Our Wedding Adventure

Ziplining

2011-05-05T16:36:00.000-07:00

Here is something we are really excited about. Ziplining over the tropical rainforest. The zip line is 8km long, and goes over several waterfalls and has a great view of the active Aernal volcano.

Hiking an active volcano

2011-05-05T16:27:00.000-07:00

Here is the Arenal volcano in Costa Rica. We will be hiking this volcano and swimming in its hot springs. At night, you can watch lava flowing from the top.

The dress

2011-05-05T16:16:00.000-07:00

This dress is part of the Far and Away Collection by Allure Bridal

The invitation

2011-05-05T16:15:00.001-07:00

This is a sample of our wedding invitation. We created the design before picking or location, so the sample says Mexico.

The wedding bands

2011-05-05T16:00:00.000-07:00

These are the wedding bands we have chosen. I love princess cut diamonds, and my ring has 13 on the top. Andrew proposed on the 13th, and we might be holding the wedding on the 13th as well. Our rings both have milgrain, which I love! I think it gives them a vintage look.

Destination: COSTA RICA

2011-05-03T18:53:00.000-07:00

After lots of hours spent researching we finally decided on a destination.

We will be getting married at the Doubletree by Hilton in Puntarenas, Costa Rica.

We wanted a destination that was exotic and unique. we didn't want a place that everyone had been to before. We both like adventure and excursions, but love to sit on a beach and do nothing.

We are thrilled to have found a resort that offers us the all inclusive beach atmosphere, while being located in a tropical forest, with an active volcano and ziplinging nearby the resort. Perhaps the best part is the numerous amounts of animals that can be seen from the resort, including monkeys, sloths, toucans and mawcaws.

Next...

2011-05-03T18:47:00.000-07:00

Deciding on a date. Since I am a teacher, and we wanted a tropical wedding there wasn't very many options. The wedding would have to be either Christmas or March Break holidays. We have decided to get married March Break 2012. We wanted to give people ample time to prepare for the wedding so we had Save the Date cards made up. At this point we still hadn't chosen a destination.

Step One

2011-05-03T18:42:00.000-07:00

The first step was deciding what kind of wedding we would want. After weighing the pros and cons, we decided on a DESTINATION WEDDING. We started buying books for travel weddings and looking up different websites.

A really great resource was the following book: Destination Wedding Planner.

The Engagement!

2011-05-03T18:30:00.001-07:00

March 13, 2011... On top of Chicago at dusk we got engaged! We have always called Chicago "our city" and absolutely love it. When we first started dating Andrew gave me a card for Valentine's Day with tickets inside to Shedd's Aquarium. He had surprised me with a trip to Chicago for a weekend. Ever since we try to go every year. This year it ended up being even more special.

Here is a picture of the John Hancock building, and the Chicago skyline.