Destination Wedding Planning

Geoff and I have started working on the logistics of our wedding, and I am actually genuinely surprised by how complicated even the details can be!

Originally, we were going to have a summer wedding, since as a teacher that seems to make the most sense for me to get married during a long vacation (and Geoff's schedule is flexible). But, as it turns out, we decided that we wanted a destination wedding -- both to trim down the overall wedding costs for us and to allow us to spend some quality time with our guests who do decide to come -- and that changed everything. We picked out Belize as our desired destination, because we had both loved the island of San Pedro when we visited it a couple of years back. We checked airfare briefly and it costs about $500 to $600 to fly roundtrip from the States, so it's not entirely out of the realm of possibility for our friends who may wish to come, but at the same time would help to keep the wedding small and intimate. Plus, having the wedding in Belize opens up the slim possibility that our Salvadoran friends (who don't make American wages) might be able to fly/bus in as well to come to our wedding.

But, the decision to have a destination wedding in Belize changed everything because we cannot get married during the summer months (June - August) in Belize. That's the rainy season, so now we have to get married either during my February break (1 week) or my Easter break (2 weeks). We have not totally made up our minds yet as to which time frame is better in 2013 (since February is too hectic for us in terms of traveling from and back to Europe, and April is possibly more expensive for our guests because Holy Week is a popular Latin American holiday), but Geoff and I contacted a wedding planner and took a trip to Belize this past week (during my very short February break) to look at some potential venues and to meet our destination wedding planner.

Whew. I've never been one to dream of a perfect wedding (I think the most romantic part is to marry someone you have already been with for a number of years...), so to me the wedding-day logistics actually aren't so important as making the schedule and the cost feasible for our guests. Geoff and I looked at a variety of venues and resorts, some very posh and some that are more casual. (Geoff likes the posh resorts, because he thinks that people who are paying to fly to Belize will expect a certain level of luxury, but I prefer the more casual locations that have a more authentic island feel.) Even though many of our guests might opt to stay at hostels -- and San Pedro has some truly lovely ocean-view hotels/hostels that are reasonably priced and centrally located -- we wanted to give our friends an option of staying in our close vicinity, at the same resort, if that's what they choose to do. After visiting places with our wedding planner, we still have not decided anything -- not a date nor a venue, because we are waiting to hear back about group room rates and also whether we can block entire sections for our wedding guests. But we are very excited! During our short second trip to Belize, we had such a great and relaxing time in this tropical paradise that it absolutely affirmed our decision to get married there. Everything just felt perfect this second time back; we think that our guests will have a blast with all of the natural loveliness that Belize has to offer.

So, consider this a teaser! I am nervous that it's not all going to work out, but we're super excited that it could be completely amazing. :)

PS. Here is the link to our wedding planner's blog. She has some amazing photos of past weddings, that give you a feel of the raw beauty of San Pedro!

It's Unbelizable!

Without exaggeration, Belize is my favorite spot thus far in Central America. The ocean there is absolutely breath-taking; looking out from a boat, in every direction you can see the ocean scintillating in various shades of blue -- light blue, dark blue, aqua -- all because the water is so clear that its color reflects the plethora of marine life underneath the surface. The islanders are extremely warm and friendly, and overall, it's just an amazing place to visit.

We only spent three days on the San Pedro Island, but it was three days well spent in paradise! I wish we had more time to linger in the waters, because Belize has various well-established tourism options, such as cave-tubing and snorkeling. In the small amount of time that we spent there, we opted for a half-day trip on the Catamaran to snorkel among the beautiful reefs. Belize has the second largest barrier reef in the world, and supposedly the plentiful fish keeps the usual predators well fed, so that they stay a safe distance from human divers and snorkelers. (This includes predatory sharks such as bull sharks and whale sharks.)

While we were snorkeling in the water, we saw a giant sea turtle, many big fish, and a few large sting rays. The guide went down and grabbed one of the sting rays so that we can pat it near the surface of the water. It was majestic and stunning! (Geoff also saw a small shark -- probably a nurse shark, which is extremely docile and common to the area; the tour guide has lots of pictures where the tourists are swimming among and touching the nurse sharks!)

On land, there was a constant breeze that kept the island extremely temperate. They speak English there, because they were a British colony until 1981. But, they're also extremely diverse, and they have a cultural makeup that descends from the Russian Mennonites, Kriol, and Spanish-speaking Mestizos! As a result, it's a very interesting and eclectic place, where you can get a lot of different (good) beers and foods, and people speak all kinds of languages amongst themselves. It's so unique, that the locals even have a proud tagline: "It's Unbelizable!"

Geoff, Andrea, and I loved it. :) In fact, Geoff and I are thinking about spending part of our summer there, renting out a house near the beach... So, if you are thinking about visiting Belize, that might be a really good time to do so!

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In other news, I have finally purchased summer tickets to go to China! I haven't seen my parents for well over a year, so I'm very excited to be able to make this trip happen, both financially and logistically. :) But, I remembered belatedly that I'll need to get a visa before going to China this summer, and that's far from easy to do when you live in El Salvador. The closest Chinese consulates are in Cuba (which I'm not technically allowed to visit as an American citizen), Mexico, and Ecuador. There are also some additional difficulties, so it seems, with applying for a Chinese visa from a foreign country, because there are zoning restrictions and the consulates are not very patient with foreign applicants...

But, I'm not going to complain. This is a small snag compared to not being able to afford the trip at all, which is what I had feared. I just hope it will get resolved soon!