Monday, December 15, 2014

Jamaican Vacation

Oh vacations.  Why must they go so fast?  Our 5 nights of fun, sun, and celebration in Jamaica went oh so fast but were oh so fun.  We flew out super early (5:10 am!) on Friday, December 5th.  It was a super early morning but we were at the resort in Montego Bay by 1:30 pm that day, so it was worth the early morning!  We were greeted with this view!

  
Welcome to Paradise!
We spent Friday getting settled in.  The wedding weekend got kicked off with a cocktail hour at 5 pm.  Luke and Courtney had 74 people travel to Jamaica for their wedding so we had quite the big (and fun!) group!
Phil and I at the welcome happy hour
 The highlight of our time in Jamaica was definitely the wedding.  The day was beautiful and you could just tell how happy and excited Luke and Courtney were. Courtney looked stunning in her vintage wedding gown. 


My groomsman and I. 
When it came time to sit down, I had a sort of epiphany.  The other person I was sitting with asked if I thought there were certain sides for the bride and groom and I realized that this is probably the first wedding I've been to where I felt like I belonged on both sides.  Phil and Luke are college friends so their relationship goes back 10+ years, but I met Courtney and Luke at the same time and have gotten really close to both of them.  It was neat to have that realization.

Seaside vows


The beautiful bride and I
After the wedding and dinner that followed, we headed out to the beach for the wedding dance.  It was an eerily beautiful night!  Phil and I were on the dance floor for the entire wedding dance and had so much fun.


Luke and Courtney's first dance was extra special as Courtney's brother-in-law sang it while playing guitar.


Besides the wedding, there was lot of relaxation, 2 excursions (snorkeling off a catamaran and visiting a lagoon area with water that glowed in the dark when you swam it in), swimming and lots of reading while soaking up the sun.




This was our first beach vacation and we gave it two thumbs up.  The weather was perfect, the resort was beautiful, the friends were traveled with were fun, and we both came back refreshed and relaxed.


And it didn't hurt that we got upgraded to first class on all of our flights!

Look at all that leg room!

Now it's back to reality but luckily we have the excitement of the Holiday Season to help ease the post-vacation blues! We are already talking about where we want to go next, though!

24 comments:

Gracie said...

I bet you especially appreciated the warmth, coming from Minneapolis in December! Looks lovely.

Caroline said...

Glad you had a great time!! Looks beautiful

J and A said...

Looks amazing!! I love Jamaica! Your wedding dress is perfection!

Nora said...

Awesome on the first class upgrade!!! Glad you had such a great time. You and Phil are such an adorable couple :)

Leigh said...

Looks like a wonderful wedding and holiday! I'm jealous for sure :)

Anonymous said...

The only good thing about coming home from vacation is getting started planning for your next one! Glad you and Phil had a good trip!

Jolene - EverydayFoodie said...

What a beautiful bride!! It sounds like a perfect beach vacation to me, and how nice that you got upgraded to first class!! Leg room makes a BIG difference in how enjoyable the flight is.

I really want to go to Jamaica one day - it looks beautiful :-)

Carolina John said...

Outstanding fun! Jamaica is such an interesting culture. it's the only country I've been to where they drive on the left hand side of the road, and I was too young to drive when I was there. Looks like you guys had a blast.

Lauren @ Sassy Molassy said...

Ah, it sounds like you guys had a great time and the wedding sounded really wonderful too! And I can't believe you guys got upgraded on all your flights! Do you ask or is it because of your Delta status? Have a great week!

Stephany said...

Ah... Jamaica is my favorite! I'm so glad you enjoyed your beach vacation. They are my favorite. And I'm sure being in tropical paradise is DIVINE, coming from Minneapolis.

CML said...

Thanks for the kind words Lisa! We're so glad you and Phil were able to join us, and it makes us happy to know you were happy in Jamaica!! Great photos too. :)

Kelly (She Wears a Red Sox Cap) said...

Ah, these pictures are making me so jealous!
Also, I love all your dresses and the brides dress, haha :)

AND, please send a first class upgrade my way. I can never show Eric that picture of Phil with so much space hahah

Charis Faith said...

Love it!!! I thoroughly enjoyed the picture updates! I'm so glad that the beach vacation was a huge success! That is awesome that y'all got upgraded to first class! I am amazed at how beautiful the location was if the pictures are that incredible I can't imagine how much more so it was in person! Welcome home :)

Amber said...

I've NEVER flown first class before!! I hope I get a sweet upgrade one day because I will never be able to afford those prices I don't think. Haha.

I'm so glad you had such an amazing vacation. I am kind of leaning towards doing another beach vacation in 2015. There are a lot of places I am dying to visit but right now I just really want to RELAX for awhile and I remember our Mexico vacation a couple of years ago was super relaxing and lovely. It's so fun you guys have a great group of couple friends you enjoy traveling with too!

Kyria @ Travel Spot said...

That looks like such a nice, warm and relaxing holiday! I am glad you had fun.

When I did the RTW trip, I used points to fly first class and it was SO worth it, especially for the longer and/or overnight flights!

Abby said...

Looks like a perfect trip with the right mix of relaxation and fun! Those beaches look perfect!!!! And the wedding looks beautiful. So happy for you!

We got upgraded to 1st class coming home from our honeymoon in Cancun. It was sooo nice to have that leg room for a longer flight.

Shoshanah said...

Looks like such an awesome December getaway! I'm glad you too had a great time, on what I believe was your first big trip together? And I do have to say I'm a bit impressed, (and maybe slightly jealous!) with how many pictures Phil agreed to.

Nilsa @ SoMi Speaks said...

Jamaica is beautiful; you and Phil are adorable; and, you look great! Finally, a flight that lands you somewhere fun and relaxing (instead of somewhere for work). Such a well deserved break!

Becky said...

Yes! So glad you had a great time, and came back so refreshed! What a perfectly timed trip! Congrats to your friends - they look so happy (as do you and Phil!)

Linda said...

Love this!!

It's kind of a dream to have close friends choose an awesome destination for a wedding.

Also, first class is on my bucket list.

Elizabeth said...

Looks and sounds amazing! SO glad you were able to have that time together and to support your friends. Such a great realization that you had while seated at the wedding also--that had to of been a great feeling. The excursions Phil and you did sounded so fun! What an incredible trip!!

San said...

What a fun trip, Lisa! And I'd love to get upgraded to 1st class sometime... man, that would make long-distance flying much more comfortable! :)

Jeanie said...

Two words for this post: Absolutely GLORIOUS!

The Many Thoughts of a Reader said...

Looks like fun! I had such a blast in Jamaica. I need to get back to a beach soon!