Jon and Shareen are two amazing people. And they had the amazing wedding they deserved.
So to give you a bit of background, Jon and Jaime became friends in the Marine Corps. Jon is originally from Iowa and because he was stationed at Camp Pendleton with Jaime, he would often come home with him on weekends to get away from the base. Jon moved to California after he got out of the military, and they have remained friends all these years. Fun fact: the night Jon and Shareen met, Jaime and I were there too. We had only been dating for a few months at this point, and we had all gone to a bar in Laguna Beach to see an 80's cover band - Flashback Heart Attack - and Jon met Shareen at the bar that night. Over the years I have become close with them too, so I was very happy to be able to be here for their big day. So, back to today....
Jaime and I slept in until 10:00am today. We were BEYOND exhausted from the big excursion yesterday. Luckily breakfast goes all the way until 11am, so we had plenty of time to get some food in our tummies before heading to the pool/beach. Jon and Shareen opted for a traditional wedding in that he was not allowed to see her all day, so for the most part, the girls and boys hung out separately today. We had to time relax on the beach, at the swim up bar at the pool, a few of us even went kayaking.
The stressful part of the day was deciding where the wedding would be. It is rainy season and it has rained every day since we got here, and the forecast said there was 70% chance of rain this evening. The wedding was set to be on the beach as you can see, but there was an alternate location under cover in the resort where it could have been if it ended up raining. There was also an alternate location for the reception. Shareen had to decide whether to play it safe and schedule it inside, or gamble that it would not rain and have it set up on the beach. She of course had to tell them several hours before so they could set up. Today was a beautiful day - and Shareen took the gamble and scheduled it outside. Not a drop of rain. So amazing. It was a bit cloudy, but that was actually quite nice because having the sun beat down on us would have made it pretty miserable.
At about 2pm. we went to the rooms to get ready for the 5pm wedding. Shareen was able to get her hair and makeup done at the Resort Spa, and they did an amazing job, she looked stunning. The ceremony went off without any issues, and the reception was so fun. There is a total of 19 people here for the wedding (including Jon and Shareen) so we all got to sit at one large table and it was very intimate. There was a 4 course meal that was served, and it was awesome - even my vegetarian meal was out of this world. After dinner and the cutting of the cake, we danced the night away and had a blast! It was very hot outside especially while dancing, but it was all just perfect. We said a special prayer today and God truly answers prayers, He gave us an amazing day for an amazing couple.
So, now after ordering room service again (3rd night in a row) we are heading to bed. Tomorrow is a big day - Jaime and I will be celebrating our 3 year anniversary. 3 years ago tomorrow we had our first date. We don't have anything planned, just more relaxing at the pool and beach. Our big plans are Whale Sharks on Sunday. Looking forward to a day where literally nothing is planned and we can just chill and not even have to look at the time.