Made in the Shade: Gifts of Thanks

After the rehearsal dinner, Mr. Ball Cap and I took a moment to thank everyone for all they had done to help make this moment possible for us.  We wanted to especially thank our parents and bridal party for their involvement and I was so excited to finally share the gifts we had gotten them all!

My girls received the following:

Matching earrings and necklace purchased on eBay.

Snowflake brooch purchased a the jewelry and fashion show.

Sequin edged scarf to help keep shoulders warm, purchased at Macy's.

For the parents, each received a handkerchief that I had emroidered with custom phrases.

Made in the Shade: We Rehearse

On Friday evening, December 30th, friends and family gathered at our church, St. Andrew the Apostle, to rehearse for the ceremony.  We were fortunate to also have our talented photographer, Stephen Martin, on hand for the evening.

Dad and I got the party started, complete with a bouquet made from bows from our shower gifts.

Father was all business during our rehearsal and really stressed the importance of what we were about to do.  He did a wonderful job at explaining the meaning of the ceremony and many of our non-Catholic friends and family commented that they really enjoyed feeling so included process.  

Sunhats at Secrets: Honeymoon Wrap-Up

Our stay at Secrets Silversands was our first experience at an all inclusive resort and it far exceeded any expectations.  I can't say enough about the service and the staff and we'd go back in a heartbeat.

During our last days, we spent a lot of time at the main pool.  I got a lot of reading done, attempted to get a tan and we even met another couple from Chicago.  There was never a shortage of action around the pool and the entertainment staff was a blast.

She was a riot!

Sunhats at Secrets: Excursion Adventure

After several days at the resort, we knew we wanted to experience at least one excursion.  Mr. Ball Cap is really into history so we looked into traveling to Tulum, Mecixo to experience some of the Mayan ruins.  The only downside to this was that it was almost two hours away from our resort.  We were hoping to find something a little closer to avoid spending so much time traveling.

While on a visit to a sister resort of Silversands, Maroma, one of the staff members spoke highly of Xplor, an adventure park in Riviera Maya.  The park was only 45 minutes from our resort and offered some fun and unique experiences.  Count us in!

At Xplor, you can fly over treetops on 14 zip lines, drive amphibious vehicles on trails through the jungle as well as inside caves, swim in an underground river surrounded by stalactites and stalagmites, and take an underground raft ride using hand paddles.

We wore our swim suits all day and brought along water socks for our feet.  The park requires you to wear helmets for safety.  Each helmet has a unique number, and at the end of the day, the park can pull up pictures taken of you during your visit based upon your helmet number.*  This was great as there was no way to safely take a camera with you.

We decided to hit up the zip lines first while the day was still early and the weather wasn't quite as hot.  There was quite a bit of climbing so we got our work out in for the day!  I was pretty disappointed that the park cameras didn't capture very good pictures of us during this time, but we had a blast.

Sunhats at Secrets: We Feast

I think I was stuffed for at least the first three days of our honeymoon.  There was so much food! 

We started out each morning at the large breakfast buffet.  They had EVERYTHING.  You could choose from traditional fare like eggs, bacon, bagels, and cereal or feast on chorizo tacos or fresh smoothies made to order.  Want to get the party started early?  Help yourself to the mimosa and bloody mary bar!

For lunch, there was always the option of another buffet, or several outdoor grills, including the seafood restaurant, Oceana.

The menus were huge!

Sunhats at Secrets: We Arrive!

The weekend before Memorial Day, Mr. Ball Cap and I set off for a week long honeymoon in Rivera Cancun.  I can't tell you how much we were looking forward to doing a whole lot of relaxing.  After the wedding, an insane tax season for me, and an intensive job search for Mr. BC (he landed one!), we just wanted to soak up some sun and focus on nothing but each other. 

This place delivered.

One of eight pools!