Ryan and Carrie’s Seaside Destination Wedding was a dreamy destination affair that epitomized the beauty and serenity of the coastal breeze, sandy beaches, and the vast ocean.
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Photographer: Jana Marie Photography Wedding Venue: Now Larimar, Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic Gown: The Gown Gallery Menswear: Men’s Wearhouse Invitations: Chris Collins Linens: Ultrapom Event Rental Travel Agent: Blissful Honeymoons & Destination Weddings
Ryan & Carrie’s Love Story Timing was very important! A mutual friend had tried to introduce us over the period of years and neither of us pursued the opportunity. In December of 2009, I went to a birthday party at Tomfooleries with our mutual friend that had been trying to play matchmaker. Ryan showed up with his friends and so the time had come that we would finally meet. As the evening continued, the birthday boy realized the fun of the evening wasn’t going to leave him feeling well enough to go to the next day’s Chiefs game. He offered the tickets to our table and Ryan grabbed them up. Then, he asked me to go on our first date to the game with him. It turned out being a long date; complete with tailgating, the game, and dinner on the boulevard afterward. After years of dodging meeting each other, we couldn’t have been more comfortable and excited to be in each others company. After dating for quite some time, Ryan decided to plan a trip to California. We flew into Oakland, rented a car and drove through Napa Valley, and then continued down the highway to stay in Monterey & Carmel. He waited until the last night to pop the question during a romantic dinner in Carmel. He had plenty of great opportunities to ask, including Big Sur and Pebble Beach, but he waited until the last night. By this time in the trip, I had gotten over the thought that he might propose. So when the question came, I was speechlessly surprised. While it was a destination wedding, I still wanted it to have personal touches & style. I am an Interior Designer, so I care a lot about details and photography. We traveled with suitcases of our items to have at reception tables to make the reception our own. The day finally came and ran incredibly smoothly. I got my hair and makeup done in the salon and had private wedding suite to get ready. Guests that had traveled to spend the day with us came to visit me in the morning and we enjoyed mimosas. Though I wanted a simple destination wedding, I did not want it to look too “resort” in our pictures. After Ryan and I had our first look moment, we headed out to the beach with our photographer to catch some beautiful pictures. It was extremely humid that day and Ryan was a trooper in his suit. We freshened up a bit and the ceremony took place in the afternoon. Cocktail hour with hor dourves and a sit-down dinner reception by the pool followed the ceremony. The rest of the evening we spent dancing pool-side. Our late-night entertainment included dancing fire throwers. They were a special treat for all of the guests! Their Favorite Part of the Day The wedding day was great! It was so amazing to have close friends & family come together for a vacation. We hung out together at the pool, beach, bars, ate meals together. All of the guests got to know each other very well and understand how meaningful they each were to Ryan and I. As a “thank you” to everyone for making the trip we rented a catamaran boat one day.
