Our Mexican Getaway

Wayne and I just got back from our last vacation of the summer, and it was absolutely wonderful! We went to Tulum, Mexico for one of Wayne's friend's wedding! We flew into Cancun early Thursday. Fernando (the groom) arranged for us to be picked up and driven to Tulum which was about an hour away. Our driver was so friendly and talkative...he laughed a few times when we practiced what little Spanish we knew :) Wayne and I were both a bit surprised when he offered us a cold drink and pulled Dos Equis out of a cooler! I guess that's allowed in Mexico, and we didn't want to be rude...at least he wasn't the one drinking :)



We stayed at the Blue Tulum Resort and Spa, and it was AMAZING! http://www.bluetulumresorts.com/el-resort.html


It's an all inclusive luxury boutique hotel located on the Riviera Maya in Mexico with the following amenities: 60 suites with Jacuzzis on the balconies, three gourmet restaurants (Mexican, Asian, and International), swim up bar, premium alcoholic and non alcoholic beverages, room service 24 hrs., a dedicated butler for each villa, spa, in room aromatherapy menu, pillow menu (yes, you could order special pillows!), Ipods with your music selection, wireless internet...just to name a few :) Here are some pictures:











I loved sitting on these swings, sipping my drink, and watching the waves!


The resort at night!

Here is Wayne sipping the champagne we were handed when we arrived, relaxing before dinner.

This is the jacuzzi on our balcony...I wish I was back there right now!

After unpacking and relaxing in our room for a while, we got dressed, and walked around the resort before meeting everyone for dinner. I really could not believe how beautiful it was.

That night we had drinks and appetizers in this outdoor area, and then went to the Asian restaurant to eat dinner with Fernando, his fiance Mayra, and the rest of their friends and family. Our group occupied almost 80% of the resort! Although I didn't know very many people there (Wayne knew more since he and Fernando have been friends since graduating college), everyone was so sweet to us, and they sure know how to have fun!

Day 2

On Friday, we had the day to ourselves. Our plan was to sleep in, eat breakfast, and then spend the rest of the day relaxing at the pool. But we had a little snag in our plans. We did sleep in and eat breakfast, but instead of hitting the pool right after that, we had to take a taxi into town...Wayne forgot his dress pants and was supposed to wear something other than jeans or shorts to the civil ceremony that night. The only "nice" pants he had were the ones he was wearing at the religious ceremony the next night. That's why I tell him it's good to overpack...you're always prepared!

It was actually kind of good that Wayne forgot his pants, otherwise, we wouldn't have had time to see the town. I was a bit surprised by the town because it wasn't Americanized at all. It was a truly authentic Mexican town, and I loved it. I wish we could have spent more time there, but we were on a pants mission. We did find out that women's clothes are everywhere, men's not so much. We only found one store with men's pants, and those were the ones he got. You'll see pictures coming up.


So after our shopping adventure, we quickly changed into our suits and headed to the pool.

The really white guy on the stool is my hubby :) We pretty much spent the whole time at the swim up bar getting drinks and food. We wanted to make the most of the "all inclusive" concept! My drink of the day was a strawberry colada and Wayne's was a mango margarita...I can taste them now!

After our day at the pool, everyone got ready for our first main event, the civil ceremony along with dinner, drinks, and dancing on the beach. We met in the lobby area (which is all open) and were then driven to this beautiful private beach area. Oh and these are Wayne's authentic Mexican pants. They're handmade out of some fabric I've never heard of, but they looked so good on him! I love the "island" look!

This is what we saw when we first walked up!

We actually ended up meeting another couple from Dallas! Their names were Sean and Lisa, and Sean knew Fernando from college. Anyway, we really hit it off and sat with them at most of the events. Plus Lisa wanted to take as many pictures as I did so we didn't have to feel bad about asking the other one to keep taking our pictures :)

Here's is Fernando, getting ready to see his bride. For those of you who came to our wedding, Fernando was a groomsman. He is truly one of the nicest guys I've ever met.

This is a picture of most of the guests during the civil ceremony.

And another of us...you'd think we're the ones getting married!

One more and that's it for this entry :)

Here is Mayra walking with Fernando after the ceremony. I'm so mad at myself because I didn't get any really good pictures of the two of them up close. She was so beautiful!


The ceremony was short and sweet and then it was time to party! They opened the bar, put a dance floor on the sand, served food, and everyone had the best time! We (everyone except me because I can't dance!) danced to a DJ and then a live band played for us.

The darker it got, the prettier it got. The lanterns shining on the cabanas were so neat. We stayed out pretty late, but I actually never got tired...which is rare for me!

Day 3

The third night was going to be the actual religious ceremony at our resort. It was supposed to start at 5:00 and then last through the morning ending with brunch! Since we knew it was going to be a long but fun night, we did more relaxing. We slept in and then went to breakfast. The restaurant that we always ate breakfast at was an open restaurant looking out at the pool, and the food was delicious. We always said we'd eat "light" for breakfast and lunch since our dinners have been so massive, not to mention our drinks, but that never happened. We chowed down for all three meals! After breakfast, Wayne and I had a couples massage. Wayne has never had a massage before, but I talked him into having one on this trip. He said he wasn't sure how he'd feel having someone else rubbing all over him...well, I think he's hooked now!

The massage was in the spa on a private balcony overlooking the ocean. It was so relaxing to be laying there, getting a massage, and hearing the waves. Afterwards, Wayne and I went back to the room and took a nice long nap to get ready for the night. Since Wayne was in the wedding, he had to leave earlier than me. I loved being able to take my time getting ready, sitting on the balcony doing my makeup, and not having to worry about anyone else except me...with an almost 2 year old, that's rare!


Even though the wedding was supposed to start at 5:00, it didn't actually start until 6:30. We've come to realize that's not unusual in Mexico...everyone takes their time and is very relaxed. I was having a hard time getting my dress zipped by myself. I looked at the clock and saw that it was already five, and I was still in my room, so I ran out (half zipped) hoping I'd see a maid or someone in our group on the way to the wedding who could help me. When I got to the beach area, frantic I was late, I saw only a handful of people there. Plus workers were still decorating! So I went back to the room and took my own time :)


You can see the groomsmen in lavender getting ready to walk out.

There's Wayne on the right.

Here comes the bride!

This little boy was the ring bearer and was so precious. He reminded me of Nathan and made me miss him :(

The wedding was beautiful. It was a full Catholic ceremony and was in Spanish so I didn't really understand what was being said. We had a program with everything written out so I tried to follow along as much as I could. Really, I just loved sitting there in such a beautiful setting. All of the guests were given beaded umbrellas for the sun, bubbles, and handmade fans. The planning and details for the wedding, and the whole weekend, were so perfect.

Here we are after the ceremony, during the sit down dinner.

Our dinner was served at tables around the pool area. Lights and candles were everywhere! Although there were other guests at the resort besides the wedding party, it was closed off to them so it really seemed like the wedding guests were the only ones there. I loved it because as the weekend went on, Wayne and I got to know more and more people. After dinner, these dancers on stilts danced up the stairs to where we were and started pulling guests down the stairs to the tented area. When we got there, this is what we saw...

Fire dancers! The tent was huge with white couches and chairs for everyone to sit on. Waiters walked around offering drinks and appetizers, and everyone was in a party mood!

After the fire dancers did their show, Fernando and Mayra had their first dance. They danced to the song, "Come What May" from the movie Moulin Rouge. I love that movie and song!

While they danced, we lit sparklers. It was so romantic!

This picture needs a little explaining. After Fernando and Mayra danced, a live band came on stage and really got the party going. During their songs, while everyone was on the dance floor, they passed out props. The longer you stayed and danced, the more props you got. Most of you who know me know that I am not a dancer...I have absolutely no rhythm! Well, that night (after a few drinks), I felt like I was really from Mexico! Everyone was such a good dancer, especially the girls. So Wayne got me out on the dance floor and I completely let loose! I had so much fun, and, in my mind, I thought I was the best dancer ever! The band passed out feather boas, hats, wigs, glasses, beads, balloons, and more...and I danced with all of them!

Fernando and Wayne...Even though my plan was to party all night long and into the morning, I just couldn't make it. I ended up going back to the room around 1:30. I really wanted to stay up longer, but instead of spacing out my fun, I went all out in the beginning. I had the most fun I've had in a long time! Wayne, on the other hand, stayed out until 7:00 am! He and a handful of other people saw the sun rise...I'm so proud of him :) What is so crazy is that the band played that whole time and never took a break! Needles to say, he was pretty much dead the next morning. He came in at 7:00, got in bed, and I could hardly wake him up for brunch at 10:30.

We knew we were going to be exhausted from all of the wedding activities, so instead of flying home that day, we went to Cancun on our own, and spent that day and night recovering.

Thank you so much to Fernando and Mayra for including us in your special day. It was a trip we'll never forget. Wayne and I are already wanting to plan a 2nd trip to the same place :)

Day 4

On our last day and night of freedom, Wayne and I went to Cancun and stayed at the JW Marriott to recover from the wedding festivities. It was really nice because it was just the two of us, and all we did was lay around and relax before returning home.

Our hotel was so nice! We both wished we had a few more days to just enjoy it, but we've already decided we're coming back next year!

This picture is from our balcony. There was a waterway that went all around the hotel.

The pool was amazing! This is from our balcony too! It looks like 3 separate pools, but they were all connected.

After enjoying the view from the balcony for a while, we put on our suits and headed to the beach. The water was crystal clear, and the waves were huge! People were out playing in the waves, so we figured they really weren't as big as they appeared to be...wrong! We waded out a few feet, and saw a huge wave coming. It broke right in front of us (like all waves do) but after the water rushed up over our feet, the current sucked it back out, and it was so strong! Wayne and I nearly fell over just from having the water go back out...it was nothing like Gulf Shores...which is what we're used to! We took a little while to get used to it and then decided to try to play in the waves a bit...I mean everyone else was out there. So after there was a bit of calm, we walked back out into the ocean (I let Wayne go ahead of me). Then this huge wave, and by huge, I mean 5 feet at least , started to billow up. I ran as fast as I could back to the shore! It was really scary! Wayne came back in a bit, but we both got knocked down :) It was so much fun, and if we had longer to stay, I probably would have gotten my courage up to try it. Also, since I'm short, those waves probably seemed scarier to me than to others :) Here's a video of the brave people attempting the waves: