Cozumel: Where Bathing Suits are Acceptable Wedding Attire

I'm finally almost caught up with blogging! Yayyyyy!

This month, Adam and I were thrilled to attend the first weddings since our own: his best friend's, and my dad's! Unfortunately, they were on the same weekend. IN DIFFERENT COUNTRIES. We couldn't possibly miss either wedding, so we split and attended the respective weddings solo. I was beyond bummed to be away from Adam on what would've been a romantic vacay, but I couldn't stay sad long because I was headed off on a 4-day cruise to Cozumel with 50 of our family members and dad's friends! 

Carnival Liberty, front, docked in Cozumel

This was truly a trip of a lifetime. Getting to spend four straight days with so much of our family, all while celebrating my dad's marriage, was a once in a lifetime opportunity. I was genuinely sad that Adam was missing out on this, but I still had a blast! 

We got to spend several hours exploring Cozumel before the wedding later that afternoon. A group of about 20 of us hopped in cabs and headed to Money Bar. I'd heard raves about this place while on our honeymoon just a short distance away in the Riviera Maya. 

This place was pretty neat. Situated right on a pretty little spat of beach, Money Bar served up yummy drinks and food, and even provided snorkel equipment if you wanted to go cool off and see some fish. Surprisingly, there were quite a few to see! 

Taken underwater with my cousin Dusty's iPhone. Pretty cool, huh?

From there, we headed into downtown Cozumel to Wet Wendy's for lunch. Wet Wendy's is well-known on TripAdvisor for their massive, overflowing margaritas:

Brain freeze for one, please.

Honestly, Wet Wendy's didn't do much for me. It took us a $50 cab ride to get there, and while on the way, I asked the cabbie what he thought of the place. He didn't speak much English and simply replied "Americanos." Roughly translated, we were heading to a tourist trap. Aww, shucks. After getting spoiled with authentic Mayan food on our honeymoon, I'd been jonesing for the real deal on this trip. It was good, don't get me wrong, just not quite what I wanted, ya know? 

The wedding was so, so pretty! There was a torrential downpour about an hour or two before the wedding (apparently that's the new family tradition), but it cleared out just in time. 

My dad's new wife walking down the "aisle"! I guess we have a thing for tough terrain, too.

The ceremony was short but so, so sweet. Apparently my dad's tears on my wedding day were just the precursor to his own wedding. I'm pretty sure he cried every day of the whole trip - but it's his party, and he can cry if he wants to! :) 

After the ceremony, we all hung out for a little bit and enjoyed some margaritas before heading back to the ship. 

That's me on the far left, then my two brothers, Dad's wife, Dad, Mom-mom, and my two sisters.

Oh and if you can't tell, those are bathing suit straps in the picture above. Yup, I have now officially worn a bikini to a wedding. But that's just the kind of wedding it was! Come as you are, even if you're rolling in from the beach bar. Dad even rented a churro stand! Talk about incorporating local flavor into your destination wedding. 

My little brother, David, waiting impatiently for the stand to open!

Getting lifted by some of the crazy men in our family

All in all, an amazing bonding sesh with the fam, and a great destination wedding! 

London Calling.

Adam and I got home from the honeymoon of a lifetime late Sunday evening on Labor Day weekend. Apparently, we weren't the only ones who had fun while we were gone:

I guess we were missed!

We spent Labor Day Monday relaxing, procrastinating unpacking, and opening gifts. I took off Tuesday as well to start the name change process. Right as I was walking out the door to head to the Social Security office, I get a call from my boss. They need me to go to London on SUNDAY for a work trip, so hopefully I haven't changed my name yet and my passport is still valid? Umm heck YES, name changing can wait a week or two!

I was so excited. Europe has always been a huge item on my to-do list, and you couldn't ask for a better city than London for your first solo European excursion. Sure, leaving a whopping five days after my honeymoon wasn't ideal, but this was London, baby! There was no way I was passing up such a great opportunity. 

I landed in Heathrow late Sunday evening and caught the train to Paddington Square. 

The Tube announcer lady has the most pleasant and soothing voice of all time.

Everything looked like Harry Potter. I resisted my urge to go straight tourist and prance around London in the dark, but only because it was late and I was exhausted. All of the cabs looked exactly how I pictured them to look: 

Pip pip, cheerio.

I gave myself away as an overexcited American as soon as I opened my mouth, and my cabbie was kind enough to humor me take me to my hotel via the scenic route. Which was actually also the fastest route because my hotel was in an AMAZING location! If you ever find yourself in London, I highly recommend staying at the Doubletree Westminster. It's located just a short walk from two Tube stations, and it's right around the corner from Parliament and Westminster Abbey! 

My hotel room, with a view of the London Eye! Couldn't fit it in the picture, though. Bollocks.

Oh, this was just my commute for the week. NBD.

Westminster Abbey

 I truly don't have any regrets in life, but if I was hard-pressed to pick something, I do wish I was able to travel more. Navigating my way around a foreign city brought such a sense of confidence, and I was pretty good at it! After just a day or two, I didn't even need to use my GPS app to get around. The Tube App was an absolute godsend as well. The Tube is beautifully simple once you get the hang of it. 

This isn't as complicated as it looks.

After I was done working each day, I liked to head to Oxford Street and do a little window shopping. It was here that I discovered the eighth wonder of the world that is Topshop. This store is ahhhhmazing. I also did typical Brit things in the evenings, such as sampling fish and chips (not a huge fan) and hanging out in pubs (definitely a huge fan). 

Discovered my new favorite drink. Unfortunately it costs a million dollars to ship to the states.

On the last day of the trip, I was fortunate enough to have time for a little sightseeing. Naturally, that meant a doubledecker bus tour and seeing the Tower of London! The history buff in me pretty much geeked out all day. Execution sites and royal jewels on display? Sign me up. 

That's where they keep the jewels. Mmmm jewels.




You don't want to go into the Tower of London that way.

Next thing I knew, the week was over and it was time to head home. It was an amazing week, but I was excited to finally get some down time with my husband! Skype just isn't as good as the real deal.
Until next time, London!

Honeymooning in the Riviera Maya

The wedding was over in a flash, and soon it was time for our first big married adventure. We landed in Cancun Sunday afternoon, ready to see this resort we (okay, mostly I) had been daydreaming about for months. 

 

Secrets Maroma Beach did not disappoint. I was absolutely blown away by the natural beauty and friendly staff. Adam's only complaint was the lack of chicken nuggets, but somehow I doubt that's a problem for most people :) 

All photos personal unless otherwise noted.

 

Honeymoon champagne and a cork with our wedding date!

Showing off the new hardware.

We spent our time at the resort scouting wildlife, drinking way too much a normal amount of alcohol, and just basking in the glorious Mexican sun. There may or may not have been a substantial amount of Arrested Development jokes made, but that's no different from our everyday life. 

"This will keep me safe from the hot Mexican sun." 

While we LOVED the resort, hands down our favorite experiences were when we left the resort. Before the trip, I signed us up for two excursions with Local Quickies to swim with turtles, swim in some cenotes, do some zip lining, and take a sunset cruise by the Mayan ruins in Tulum. If you ever find yourself near Playa del Carmen, Cancun, or Playa Aventuras, we HIGHLY recommend booking a tour with these guys. It's not touristy at all - it's more like hanging out with friends who happen to know all the best local spots. 

 

Tulum, one of the most stunning and well-preserved beaches in the world. 

Getting introduced to one of our new favorite foods - cochinita pibil. (photo by Local Quickies)

Checking out sea turtles in Akumal. (photo by Local Quickies)

We really appreciated all the precautions taken to keep these animals safe. (photo by Local Quickies)

Now, the sunset cruise-around-the-ruins portion of this tour is *not* typically a booze cruise and is usually very family-friendly. We were warned in advance that a large bachelor party would also be on the cruise that day, to which we said, bring it on! The drinks flowed all afternoon, and soon an unexpected storm rolled in. 

 

You call that a storm?!

I'm sure we were totally safe the whole time, but we could see several waterspouts forming off in the distance. Normally this would be cause for concern but when you're on the adventure of a lifetime with your brand new husband and have about 27 drinks in you, waterspouts are celebrated.

 

The crew easily got us past the storm and we made it back to the harbor safely. I remember distinctly thinking at the time that this was one of the best days of my life, and it absolutely was. Adam and I had so much fun that day; there are just no words for it. 

 

Drunken catamaran life chats. Highly recommend. (photo by Local Quickies)

Enjoying drinks on our last day at Secrets Maroma Beach.

Hopefully we get to go back someday! It was truly the trip of a lifetime. 

Hello!

As of this posting, Adam and I have been married for 68 days, 18 hours, and 43 minutes. Like all of 2013, it has gone by in a whirlwind.

So much has already happened in our short marriage: we had a beautiful wedding day with 130 of our closest friends and family. We spent an amazing week at Secrets Maroma Beach, honeymooning on one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. A mere five days after getting home from the honeymoon, I was whisked off to London for a week on a business trip.

Upon getting home from London, I decided I wasn't busy enough. I promptly opened an Etsy shop selling wedding, home, and holiday decor, which has already taken off. I also volunteered to serve on our community HOA board and am helping to organize a local alumnae chapter for my college sorority, Zeta Tau Alpha.

Life has been hectic, but GOOD hectic. And through it all, day in and day out, is my new husband. Like our engagement, I know this is a special time in our lives, one that we'll look back on someday with smiles. This blog is my attempt to document it, both for ourselves and for our loved ones. I'll start by posting in-depth about the happenings above, then move into our day-to-day. Happy reading!