Senor Jason Got Married!!

[lambert13]

Welcome To Thunderdome!

7 AM July 4th I pop out of bed thirty minutes before the alarm was supposed to go off. Having my own room (which I referred to as Thunderdome the whole trip) the night before the ceremony was a good idea so that I could get ready in my own way while not seeing Karen before the wedding. SO, out of bed and my Thunderdome CD went right into the player to start waking myself and my neighbors up to some early morning EPMD “Strictly Busines”

Hop into the shower, throw on some clothes and the Yankee hat and its off to the breakfast buffet for my last meal as a single man. Since I was in the mode of telling everyone that I saw that I was getting married in a few hours, the Maitre ‘D was no exception. He made such a production of it yelling over to a waiter to “take good care of Senor Lambert, he is getting married this morning and he needs the best service possible”. I don’t think I ate much because I was too excited and worried about getting back to the room, I mean Thunderdome, in time to get ready. I did remember to grab a shot glass full of El Jimador Reposado Tequila to bring back to Thunderdome though.

Back at the room after telling everyone I passed that I was in the final countdown (que the bad song in your head), it was time to get ready in my very under-air conditioned room. But first.........El Jimador Strikes Back



The musica returned and my neighbors had some sort of adversion to loud fast punk rock at a high volume at 8 in the morning. Oh well, today was my day.

I was ready by 9:45 like Sandra (our wedding coordinator) told me to be but the flowers were late. My room was overlooking the site of our wedding and I had been looking out there every ten minutes or so all morning to see if they were getting ready or not and even went as far as to leave the room to check the other site to make sure they were not setting up there. I was getting a bit antsy so I called my sister to chat for a while since I knew that talking to her would calm me down a bit and help keep my mind off of waiting. Then the call came......... flowers were here and it was time to go down to the site. I turned off the musica, put the photos of my family that I had brought with me into the inside pocket of my suit jacket right next to my heart and headed downstairs.



Sandra, The Judge and Juan (our videographer were down there waiting for me. I took off my shoes, introduced myself to everyone except Sandra and I immediately started to well up out of happiness and anticipation.



Then came one of the best moments of my life.......... Sandra said “there she is”. I turned around and saw Karen for the first time that day. I was absolutely blown away. I could not believe that I was going to get married to someone that beautiful. She looked like a 40's era glamorous movie star in a wedding gown.....only better and more beautiful. She walked up and all I could manage to say was “hi sweetie, you look beautiful”.

The Judge performed a wonderful ceremony giving us advice, encouragement and trying to set us off on the right foot. Until we saw the video I could barely remember anything he said except for a few things that stood out. I was just so wrapped up in being married and looking at Karen the whole time to really hear everything. And the moment when he said “you may kiss your bride”, our song “I Can’t Help Falling in Love With You” came on just as we kissed. There I was on a beautiful beach, with my beautiful bride and our song playing in the background. Life has a way of creating perfect moments once in a while and that was one of them.

The ceremony was followed by champagne cake and Tequila that was given to us by dear friends of ours (one of which is our favorite new member here). After all of that we did a little bit of picture time with Vanessa and Juan and before they left we got them roped into Tequila shots as well.

Then it was lunch time. Sandra arranged a private lunch in the gazebo overlooking the ocean for the two of us. I lit up the Cohiba I bought the day before and we had a fantastic lunch as a newly married couple.

The rest of the day was filled with beach time, private time and getting congrats and cheers from everyone at the resort. The Bride and Groom t-shirts might have been a subtle hint that we just got married. Either that or the ear to ear smiles we both had on our faces all day.

630 Rolled around and it was time for the surprise dinner. You have no idea how hard it was to keep it a surprise the whole time. I was so in love with the idea that I wanted to tell everyone about it but I knew that it would be better as a surprise. We headed up to Akumal right around sunset time, bought a bottle of wine and killed a few minutes sitting on a stone wall in town waiting till 730 for our reservation time. 730 came about and we walked over to the Lol Ha restaurant. Now....I had put in quite a bit of planning for this meal and I was hoping and praying that it would be everything I thought it would. It had taken emails, phone calls, money transfers, asking people from the LocoGringo forum to check some things out in person for me and a lot of research in general. It was all worth every minute of planning. We were lead though the restaurant and out the back door down towards the beach. Just as they had promised there was a tiki torch path leading to a palapa draped with linen gauze lit up by candle light and our own private table inside with a slight opening giving us a view of the bay with the changing colors of the sunset.



We were in our own little world there on the beach with Flamenco music adding to the scene coming from the restaurant. We ordered some amazing food. I got Caribbean Curry Chicken and Karen got the Mahi Mahi and we had out first dinner together as husband and wife. The whole dinner experience was so romantic, so amazing and everything I could have hoped for.



We finished dinner, had some Mayan coffee and headed back out to the rental car for the drive back to Dreams. Right on cue as we were getting into the car we saw a few fireworks going off in the distance. It might have been some Americans celebrating the 4th of July, but I like to think that it was all just to help cap off the best day of my life.



Back at Dreams we enjoyed the special honeymoon turn-down service and that is where this telling of our wedding day story officially ends.

So.....thats our wedding day story from my perspective. If I can convey even a tenth of how happy I was (and still am) I would be doing very well. As I get more time this week I am going to start up a report of sorts for the whole trip with photos and everything. For now I put a link to some of the photos of the honeymoon that we already have uploaded and the link to our wedding album.

Our Honeymoon Photos

Our Wedding Photos[/url]

[carrie77]

Awesome report Jason! I had chills and tears the whole time I was reading it. I gotta do some stuff now, so I'll check your pics later. Thank you for sharing your day! Sounds like it was everything you could have hoped for!

[DataAriaNuZoo]

Uh-huh - GREAT report.

And wait till you see the pix.

Give yourself some time -
They are 2 die for.

[CancunCanuck]

Congratulations Jason and Karen! Wow, your report made me cry as though I were actually there (I'm a sucker for weddings). I'm so glad it was absolutely perfect for you, may you have many wonderful years together and many more perfect days.

[janie]

Bravo! :lotsoflove: Bravo! :lotsoflove: Bravo!

Handsome groom and beautiful bride ...what a wonderful wedding day!!!

Loved the pictures, Jason.

Congrats and Best Wishes to you both! :lotsoflove:

[Steve]

Congratulations, and great pics (although I've come to expect that from you!)

I look forward to reading the rest of the report

[NormsKid]

Congrats on the perfect wedding! Looking forward to more........

Thanks for sharing your day with us!!!

Michelle

[TANDG]

Congratulations. What a perfect day, and a beautiful couple!

[R.I. GAL]

Congratulations and best wishes to you both always :!: :!:

I truly hope you are both always as happy as you look in your beautiful photos :!: :!:

All the best :!: :!:

[Tbonita]

Congratulations Jason & Karen !!

The pictures are spectacular. You both look fantastic !

Wishing you a lifetime of happiness together.

~ Tammy

[ChicagoTom]

:lotsofmichaelf:




Congratulations to both of you. Your narrative and pictures were a pleasure to read and view.

[lambert13]

Thank you everyone! The full trip report will be here soon. There is not a whole lot to tell from this trip since all we did was lay around on the beach, but there are a few stories that need to be told.

[carrie77]

Great pictures Jason! I finally had time to enjoy them. Thank you for sharing them. I'm looking forward to reading your stories!

[EngineerGuy]

wonderful pics and a great report, congrats!!

[mitchellfam]

Wow! Super Wedding Report Jason!!!!

I am so happy for ya'll...she is so lucky to have a romantic guy like you....your report was fantastic!!!!

The pictures were awesome as well...can't wait to hear these stories that need to be told...

[apple]

stunning..i was waiting to see these photos.

congrats to the both of you

[lambert13]

Originally Posted by apple

stunning..i was waiting to see these photos.

congrats to the both of you

Thanks again everyone. I am about halfway through the trip report right now. There just isnt enough time to work on it at the moment.

As a part of our 4 wedding in four countries tour over the next six months, we will be up in Canada at the falls for a wedding in September. Any recommendations for stuff to do up there?

[janie]

"our 4 weddings in four countries" ???

what's that all about?

[lambert13]

Originally Posted by janie

"our 4 weddings in four countries" ???

what's that all about?

My Father got married in NY about a month ago.
Karen and I got married in Mexico.
Friends of ours are getting married in Canada at Niagara Falls in Sept.
Other friends are getting married in the Dominican Republic in January.

Since we get to go to all of them, thats 4 weddings in 4 different countries. Makes me feel like some sort of international vagabond.

[apple]

Originally Posted by lambert13

Thanks again everyone. I am about halfway through the trip report right now. There just isnt enough time to work on it at the moment.

As a part of our 4 wedding in four countries tour over the next six months, we will be up in Canada at the falls for a wedding in September. Any recommendations for stuff to do up there?

right in niagara falls?

definately do the maid of hte mist or the whirlpool jet tour. the casino is really nice and they have some big name shows.

if youre into wine, the region is great for wine and they have lots of vineyards that you can do tours with?

if you want to make the trek to toronto..thats another story, but its only an hour and a half or so. let me know and i can throw out some more suggestions. :P

[Tbonita]

[lambert13]

Originally Posted by apple

right in niagara falls?

definately do the maid of hte mist or the whirlpool jet tour. the casino is really nice and they have some big name shows.

if youre into wine, the region is great for wine and they have lots of vineyards that you can do tours with?

if you want to make the trek to toronto..thats another story, but its only an hour and a half or so. let me know and i can throw out some more suggestions. :P

Thanks Apple! Yeah, we will be right in Niagara Falls on the Canadian side for like 4 days. We will probably do the Maid of the Mist, definitely hitting the casino to take home some suitcases of canadian cash. Since we only have a few days, Toronto is out for right now. I really do want to get up there at some point and check it out though.

It seems like Niagara is probably not the best place for culture and such but do you know of any art museums or galleries in the area? Or any other interesting or quirky places to check out? We don't really go for the sanitized pre-packaged experience that is found in most tourist spots and we constantly try to find some out of the way things to do.

[B & B]

Originally Posted by lambert13

Thanks Apple! Yeah, we will be right in Niagara Falls on the Canadian side for like 4 days. We will probably do the Maid of the Mist, definitely hitting the casino to take home some suitcases of canadian cash. Since we only have a few days, Toronto is out for right now. I really do want to get up there at some point and check it out though.

It seems like Niagara is probably not the best place for culture and such but do you know of any art museums or galleries in the area? Or any other interesting or quirky places to check out? We don't really go for the sanitized pre-packaged experience that is found in most tourist spots and we constantly try to find some out of the way things to do.

Depending when you go in September there is the Grape and Wind Festival in St.Catharines 10 minutes down the road from the Falls
http://www.niagaragrapeandwinefestival.com/ and as Apple suggested there is quite a few wineries in the area and you can do the tours where they will take you to various wineries in the area for testing and sampling. You may want to stay at a bed and breakfast in Niagara on the Lake (15 minutes down the road),while you are there, all of these can be found pretty easily on google. The hotels make it appear like a small strip similar to Vegas, I quite often spend my lunch hour in my own little quiet spot where you can view the Falls without the crowds and be left alone, corner of Stanley and Fallsview. Excellent restaurants, all the names, try the Keg restaurant overlooking the falls for a good meal, and a good view, but quite pricey. The Copacabana is pretty good, My cousin Vinny's has a live Carribean Band playing while you eat. Appleby's and T.G.I.Friday's and all the big name restaurants. The Welland Canal at Lock 3 has a decent restaurant where you can view the boats going up the canal, just outside of Thorold.

Not sure if the Yankees will be in town, I know your a Yankees fan, you may want to see the Jays kick the Yankees out of the penant race while you are there.

Let me know if you need more information on any of these.

[lambert13]

Wow! Thanks for all that info. I got it printed out and ready to go.

I really like the idea of the not crowded spot to view the falls.

We are staying in the Konica Tower so most of what you mentioned seems like it will be in walking distance of there. I figure that the stuff over in the casino area will need a cab ride though.

Thanks again though. And unfortunately the Yankees will not be in town while we are there to push the Jays a little further down the pole. :lol:

[B & B]

Originally Posted by lambert13

Wow! Thanks for all that info. I got it printed out and ready to go.

I really like the idea of the not crowded spot to view the falls.

We are staying in the Konica Tower so most of what you mentioned seems like it will be in walking distance of there. I figure that the stuff over in the casino area will need a cab ride though.

Thanks again though. And unfortunately the Yankees will not be in town while we are there to push the Jays a little further down the pole. :lol:

No Problem, by the way, congrats on the wedding.

If doing the casino there is a great bar inside called the 365 club, excellent local bands, good cover stuff, do a google search for 365 club niagara casino and you can see who is playing when you are there, Fri and Sat are great nights for the bands, excellent ambienace within, nice chairs or couches to view the bar, doesn't get out of hand, I have seen young girls kicked out for grinding with each other while dancing, not sure the reasoning but the point is they are watching closely for the first sign of trouble.

Good skyline views of the area from the Konica tower, formerly the Panasonic, 20 years ago was one of the two largest buildings around, now it is dwarfed by the hotels, although they have maintained the sightlines. Easily walkable from there to all the hotels, restaurants and attractions.

For some touristy stuff in the area, all the trappings and t-shirts but still, hit Clifton Hill, and there is also Marineland nearby, with the dolphins and whales, sea lions and stuff.

John Daly has a golf course a mile away if you are a golfer, tons of excellent golf courses in the area.

5 miles away towards Buffalo you can hit the town of Chippawa. Nice quaint little town, neat little hole-in-the-wall antique shops and such.

A few peeler bars in the area, not suggesting you would go solo or with your buddies, I have gone a couple times with my wife for a few beers and she was not disturbed inappropriately.

Finally, not sure what your dates are, and back to Toronto again, Jimmy Buffet is there Sept 5, we already have our tickets, but if interested check the website for the Molson Amphitheatre.

Let me know any other interests that you may have, giving you a very wide range, although I didn't give you anything photography related, other than viewing locations, and I know Photography is a big interest of yours...sorry.

Hope this helps.

Good luck

[Scott in NH]

Congratulations amigo. I wish you both all the happiness.

[lambert13]

Originally Posted by Scott in NH

Congratulations amigo. I wish you both all the happiness.

Thank you Senor! We are at a month and a day and still happier than ever.