When we were still dating and the topic of “marriage” came into play in our conversation, we had discussed the style of wedding that we’d envisioned for ourselves. At the time, we thought we would have different ideas for a wedding, but surprisingly enough, we both said that our dream wedding would be to get married on the beach.
So who would have known, that many years later, that dream would become a reality!
We had our beautiful and intimate caribbean DIY Destination Wedding, surrounded by loved ones, in Ocho Rios, Jamaica.
Not only was it a wedding, it was an amazing vacation trip with our closest family and friends. A week filled with wonderful memories that we made together.
It was a time when new relationships, became close relationships…
…and when close relationships, became even closer.
It was a once in a lifetime experience and a memory that we will carry with us forever.
Why a destination wedding? Why not just a local wedding?
This seems to be a question that we’ve been asked quite often. So let’s talk about it, shall we?
When we decided we wanted to get married, we had a difficult time in the beginning of our wedding planning journey trying to decide where to have it.
In case you are new to this blog, I’ll start by filling you in a little about Our Story. I’ll explain why we had a difficult time and the reasons that made sense why we decided on a destination wedding.
Tricky and I were childhood friends who grew up on opposite sides of the country. Tricky is from New York and I’m originally from sunny California, where my weekends were usually spent at the beach. When we started dating, we were in a long distant relationship, flying back and forth every two months to visit one another.
When things became serious between us, we made the decision for me to pack my bags and move to the Big Apple to live with him. I left my beloved beach-loving life, my family and friends in California to move to New York with only 2 pieces of luggage. I gave everything else that I owned away to family and friends, including my car and I moved to start a fresh new life in New York City with Tricky.
The day I moved to New York with just 2 pieces of luggage. The stuff animal was my travel buddy. It was a gift from Tricky as a way to remember him whenever we were apart.
When we decided we wanted to get married, we couldn’t decide between our home states as to where to celebrate. It felt almost unfair for us to have to choose between California and New York. Why should we have to choose, when we love both places equally?
So our simple solution was, we decided not to choose between the two!
It made me think of how Tricky and I met and how we took a chance in love being across the country. We didn’t limit ourselves to finding love that was within distance or what was convenient. So the same applied to our thought process in our wedding planning. Why have any limitations?
Our DIY Wedding Invitations
We already knew for sure that we wanted to have our wedding on the beach. So why should we limit ourselves to only having it in either California or New York? We have this whole world as our playground with tons of beautiful beaches to explore. So that’s when we decided…a Destination Wedding was perfect for us!
The majority of our guests have never been to Jamaica before and were so excited to get the opportunity to go somewhere that they have never been to. It was a great excuse for us all to travel together and I can’t even begin to tell you enough how much fun we had! We truly felt so blessed for those who traveled so far to be by our sides. It really meant so much to us. We also felt so humbled by all the love and support that we received from everyone who were not able to attend but was still with us in spirit. It truly was a dream come true.
A Note to our new readers:
If you are new to our blog and you read this far, we would like to thank you so much for stopping by and following us on our journey. You are oh-so-amazing!
(Insert virtual hug here)
If you stumbled across our blog because you yourself are planning a destination wedding or already had your wedding, we would love to hear about it! Leave it in the comment section below so that we can reply.
If you have any questions, feel free to ask away! We love questions. Besides, when we started planning our wedding, we did tons of research and relied on other past couples who also had a destination wedding for answers. So if we can do the same and pass on the same kind of help as other couples have done for us, we will be so happy to do so.
Since our first blog post , we have received emails from other couples who are planning their own destination wedding. A few couples we have spoken to are also having their wedding at RIU resort where we had ours, so we were so thrilled that we are able to pass on our knowledge. We even had people who shared our blog with other couples who they knew are planning a destination wedding and were inspired. It has been so uplifting to know that people are interested in our new blog so we wanted to take the time to thank you so much for sharing and showing us love! We really appreciate it. We have a lot more in store that we can’t wait to share with you.
Until then, we hope you have an amazing week!
XOXO,
Event Credits
Venue: RIU Ocho Rios || Photographer: James Berglie
2nd Photographer: Sirin Samman || Videographer: Happy Kamper Films
Wedding Dress: Designed by your Bride || Wedding Invitations: Arlene & Tricky
Floral Crown: Arlene & Tricky || Bouquet: Arlene & Tricky || Bow Ties: Arlene & Tricky || FREE World Print & Wall Paper: Allons-y Kimberly
Disclaimer: All items mentioned above were purchased with my own money. Affiliate links help fund a small amount towards this blog with no cost to you, which help for me to continue to make thorough product reviews. Thank you so much for your support in this way.
Arlene & Tricky 