Post College
Life after college saw me moving in with my parents for a few months before deciding to move to Cheektowaga, a suburb of Buffalo, to live with my then-boyfriend. If you ignore the year-long break we took during college, we’d been dating since our senior year of high school. Yet I refuse to acknowledge that we were high school sweethearts (it’s too sweet and mushy for this sarcastic cynic).
Wedding party, family and guests on the beach after the ceremony
A Destination Wedding
That following spring we traveled to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic for my sister’s wedding. She had always dreamed of a destination wedding, and made the plans shortly after getting engaged. By letting everyone know the plans a year in advance, it allowed people to plan and save for the trip. There ended up being a group of 25 people who were able to attend, including the bride, groom, wedding party, parents, siblings, aunts, cousins, and a few close friends.
They’re married, now it’s time to party!
The wedding went off beautifully with a gorgeous beach ceremony with laughter, tears, and love. A dinner reception and some dancing followed the ceremony overlooking the beach before our whole group moved the party to the resort’s disco. We were certainly a lively bunch with my dad, sisters, and I making a conga line à la Weekend at Bernie’s. Hands down though, my mom somehow managed to be the most outrageous. Once we were at the disco, my normally fairly reserved, petite, blond mother started salsa dancing up a storm with a guy we met in the disco who kept giving her his wardrobe as they danced: first his hat, then his glasses, and culminating with his shirt. The rest of us stood with our mouths hanging open in shock which turned to whoops of laughter as the dance progressed. It was definitely a night to remember!
Stop & Smell the Sea Breeze
Walking that gorgeous beach
Early the next morning I was lured out of bed with the promise of a couple’s massage and talked into a walk on the beach beforehand since we were ready early. My boyfriend and I were enjoying the breeze off the ocean and walking the nearly empty beach when we paused to chat and take in the view. Sometimes you just have to stop and soak in the moment. The air was warm and the breeze silky against our skin, there was hardly anyone else out to spoil our view of the Caribbean Sea sparkling along the white sandy beach. In a word, it was heavenly.
A Proposal
Unbeknownst to me, everyone there (including the bride) was helping him plot a proposal during the trip following the wedding. I said yes that morning on a palm tree leaning out over the beach with my favorite person down on one knee in front of me. (Not sure it gets any dreamier…) There may have been some tears, but being a smart man, he’d brought a pack of tissues with him. He then broke the news that there was no couples massage booked, but he hoped the sparkly diamond made up for it.
The perfect proposal palm!
It did, but I still like to hold it over his head that he owes me a massage.
Time to Save for Our Own Wedding
We spent the next two years living life as cheaply as we could in order to save up for our own wedding. During this time we also purchased our first home together. It was difficult, but we managed it. This enabled us to pay for our wedding and honeymoon without any debt, and without financial strain on our families. This also taught us just how much money we could save up for traveling if we kept our day-to-day spending to a minimum.
Tell me about your engagement and/or wedding in the comments below!
What a gorgeous post. I didn’t want it to end.
Congratulations!! What an amazing time you’ll all never forget!
Thank you, that’s a helluva compliment! We all told my sister that if they go back to Punta Cana to celebrate their anniversary, we all want to come too!
Such an amazing post with great photos! Enjoyed reading it.
Thank you, so wonderful to hear people are enjoying my blog!
Kelly, this sounds like such a perfect moment! It’s so sweet that he had your whole family in on the plan! My husband recreated our first date to purpose to me, it was perfect AND he custom designed my ring! I loved it all and obviously love him! Our one year anniversary is at the end of the month!
Yeah, I really like him, I think I’ll keep him 😉 Awww, sounds like your Mr. did a good job too!! Congratulations, wishing you two many more years of happiness together!
What a great love story ❤ so does like the perfect proposal! My wedding was super small and and held on the cliffside of our favorite beach. I wouldn’t have wanted anything differently. Happy wedding planning!
Thank you! Your ceremony sounds like perfection, wishing you many years of happiness!
Great proposal! May you have a blessed life together. I married my wife in Thailand this April. She’s Thai, so we went traditional.
Thank you so much! Oh that sounds so lovely and special, having a traditional wedding in Thailand. Wishing you many years of happiness together!
I love this! It sounds like your partner was very considerate and thoughtful. My (now) husband and I started dating at 16, and on our 5 year anniversary he proposed. It was cheesy and gushy and I must say, I totally ate it up. On our first date, we went star gazing, so he recreated that date the night he proposed. We carried that theme into our wedding as well, which made for a special detail. I absolutely LOVE engagements. Thanks for sharing!
Ohhhhh I love that! The stargazing date & proposal is adorable & clearly means a lot to you both (kudos to your Mr)!
Aww! Such a romantic proposal! It sounded absolutely perfect. Your sisters wedding sounded like so much fun too, your Mum salsa dancing made me laugh, it’s exactly the kinda thing my mum would do too! Glad you had a wonderful time. Lovely post Kelly <3 xx
Bexa
Thank you so very much!! He did a good job, I think I’ll keep him! 😉
Oh yes, mom’s salsa shenanigans were the stuff of legends. I love that your mom would do the same, we need good role models after all! 😂
What a gorgeous and special proposal story, your sister definitely had the right idea with a destination wedding too as that looked amazing!
Thank you so much! She really did, we all had the best time (Definitely my 2nd favorite wedding, the first obviously being my own 😉)!
What a beautiful wedding! Wishing you many years of happiness together. So unique. Also… love that you referenced Weekend at Bernie’s. No lie that used to be one of my favorite movies growing up haha
Thank you so much!! Yesss – I love Weekend at Bernie’s!