A Wedding and Mexico

Okay apparently when I said last night I meant tonight.

I've had plenty of time today to write this. I finally downloaded my pictures and had some time to look through them and I realized something. The pictures I have don't do this particular place justice. They certainly don't do the wedding justice. Everything was so incredibly beautiful and my camera just didn't capture all that. It was a whirlwind trip but full of such beauty.

We arrived on Thursday afternoon without issue. The drive from the airport to the resort took about 50 minutes but our driver took it slow. Playa del Carmen is a mix of incredibly luxurious resorts and some of the most abject poverty I've seen. The road we took in was divided. The left side had some exclusive resorts with the kind of guarded gates that I've seen in luxury travel magazines. On the other side of the road, shacks and run down stores. It was an odd paradox.

Our resort was no exception to the beauty. Here is a picture of the grounds.

This is the first all-inclusive I have ever stayed in and I was not prepared for how pampered I would feel. During check-in we were presented with some rather tasty alcoholic drinks. The mini-bar (also included) was stocked with beer, soda, water, and several full sized bottles of alcohol just waiting to be tapped. The room was just gorgeous but other than sleeping we spent very little time there. The first night was not a particularly good night but considering that Jeff and I hadn't slept much the night before and had been traveling all day, we ended up in bed about 8 that night.

Jeff woke me up to see the sunrise the next morning. There is nothing more wonderful than being wrapped up on a beach chair, listening to the sound of the waves, and watching the sunrise on the beach. The day was spent sleeping on beach chairs, playing in the ocean, and hanging out with family. I walked the beach both mornings with Jeff's dad and by the end of the trip my legs were killing me. The rehearsal dinner was that night but both Jeff and I were exhausted again and ended up in bed by 10.

The next day was the wedding. The resort had set up chairs and a wedding arch on the beach. It was a fabulous setting. I spent the morning walking the beach with dad, playing in the kiddy pool with my niece and nephew, and looking for Jeff. He and I managed to lose each other from morning until the wedding at three. I have to say that if Jeff and I were ever to get married again, this is how I would do it. To be able to attend a wedding, with drink in hand, and bare feet is just perfection. I took pictures and watched the kids and enjoyed the wedding. Everyone on the beach stood and watched. It was a wonderful moment. Here is a picture of the wedding party. I should download the professional ones but for right now you'll have to make due with my amateur ones.

After the wedding we sat in the lobby bar and had drinks until dinner. We ate at the resort's steakhouse (they had five restaurants). Then the bride and groom celebrated their marriage with a quick dip in the pool.

Jeff and I headed back to the room about 11 and went to sleep fast. We were both up by 2 since we had a transport coming for us at 4. The trip back to the airport in Cancun was much less slow and much less enjoyable. The driver drove like a maniac and with us being in the far back seat it was a bumpy ride. We did get there much faster than the trip in but I was a bit nauseous. The flight out of Cancun was great but getting out of Atlanta was a little more problematic. We ended up home about 3 hours after we were scheduled to. It was seven by the time we were finally home and Misty was thrilled to see us.

All and all it was a wonderful trip. The resort was beautiful, the all-inclusive part was fabulous, and the time spent hanging out was a lot of fun. It took me a couple days to recover but I'm so glad I went. Congrats guys. And thanks for a great trip.