Mexico

Sand and sun sound like a nice change from the cold and snow? Anyone I know (that’s in their right mind) would agree with my resounding, “yes!” Well, thanks to my favorite cousin, we just recently had a fantastic excuse to thumb our nose at Old Man Winter and escape to Quintana Roo, Mexico for a week.

The reason for the trip was my cousin Alli’s wedding. The location she picked for our stay and their venue was absolutely outstanding. The resort, Barceló Maya Tropical, was as beautiful as it was gargantuan. Thankfully, everyone was able to get rooms fairly close together or we would have been walking for days!

Many folks roll their eyes when they hear the term “destination wedding,” however, don’t knock it till you’ve tried it. It’s a fantastic way to celebrate a loved one’s big day, as well as have a large scale family vacation. Both the bride and groom had several guests and we had a great time getting to know everyone as well as visiting amongst ourselves. For me, this was great since I live so far away from everyone, and many family members were especially excited to get to meet Olivia for the first time.

Of course, I can’t write a post about this without mentioning that the wedding was beyond beautiful and Alli was of course breathtaking – even more so than usual. Alli married one of the nicest guys I’ve ever met, and I’m pretty sure they’re a perfect match. She lucked out with her new in-laws as well, who are genuinely sweet people. I was also extremely happy and proud to be one of three bridesmaids and be a part of their special day. The only downside was that I didn’t get to take any pictures. However, I helped them pick out their wedding photographer so I’m confident they will have amazing images.

Naturally, I took pictures of everything else. I still can’t get over how beautiful the ocean was. Although you can really only take so many water shots, so as hard as it was for me to drag myself away from the beach, Kendall and I took a day trip to Tulum to take a tour of the Mayan ruins. I’ve always wanted to see them, and I wasn’t about to get that close and go home without a photo or two, or 100… That was quite a neat experience and our guide was very entertaining.

In all it was a great time: A beautiful wedding and a fun family get away. I hope to go back again someday (maybe when Olivia is old enough to leave with her grandparents…).