything---down to the smallest detail to make it all so special and perfect! It was  definitely a week to remember!

That's one wedding down and 4 more to go!!