Honeymoon in Costa Rica

Two days after our wedding, Ben and I got on a plane at 6am to fly to San Jose, Costa Rica. We had one lay-over in Miami and then made our way to San Jose, arriving around 4:30pm their time. We knew we had a drive to get to our final destination, Punta Uva on the southeast side of Coast Rica, near the Panama border. What we didn't know was that it was a four and a half hour car ride! That four and a half hour car ride turned into a 6 hour ride between the bad traffic and car accident we got into within the first five minutes of getting in our driver's car. The van had been rear-ended and he stopped in the middle of a rushing highway for almost an hour waiting for the police to arrive, take the report, and allow the owner of the van agency to come out and fill out the paperwork.

Huge grasshopper!

Finally, we got back on the road and and the rain began pouring down as we drove on a windy highway through the mountains. I will admit, I was a bit nervous driving through the pitch black pouring rain in a foreign country. Thoughts ran through my head a few times like, what if this guy is taking us out to the middle of no where? We were in his control and even if he did have bad intentions we wouldn't know till we arrived. Thankfully, my fears were over-paranoid. We stopped once for some dinner, ate some platanos and drank a beer, and then continued on to the Tree House Lodge. After hours of driving, we finally arrived at around 10:30 to the Tree House Lodge, totally exhausted and ready for bed. We were quite amazed at how unique (and big!) the tree house was and we explored it for another couple hours before going to bed.

Iguana on a flower!

Sloth!! Cutest animal ever :)

The next morning we began our adventure right away, taking the Iguana Conservation Tour and then later going on a hiking a ziplining canopy tour. It was hot and humid but we still had a good time, especially since Ben had never ziplined before. I had once before in Kauai. I will admit that the weather is a little better in Hawaii than in Costa Rica, at least in the month of June (I was in Hawaii in July).

The following days were filled with more adventures including going to the Jaguar Animal Rescue Center where I had monkeys crawl on me! We also went on a real jungle tour with Boogey Boggey, our guide who showed us (up close and personal!) vipers (poisonous snakes), bullet ants, rare plants, a caiman (mini-croc), giant spiders, centipedes and a variety of other creatures.

On our last day we drove half way back to San Jose and went white water rafting...that was the most crazy of our adventures. When we got into the van that picked us up, we were told that we would be picking up six more people...we were the first to be picked up. Two more couples were picked up followed by two young women in their early twenties. One took forever to get out to the van and our drivers were talking about leaving since she was being "rude" and inconsiderate of our time schedule. A few moments later she got to the van, looking not so hot. We thought she was just grumpy and sleepy but after driving for only about five minutes she began barfing into a bag. Everyone in the van became silent but the driver and guide didn't seem to notice. Finally, one did notice and he offered to have her sit in the front for the rest of the trip. She asked to go back but they said they didn't have time since she took too long to get to the van (rafts were leaving promptly at 8:30am).

Bullet Ants! If you get seven bites it's equivalent to a poisonous snake bite!

Trees that move!!

So we had the "barfer" in our van for two hours! I think we were probably all worried about getting violently ill by the end of the drive. Fortunately, we all made it there on time in one piece, had our breakfast, and began our adventure. We were told that we would be rafting through class one through class four rapids. It was fun going through the class one and two rapids but the three's and four's were so intense they were actually quite frightening. During one set of class four rapids Ben and two other members of our raft actually fell out! Me and one other girl hung on and another guy was able to climb back in. We finally picked Ben up downstream...after that we were pretty ready to be done with our 18 mile rafting trip...but overall it was still a lot of fun and we both agreed that we were glad we did it.

Viper in the wild!! Yikes

Grasshoppers that camoflauge with the white tree!

After the rafting trip, we drove back to San Jose, stayed the night and went to the airport the next morning to fly to St. Louis, Missouri.

One of the neat parts of our trip was some of our dining experiences. The little town we stayed in was quiet and peaceful with not too many people. Restaurants and shops were all outside...nothing was inside or air conditioned. One restaurant in particular stood out for Ben and me. This great little place was owned by a woman and her boyfriend who appeared to be in their thirties and most likely they were Spanish. There were several Spanish and American immigrants in Punto Uva. The food there was delicious. Every day the meal changed according to the meat and fish they could get fresh that day. I had the most fresh shrimp and salad with the most pungent herbs. Ben had a delicious beef tenderloin...we also had sushi there one other night, and we discovered a new favorite drink--caiprinika, an alcoholic drink made with rum, tons of crushed lime, and sugar cane. Not sure if we'll find that in the U.S. but it's such an easy drink to make that we can probably make it ourselves if we like!

I hope you enjoy the pictures and stories...stay tuned for our adventures in St. Louis!

Wedding Day, Part 1 (non-professional pics)

On June 18th, I probably woke up about 6 or 7 times during the night because I couldn't believe that later that day I'd be walking down the aisle to marry the man of my dreams. At about 6:30 am I gave up even trying to sleep and bounced out of bed, hopped into the shower and got ready for my hair appointment. At 9am my mom and I were at the salon getting my hair done--a simple hair, half up (more like a quarter up) and the rest down in cascading curls. It only took about an hour to do, and then we left to go back home to get all the stuff I'd need for the day into the car and drive over to the Hidden Chateau.

We arrived at the Chateau at around 12:30 and a few minutes later our photographer, Michelle Chiu, arrived as well (I will post her professional pics online when I get them! She's awesome by the way. Check out her website at: michellechiu.net to see her blog and portfolio!). For the first half hour I just soaked it all in, looking around the garden, checking out my bouquet which was soaking in water, and admiring the decor put together by Annette and Roxy along with the catering staff and wedding staff at the Chateau. It seemed surreal yet at the same time it was exactly what I had imagined and hoped for.

Laurie, my mother-in-law, and Alicia, my aunt

Earlier that week, it had been cold (hard to believe in June, huh?!). But amazingly enough the weather was PICTURE PERFECT on Saturday the 18th. It wasn't too cold or too hot. It was in the 70s for most of the day and probably only dipped into the high 60s by the time the reception ended at 10pm (the ceremony and reception were both outdoors).

Cousin Greg and my sister's boyfriend, Jeremy

Ben and his mom

After soaking in the environment and reality of the day, I got my make-up done by the amazing make-up artist, Shannon French who just happens to be one of my best friends. She, unfortunately, was sick but she came anyways and did a beautiful job on my make-up even though she felt horribly ill the entire time (I felt so bad!). She even stayed all the way through dinner before finally allowing her boyfriend, Nick, to take her home. What a trouper!

Uncle Leo and Aunt Marilyn

One of my flower girls, Claire

Cadence, my other flower girl and my cousin's daughters

After make-up came dress time and that was the truly exciting part because that's when I saw everything come together for the first time and I actually looked like a bride. Before, when I had tried on the dress, my hair was always a mess and I had little to no make-up on, so I never was able to completely picture the final "product." It was definitely and emotional moment seeing it for the first time, because even though I was never one of those girls who dreamed about her wedding, I did always wonder what I'd look like as a bride, and now I knew. I could wait for Ben to see me!

My student, Alex, and my colleague, Kathy

Our ring bearers and nephews, Logan & Landon

After snapping some solo shots and shots with Shannon, Michelle set up our "first-look" pictures where Ben would get to see me for the first time before we had to get loads of pictures done with family and friends. I'd highly recommend doing this because instead of wasting hours of our own wedding reception taking pictures, we got to enjoy most of the time.

Then came the ceremony! It was so beautiful. My bridesmaids and groomsmen were terrific and our flower girls and ring bearers were show stealers because all four of them are freaking adorable (just wait till you see the professional pics of all of them!). My dad and I had our own long aisle which was so cool because it really dramatized that beautiful moment and while I walked down the aisle, one of my students, Alex Mansour (a true talent!) played classical guitar with my colleague, Kathy. Our officiant, Father Todd Scull, was a former teacher as well as former colleague of mine who works with my dad at Reseda Science Magnet. He did a beautiful job with the ceremony. My mom and Aunt Marilyn read Bible passages and my co-worker, Kathy Rohrs, sang a responsorial song while playing the guitar. Ben and I said our vows, exchanged rings (it was funny when I put Ben's on because it was so hard to get over his knuckle!), lit a unity candle, gave our moms roses, and ended with the kiss! Btw, during our rehearsal of the ceremony Ben was so cute because all he kept saying was, "When do I get to kiss her?" My mom thought that was adorable.

Best man, Paul, and Maid of Honor, Breanna

Groomsman, Erick, and bridesmaid, Melissa

My dad passing me over to Ben

After the ceremony, we whisked off for a few more pictures (but not too many since we had taken most before the ceremony). Our guests enjoyed the most amazing appetizers, wine, beer, and champagne...Bella Donna Special Events did an amazing job with this! We had mini beef wellingtons, guava and goat cheese quesadillas, and brushchetta (I can't spell any of these things!). After we were done with pictures it was nice to be able to relax with the wedding party and snack on these tasty treats before being introduced at 6pm! During this time, guests received their seating cards which were personalized bookmarks I had made each guest...it took a lot of time but I'm glad I did it because it was such a personal touch (as were the centerpieces which I made with Annette as well). Ben's personal touch to the wedding were his boutineer flies that he made. I can't wait to get the professional pictures to show you all of these things!

Right after our introduction Ben and I had our first dance which was "Swept Away" by the Avett Brothers. Following this came my dad's toast and salads were served. During salad time, a video made by my dad (I'll try to upload it to YouTube and include a link) was played which was so beautiful. It showed Ben and I when we were young, growing up, then when we first met, our engagement in the Bahamas, and our engagement pictures. After this came the full dinner.

Dinner was amazing even though I was too excited to eat much of it. We had mango-salsa chicken, wild rice pilaf, veggies, and rolls. My sister had made cake-pops for everyone and put them at their place settings. We also included business cards with requests for all photography to be uploaded to a shutterfly account we had made. That's how I got the pix I'm including in this post!

After dinner the dance floor opened and we had dancing and "hanging out" time. Our candy bar opened up...what a hit! People love candy bars, by the way. In fact, if you're planning a wedding, this is a simple and fairly inexpensive way of pleasing your guests. It gives them something fun to do as they pick out candies they'll enjoy and it also serves as a favor. Trust me, they'll love a candy bar a lot more than stupid flower seeds or bubbles or any other junk you plan on giving them that you know you'd throw in a drawer if you were the one receiving it (no offense to anyone who did this! haha).

The rest of the evening was filled with traditional wedding events including cutting the cake (which was gorgeous!!), tossing the bouquet (congrats Bianca!) and the garter (congrats Erick!), and hanging out with our guests while dancing and having yummy wine. We had a coffee and tea bar but sadly I never even got to it cuz I was so busy. Ben and I didn't get to the candy bar either, but we had candy saved for us which was nice!

Other nice touches that we tried to include were photographs of our engagement pictures throughout including a large canvas photo that is now hanging in our bedroom. The guest book, made by my sister and her boyfriend, Jeremy, was beautifully personalized and so us! The cover was made of wood. Annette also personalized the wedding party table by providing us the ladies with flip flops and all of us with gum, mints, and red bull! How sweet :)

We spent our first night as husband and wife at the Malibu Country Inn where we had our own patio complete with jaccuzi! I'd highly recommend...it's not fancy but it's comfy and there's a view of the ocean from the patio...the spa was a really nice touch!

For now my photo supply is limited but I can't wait to share with you the professional pics by Michelle Chiu as soon as they are ready!! ;)

Our Rehearsal Dinner

Ben and I decided to have our rehearsal dinner at Maggiano's, the place where we had our first date on January 10, 2010. That first date was such a magical night for both of us. Ben arrived first but sat in his car until he saw me walk up and sit down at the patio. He made me wait for a couple minutes! I was sitting there playing with my phone, pretending I was busy, not just some loser waiting for a date ;)

Then after those couple minutes passed I saw the guy I had been chatting to online with via Match.com. He was sooo handsome and he was carrying gorgeous pink tulips. I still remember what he was wearing...dark jeans and a black shirt that had light pinstripes (the shirt he wore to the rehearsal dinner! coincidence? I think not!). I nearly jumped out of my seat with excitement. I had been a chronic online dater for several years, trying it on and off and I had never met anyone like Ben online before. We had great online email conversations and we were about to embark on the best adventure of my life-literally! Since meeting Ben we have traveled to Mammoth, Cambria, the Salton Sea, St. Louis (twice), Chicago, the Bahamas, the Mojave Desert, and for our honeymoon we went to Costa Rica! We just finished backpacking 26 miles in the southern Sierras. Life with Ben is anything but boring! We've ziplined, white water rafted, fished, hunted (well he did the hunting), snorkeled, hiked, biked, climbed, and explored. But for our rehearsal dinner we took it back to where it all started--Maggiano's. Where the red wine, flowers, and great conversation swept me off my feet! Oh yeah, and the fact that he looks like Brad Pitt does help a bit ;)

Here are some pictures of the rehearsal dinner!

Ben and I getting excited!

My mom and Ben's cousin, Kristin, with her boyfriend, Greg

Ben's uncles, Wes and Stu, with my dad.

Aunt Alicia and Uncle Jim

Uncle Leo, Aunt Marilyn, and cousin, Greg

My cousin, Heather, her husband, Greg, and their kids

Me passing out gifts to our wedding party

Mama and Me

James, the cutest baby boy ever!

My sister-in-law, Melissa and her kids, Landon and Paige

Ben's Uncle Guy, Aunt Karla, & Aaron

My sister and her boyfriend, Jeremy

Ben's groomsmen, Paul and Erick, and Erick's girlfriend, Bianca

Ben's parents, Laurie and Gary

Our wedding wouldn't have been nearly as wonderful without my amazing wedding planner and friend, Annette, and her friend (now mine too!), Roxy. Thanks ladies!